‘They Will Be Dust’, by Carlos Marques-Marcet, and ‘Los años nuevos’, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, will open the 69th edition of SEMINCI, Friday 18th

• The journalist Mara Torres will present the Opening Gala, which will feature a musical performance by María Arnal, accompanied by two dancers from La Veronal.
• During the gala, the president of the Film Academy, Fernando Méndez-Leite, will receive the Honorary Spike for his work as a disseminator, filmmaker and critic.

The 69th edition of the Valladolid International Film Week will begin tomorrow, Friday 18 October, at the Teatro Calderón with the opening gala after which the film They Will Be Dust, by Carlos Marques-Marcet (Los días que vendrán), starring Ángela Molina, will be screened. The journalist Mara Torres will present the ceremony, during which the singer and composer María Arnal will perform. During the festival, which will run from 18 to 26 October, one day more than the previous edition, more than 200 films will be screened, in the different sections in competition and out of competition.

The event will be attended by Jesús Julio Carnero, Mayor of Valladolid; Blanca Jiménez, Councillor for Tourism, Events and Branding, and Irene Carvajal, Valladolid City Council’s Councillor for Culture, the organiser of SEMINCI. In addition, on behalf of the Junta de Castilla y León, the vicepresident and counselor for Family and Equal Opportunities, María Isabel Blanco, and the counselor for Culture, Tourism and Sports, Gonzalo Santonja, will attend. The gala will also be attended by Rocío Juanes de Toledo, Secretary General of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA); Camilo Vázquez, Deputy Director General of Promotion and Institutional Relations of the ICAA, and Concepción Cascajosa, Acting President of the Board of Directors of RTVE, as well as the Festival Director, José Luis Cienfuegos.

During the gala, the current director of the Spanish Film Academy, Fernando Méndez-Leite, will receive the Honorary Spike from producer Gerardo Herrero and his daughter Clara Méndez-Leite. Former Director General of Cinema (ICAA) and founder of the Madrid Film School (ECAM), he has worked as a critic, author, director of cultural programmes and director of fiction and documentaries.

The members of the International Jury, made up by Sofia Exarchou, Aida Folch, Devika Girish; Ingmar Trost and Luis López Carrasco, as well as the team from the opening film and the TV series Los años nuevos, which can be seen as part of the Special Screenings at the Zorrilla Theatre from 9 p.m. onwards. Also, the North American independent director Nathan Silver, whose retrospective has been programmed for this edition of the Festival, will address the audience at the Calderón Theatre.

Before the screening of the film They Will Be Dust, the singer María Arnal will perform the song Negro infinito, included in the soundtrack of the film. She will be accompanied in her performance by the dancers of the company La Veronal Ariadna Montfort and Lorena Nogal, winner of the National Dance Award 2024.

Guest filmmakers and performers

Before the gala, at around 6 p.m., some of the performers, filmmakers and guests who will be presenting their latest works during this 69th edition will begin to parade down the carpet. For example, Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson, Ángela Molina, Alaeddine Slim, Rodrigo Espinel, Alonso Ruiz Palacios, Elena Manrique, Sonia Baraba, Vinothraj PS, Kurdwin Ayub, Esther García, Carolina África, Silvia Marsó, Santiago Marín, Beatriz Grimaldos, Carlos Marques-Marcet, Alfredo Castro, Clara Roquet, Coral Cruz, Tono Folguera, Ariadna Dot, Enrique Costa, Antonio Saura and Ruth Gabriel.

Director Nathan Silver, as well as jurors Aida Folch, Ingmar Trost, Luis López Carrasco, Sofía Exarchou, Devika Girish, Julia de Castro, Sérgio Tréfaut, Domingo Sánchez-Mesa will also walk the access carpet to the Teatro Calderón, as well as the recipient of the Honorary Spike Fernando Méndez-Leite, accompanied by his children, Fiorella Faltoyano, Alberto Ammann, Carmelo Gómez, Rafael Portel, Juan Antonio Vigar, Gerardo Herrero, Mariela Besuievsky, and not forgetting the crew of the film They Will Be Dust and the series Los años nuevos: Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Sandra Romero, David Martín de los Santos, Iría del Río, Francesco Carril, Sara Cano, Paula Fabra, Fran Araujo, Nacho Lavilla and Nacho Vegas.

‘They Will Be Dust’, the opening film

In They Will Be Dust, Carlos Marques-Marcet has once again put the spotlight on the human condition. Starring Ángela Molina, Alfredo Castro and Mònica Almirall, this great story of unconditional love proposes an emotional journey about the decision to die through comedy, drama, music and the choreography of La Veronal. Written by Marques-Marcet with Clara Roquet (Libertad, Que nadie duerma) and Coral Cruz (Uno para todos), the soundtrack is by the artist, singer and composer Maria Arnal.

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Claudia (Ángela Molina) decides to take her last trip to Switzerland. Flavio (Alfredo Castro), who hasn’t left her side in forty years, decides to accompany her on this journey of no return. Their daughter Violeta (Mònica Almirall) becomes the mediator between her parents and everything they leave behind, while at the same time looking for her place in this love story.

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