The Valladolid International Film Festival celebrates its 69th edition from Nov. 18, and according to fest director José Luis Cienfuegos, it’s one of the most modern and international editions the festival, known locally as Seminci, has ever hosted.
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Nestled snuggly into an autumn lull after the breakneck run from Venice through Toronto and into San Sebastian, Seminci has long stood out as a bastion for independent cinema in Spain, while San Sebastian has often catered to more big-name, big-budget fare, especially in recent years.
Set in the capital city of the Spanish region Castilla-Leon, Valladolid’s 69th edition is the second under director Cienfuegos, who boasts an illustrious nearly 30-year career as a festival director at the Seville European Film Festival (2012-2023) and Gijon Intl. Film Festival (1995-2011).
“Valladolid is a city absolutely dedicated to the festival that demands and needs to open the doors to a new generation of filmmakers,” Cienfuegos insisted to Variety ahead of last year’s event. This time around, that need has only intensified.
He says that over the years, Spanish cinema has evolved thanks to a system of teamwork between filmmakers, producers, festivals and other industry institutions, specifically public broadcasters.
“There is a certain type of broadcaster here in Spain that has changed the ecosystem. That, combined with subsidies, has created new Spanish cinema,” he argues. Because of that change, Cienfuegos says that the 69-year-old festival is in a “phase of renewal.”
“This type of programming wouldn’t have been possible years ago,” he elaborates. “I’ve been working in festivals for decades, and I can say that today, as a programmer, I feel extremely comfortable with the Spanish cinema being made today, which was practically non-existent 15 or 20 years ago because it was still in an embryonic phase.”
One area in which Valladolid has stayed ahead of the curve is its willingness to embrace genre cinema, such as Pedro Martín Calero’s well-reviewed trans-Atlantic horror feature “The Wailing,” playing in this year’s Special Screenings.
“Our generation grew up with genre cinema, music videos, comics, and television,” he says. “We have a culture that isn’t strictly cinematic; rather, pop culture seeps in, and we recognize that. For us, programming genre cinema is something natural.”
“I remember the first year that horror films got into official competition, and people were shocked,” he recalls. “Well, I’m sorry, but I believe that new filmmakers approaching cinema through genre give the art form another perspective, and that’s what festival programmers are looking for.”
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Although he’s keenly aware of changing tides in the industry, Cienfuegos insists Valladolid will not forget its indie roots and will remain a showcase for the best in auteur cinema from around the world. It’s what has always made Seminci such a unique stop on the Spanish festival circuit.
“Last year, we made a commitment to American independent cinema from both the East and West coasts, and that will continue this year,” the director says. “A large contingent of American films is present in many of this year’s sections, and many of the directors are coming to the festival.”
Valladolid has long welcomed international guests, but their presence is increasing under Cienfuegos. The profile of spotlighted filmmakers has also changed, and not in the way many might expect. Whereas previous editions would often reflect on decades-long resumes from superstar Hollywood filmmakers, the festival now focuses on a more diverse group of indie directors, many of whom will accompany their films as they screen in the official program.
“I think it’s an area that hasn’t been explored for many years in other festivals that stopped working with American independent cinema,” he says. “We saw an opportunity there to collaborate in a way that others weren’t.”
More than a means of setting themselves apart from other fests, the American indie strategy felt necessary to Cienfuegos. “If you’re organizing a festival today, you must stay current and commit to auteur cinema. That’s why we’re carving our own path as programmers and bringing in filmmakers that historically wouldn’t have been programmed in competition at Valladolid.”
This year’s Punto de Encuentro (Meeting Point) section, for example, features a lineup of U.S. indies that includes the Spanish premieres of Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” Constance Tsang’s “Blue Sun Palace,” Carson Lund’s “Eephus” and Sarah Friedland’s “Familiar Touch.”
Another area that Cienfuegos is particularly proud of is this year’s Retrospective program, which similarly reinforces Valladolid’s commitment to American indie cinema and is dedicated to the work of Nathan Silver. Five of the director’s films will feature at this year’s fest: “Between the Temples,” “Stinking Heaven,” “The Great Pretender,” “Uncertain Times” and “Soft in the Head,” which makes its Spanish debut at the fest.
“If you allow me, I want to advocate for festivals continuing to organize retrospectives,” the director says. “I think it’s being forgotten that one of our obligations is to recognize the history of cinema and share our knowledge. One of our missions must be to continue providing retrospectives and film studies.”
Cienfuegos praises the work being done by “colleagues like Locarno, the Biennale and San Sebastián, who are still organizing great retrospectives because, without those retrospectives from the past, we wouldn’t understand the cinema we’re programming today.”
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