# 68th Valladolid International Film Festival

The 68th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) took place from 21 to 28 October 2023, in Valladolid, Spain. The Movie Teller, an adaptation of the Hernán Rivera Letelier's novel, directed by Lone Scherfig, opened the festival.

## Background

The festival will be directed by José Luis Cienfuegos for the first time, takes over after Javier Angulo, who served as the festival's director from 2009 to 2022. Cienfuegos had previously taken the same role for the Seville European Film Festival and the Gijón International Film Festival.
A new competitive section named Alquimias was introduced, destined to "welcome stories set in distant latitudes, tales that define a time and a place, while portraying the passions inherent in the human condition and highlighting the possibilities of cinema as a shared mirror of world events". A €10,000 award will be presented to the winner, sponsored by Grupo Recoletas Red Hospitalaria.
Later in October, actresses Charlotte Rampling, Nathalie Baye, and Kiti Mánver were announced as the recipients of Honorary Spikes. Actress Blanca Portillo and the European Film Academy completed the set of recipients of Honorary Spikes. Meritxell Colell, Mike Goodridge, Pan Nalin, Jara Yáñez, and Iván Granovsky were announced of jury members of the official selection.

## Sections

The films selected for each section are as follows:

### Official competition

The following films were selected to compete for the Golden Spike:

#### Feature-Length Films

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| All of Us Strangers | All of Us Strangers | Andrew Haigh | United Kingdom |
| Andrea's Love | El amor de Andrea | Manuel Martín Cuenca | Spain, Mexico |
| Kidnapped | Rapito | Marco Bellocchio | Italy, France, Germany |
| The Old Oak | The Old Oak | Ken Loach | United Kingdom, France, Belgium |
| Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Poland, United States, France, Czequia, Belgium |
| How to Have Sex | How to Have Sex | Molly Manning Walker | United Kingdom, Greece, Belgium |
| The Permanent Picture | La imatge permanent | Laura Ferrés [es] | Spain, France |
| La chimera | La chimera | Alice Rohrwacher | Italy, France, Switzerland |
| Four Daughters | بنات ألفة / Les Filles d'Olfa | Kaouther Ben Hania | Tunisia, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia |
| Music | Music | Angela Schanelec | Germany, France, Serbia |
| Something Is About to Happen | Que nadie duerma | Antonio Méndez Esparza | Spain, Romania |
| The Teachers' Lounge | Das Lehrerzimmer | İlker Çatak | Germany |
| Samsara [gl] | Samsara [gl] | Lois Patiño [gl] | Spain |
| Foremost by Night | Sobre todo de noche | Víctor Iriarte [es] | Spain, France, Portugal |
| The Beast | La Bête | Bertrand Bonello | France, Canada |
| The Shadowless Tower | 白塔之光 | Zhang Lü | China |
| The Sweet East | The Sweet East | Sean Price Williams | United States |
| Out of Competition ||||
| Cristina García Rodero - La Mirada Oculta | Cristina García Rodero - La Mirada Oculta | Carlota Nelson | Spain |
| Dear Jassi | Dear Jassi | Tarsem Singh Dhandwar | India |
| The Teacher Who Promised the Sea | El maestro que prometió el mar | Patricia Font [es] | Spain |
| The Movie Teller (opening film) | La contadora de películas | Lone Scherfig | Spain, France, Chile |
| Mamacruz | Mamacruz | Patricia Ortega | Spain, Venezuela |
| Teresa | Teresa | Paula Ortiz | Spain |
| Special Screenings ||||
| Blue Giant | Blue Giant | Yuzuru Tachikawa | Japan |
| Concierto Plena Pausa | Concierto Plena Pausa | Iván Zulueta | Spain |
| Sultana's Dream | El sueño de la sultana | Isabel Herguera | Spain, Germany |
| In Praise of the Horizon | Elogio del horizonte | Rafa Alberola | Spain |
| Juniper | Juniper | Matthew J. Saville | New Zealand |
| The Green Room | La Chambre verte | François Truffaut | France |
| The Night My Dad Saved Christmas | La navidad en sus manos | Joaquín Mazón | Spain, Mexico |
| Memento Mori | Memento Mori | Marco A. Castillo, Fran Parra | Spain, Portugal |
| No, I Don't Want To | No, No Quiero | Belén Santos | Spain |
| Seed of the Son | Semilla del son | JuanMa V. Betancourt | Spain |
| The Kid Brother | The Kid Brother | Ted Wilde, J.A. Howe | United States |
    Highlighted title indicates Golden Spike winner.

#### Short Films

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| 27 | 27 | Flóra Anna Buda | France, Hungary |
| Aitana | Aitana | Marina Alberti | Spain |
| Ardent Other | Le mal des ardents | Alice Brygo | France |
| Crocodile | Krokodyl | Dawid Bodzak | Poland |
| Eeva | Eeva | Morten Tšinakov, Lucija Mrzljak, Lucija Mrzljak | Croatia, Estonia |
| Howling | 遠吠え | Aya Kawazoe | Japan |
| Jill, Uncredited | Jill, Uncredited | Anthony Ing | United Kingdom |
| Lemon Tree | Lemon Tree | Rachel Walden | United States |
| None of That | Nada de todo eso | Francisco Cantón, Patricio Martínez | Argentina, Spain |
| Sonido: Ivans & Tobis | Sonido: Ivans & Tobis | Diogo Baldaia | Portugal |
| Wander to Wonder | Wander to Wonder | Nina Ganz, Nina Gantz | Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom |

### Punto de Encuentro

The following films were selected for the Punto de Encuentro section:

#### Feature-Length Films

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Animal | Animal | Sofia Exarchou | Greece, Austria, Romania |
| Arthur&Diana | Arthur&Diana | Sara Summa | Germany |
| Gasoline Rainbow | Gasoline Rainbow | Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross | United States |
| Hello Darkness | Hello Darkness | Soda Jerk | Australia |
| Hoard | Hoard | Luna Carmoon | United Kingdom |
| Muyeres | Muyeres | Marta Lallana [es] | Spain |
| Cercano Invierno | Negu Hurbilak | Colectivo Negu: Ekain Albite, Adrià Roca, Nicolau Mallofré, Mikel Ibarguren | Spain |
| On the Go | On the Go | María Giséle Royo, Julia De Castro | Spain |
| One Last Evening | Letzer Abend | Lukas Nathrath | Germany |
| Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds | Sirocco et le royaume des courants d'air | Benoît Chieux [fr] | France, Belgium |
| Stepne | Степне | Maryna Vroda | Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Slovakia |
| Sweet Dreams | Sweet Dreams | Ena Sendijarević | Netherlands, Sweden, Indonesia, France |
| The Cage is Looking for a Bird | Kletka ishet ptitsu | Malika Musaeva | Monaco, Russia |
| The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed | The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed | Joanna Arnow | United States |
| The Quiet Migration | Stille Liv | Malene Choi | Denmark |

#### Short Films

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Almost Forgotten | Quase me lembro | Dimitri Mihajlovic, Miguel Lima | Portugal |
| Heartbreak Hotel | Coeurs Brisés Hôtel | Emma Axelroud Bernard | France |
| Last Days of Summer | Last Days of Summer | Stenzin Tankong | India, France |
| Nocturnal Burger | Nishachar Burger | Reema Sengupta | France |
| Z.O. | Z.O. | Loris G. Nese | Italy |
| La Noche del Corto Español (Spanish Short Films) ||||
| The Last Mouflon | El último muflón | Omar Razzak, Shira Ukrainitz | Spain |
| The Danube Rivers | Los Danubios | Jaume Claret Muxart | Spain |
| Lost at Sea | Lost at Sea | Andrés Bartos, Lucija Stojevic | Spain, United Kingdom |
| Meteor | Meteoro | Víctor Moreno | Spain |
| Crack of Dawn | Trench D'Alba | Anna Llargués | Spain |

### Tiempo de Historia

The following films were selected for the Tiempo de Historia section, dedicated to non-fiction films:

#### Feature-Length Films

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Aresenie. An Amazing Afterlife | Arsenie. Viața de apoi | Alexandru Solomon | Romania, Luxembourg |
| Between Revolutions | Între Revoluții | Vlad Petri | Romania, Croatia, Qatar, Iran |
| Romance Scam | La estafa del amor | Virginia García del Pino [es] | Spain |
| Malqueridas | Malqueridas | Tana Gilbert | Chile, Germany |
| My Worst Enemy | Mon pire ennemi | Mehran Tamadon | France, Switzerland |
| Our Body | Notre Corps | Claire Simon | France |
| Pictures of Ghosts | Relatos fantasmas | Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil |
| The Mother of All Lies | كذب أبيض | Asmae El Moudir | Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt |
| An Inhabited Volcano | Un volcán habitado | David Pantaleón, Jose Víctor Fuentes | Spain |
| Where God Is Not | Jaii keh khoda nist | Mehran Tamadon | France, Switzerland |
| Youth (Spring) | 青春 / Jeunesse (Le Printemps) | Wang Bing | France, Luxembourg, Netherlands |
| Zinzindurrunkarratz | Zinzindurrunkarratz | Oskar Alegria | Spain |

#### Short Films

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Alpha Kings | Alpha Kings | Enrique Pedráza-Botero, Faye Tsakas | United States |
| Bleu Silico | Bleu Silico | Eloïse Le Gallo, Julia Borderie | France |
| The Open House | La casa oberta | Julieta Lasarte Pigrau | Spain |
| Bear | Ours | Morgane Frund | Switzerland |
| Future Ruins | Ruinas futuras | Carolina Sánchez, Elvira Arbós, Francisco Armenteros, Ran Chen | Spain |

### Alquimias

The following films were selected for the Alquimias section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Battle | A Batalha da Rua Maria Antônia | Vera Gito | Brazil |
| Critical Zone | Mantagheye bohrani | Ali Ahmadzadeh | Iran, Germany |
| The Peasants | Chłopi | DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman | Poland |
| Essential Truths of the Lake | Essential Truths of the Lake | Lav Diaz | Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom |
| Femme | Femme | Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping | United Kingdom |
| The Beast in the Jungle | La Bête dans la jungle | Patric Chiha | France |
| The Siren | La Sirène | Sepideh Farsi | France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Qatar |
| Three Brothers | Tres hermanos | Francisco J. Paparella | Argentina, Chile |

### Memoria y Utopía

The following films were selected for the Memoria y Utopía section, dedicated to restored films:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Noir et Blanc (1986) | Noir et Blanc (1986) | Claire Devers | France |
| Black Head (1979) | Kara Kafa | Korhan Yurtsever | Turkey |
| Boat People (1982) | 投奔怒海 | Ann Hui | Hong Kong |
| Conscience (1968) | Conscience (1968) | Volodymyr Denysenko | Soviet Union |
| Dark Spring (1970) | Dark Spring (1970) | Ingemo Engström [de] | Germany |
| Diario íntimo (1962) | Diario íntimo (1962) | Manuel López Yubero | Spain |
| Drylongso (1998) | Drylongso (1998) | Cauleen Smith | United States |
| Furia española (1974) | Furia española (1974) | Francesc Betriu | Spain |
| L'Amour fou (1969) | L'Amour fou (1969) | Jacques Rivette | France |
| The Captive (2000) | La Captive | Chantal Akerman | Belgium |
| The First Look (2023) | La primera mirada | Luis E. Parés | Spain |
| Lucha de corazones (1912) | Lucha de corazones (1912) | Joan Maria Codina [es] | Spain |
| Maybe Tomorrow (1980) | Majd holnap | Judit Elek | Hungary |
| Millennium Mambo (2001) | 千禧曼波 | Hou Hsiao-hsien | Taiwan |
| Return to Reason (1923) | Return to Reason (1923) | Man Ray | France |
| Sweet Dreams (1981) | Sogni d'oro | Nanni Moretti | Italy |
| Sor Angélica Virgen (1962) | Sor Angélica Virgen (1962) | Francisco Regueiro | Spain |

### EFA (European Film Academy)

The following films were selected for the EFA section, for European films chosen by the European Film Academy:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute | Justine Triet | France |
| Afire | Roter Himmel | Christian Petzold | Germany |
| Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet | Aki Kaurismäki | Finland |
| The Universal Theory | Die Theorie von Allem | Timm Kröger | Germany |
| The Promised Land | Bastarden | Nikolaj Arcel | Denmark |
| The Zone of Interest | The Zone of Interest | Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom, Poland |
| Io capitano | Io capitano | Matteo Garrone | Italy, Belgium, France |

### Educación

The following films were selected for the Educación section, consisting of Miniminci and Seminci Joven, for films intended for young audiences:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Miniminci ||||
| Foxtale | Foxtale | Alexandra Allen | Portugal |
| Impurrfection | Impurrfection | Chiang Yao | Taiwan |
| Les Inséparables | Les Inséparables | Jérémie Degruson | Belgium, Spain, France |
| A Greyhound of a Girl | A Greyhound of a Girl | Enzo D'Alò | Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, United Kingdom |
| Nina and the Hedgehog's Secret | Nina et le secret du hérisson | Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli | France, Luxembourg |
| Operación Frankenstein | Operación Frankenstein | José María Fernández de Vega | Spain |
| Robot Dreams | Robot Dreams | Pablo Berger | Spain, France |
| The Girl with the Red Beret | The Girl with the Red Beret | Janet Perlman | Canada |
| Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light | Tonda, Slávka a kouzelné světlo | Filip Pošivač | Hungary, Czech Republic |
| What's in That Crate? | Wat zit er in die kist? | Bram Algoed | Belgium |
| Witchfairy | Witchfairy | Cédric Igodt, David Van de Weyer | Belgium, Bulgaria |
| Seminci Joven ||||
| And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine | And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine | Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck | Sweden, Denmark |
| Bulbul Can Sing | Bulbul Can Sing | Rima Das | India |
| Croma Kid | Croma Kid | Pablo Chea | Dominican Republic |

### Cine Gourmet

The following films were selected for the Cine Gourmet section, consisting of films that see gastronomy through the eyes of cinema:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Pot-au-Feu | La Passion de Dodin Bouffant | Trần Anh Hùng | France, Belgium |
| I Will Not Starve | Non morirò di fame | Umberto Spinazzola | Italy, Canada |

### Cine de Castilla y León

The following films are productions made in Castile and León:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Feature-Length Films ||||
| Red Rooster | Gallo rojo | Enrique García-Vázquez | Spain |
| Rioja, Land of the Thousand Wines | Rioja, la tierra de los mil vinos | José Luis López-Linares | Spain |
| Supporting Actresses | Secundarias | Arturo Dueñas | Spain |
| Short Films ||||
| A Song for Lena | Alehre y olé | Clara Santaolaya | Spain |
| Caso Dativo | Caso Dativo | Juan Rodríguez-Briso | Spain |
| The Dad Jokes Are Killing Me | El cuñao | Javier Canal Diez | Spain |
| The King of the Week | El rey de la semana | David Pérez Sañudo [es] | Spain |
| Knot | Nudo | Herminio Cardiel | Spain |
| Blonde Cooper | Rubio cobrizo | Pablo Quijano [es] | Spain |
| Trigues tistres | Trigues tistres | Lucía Lobato | Spain |
| Light Leak | Velado | Carlos C. Insuela, Carla Voces | Spain |
| Quercus ||||
| Anticlimax | Anticlimax | Néstor López, Óscar Romero | Spain, Portugal |
| Train to Oblivion | El tren del olvido | Isabel Medarde [es] | Spain |
| Sour Milk | Leche agria | Sergio Muñoz Cano, José Ángel Lorente Pavón | Spain |
| Good T'See Ya | Malegro verte | Nüll García [es] | Spain |
| Magistrates | Señorías | María Guerra | Spain |
| Vermú | Vermú | Nestor Lopez | Spain |

## Awards

Some of the festival award winners are listed as follows:

### Official section

* Golden Spike: The Permanent Picture by Laura Ferrés [es]
* Silver Spike: La chimera by Alice Rohrwacher
* Best Director: Angela Schanelec for Music
* Best Screenplay: Marco Bellocchio and Susanna Nicchiarelli for Kidnapped
* Best Actress: Léa Seydoux for The Beast
* Best Actor: Dave Turner for The Old Oak
* Best New Director: Molly Manning Walker for How to Have Sex
* Best Cinematography: Ivan Marković [fr] for Music
* Best Editing: Gesa Jäger [de] for The Teachers' Lounge
* Golden Spike for Best Short Film: Wander to Wonder by Nina Gantz
* Silver Spike for Best Short Film: Aitana by Marina Alberti

### Meeting Point

* Best Film: Gasoline Rainbow by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross
* Special Jury Prize: Arthur&Diana by Sara Summa
* Special Mention: Animal by Sofia Exarchou
* Best Foreign Short: Nocturnal Burger by Reema Maya
* Special Mention for Best Foreign Short: Heartbreak Hotel by Emma Axelroud Bernard, Toujours Panthère
* The Night of Spanish Shorts Award: Meteoro by Víctor Moreno

### Tiempo de Historia

* First Prize: Between Revolutions by Vlad Petri
* Second Prize: Pictures of Ghosts by Kleber Mendonça Filho
* Prize to the Best Short Documentary: Ours by Morgane Frund

### Alquimias

* Recoletas Award for Best Feature Film: Femme by Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping
* Special Mention: Critical Zone by Ali Ahmadzadeh

### Other awards

* Doc Spain Award: Zinzindurrunkarratz by Oskar Alegria
* Castilla y León Short Film Award: The King of the Week by David Pérez Sañudo [es]
* Green Spike: Muyeres by Marta Lallana [es]
** Special Mention: Crack of Dawn by Anna Llargués
* FIPRESCI Award: Foremost by Night by Víctor Iriarte [es]
* Fundos Award: The Battle by Vera Gito
* Audience Award Official Section: The Old Oak by Ken Loach
* Audience Award Meeting Point: Muyeres by Marta Lallana [es]
* Audience Award Time of History: The Mother of All Lies by Asmae El Moudir
* Young SEMINCI Award: The Movie Teller by Lone Scherfig
* Young Jury Prize Official Section: How to Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker
* Meeting Point Youth Jury Award: One Last Evening by Lukas Nathrath
* Youth Jury Mention Meeting Point: Hello Darkness by Soda Jerk
* Rainbow Spike: All of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh
** Special Mention: On the Go by María Giséle Royo, Julia De Castro