# 69th Valladolid International Film Festival

The 69th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) took place from 18 to 26 October 2024, in Valladolid, Spain. They Will Be Dust opened the festival.

## Background

In June 2024, the festival announced the update of its branding image since 1984, the iconic lips by Leonese painter Manuel Sierra, with a revamped version developed by PobrelaVaca Studio's Félix Rodríguez and Ana María Hernández, which was included in the festival's poster for the 69th edition. On 21 August 2024, Carlos Marques-Marcet's They Will Be Dust was announced as the festival's opening picture. Later in August, the festival announced an early tranche of Spanish-produced and co-produced films to be part of different festivals sections.
On 15 October 2024, director Sofia Exarchou, actress Aida Folch, film critic Devika Girish, director Luis López Carrasco, and producer Ingmar Frost were announced as the members of the main competition jury.

## Official Section Feature Films
### Competition

The following films were selected to compete for the Golden Spike:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Armand | Armand | Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel | NorwayNetherlandsSwedenGermany |
| Becoming Ana | La mitad de Ana | Marta Nieto | Spain |
| Black Dog | 狗阵 | Guan Hu | China |
| The Brutalist | The Brutalist | Brady Corbet | United KingdomUnited States |
| Bob Trevino Likes It | Bob Trevino Likes It | Tracie Laymon | United States |
| Christmas Eve in Miller's Point | Christmas Eve in Miller's Point | Tyler Taormina | United States |
| La cocina | La cocina | Alonso Ruizpalacios | MexicoUnited States |
| Close to the Sultan | En la alcoba del sultán | Javier Rebollo [es] | SpainFrance |
| Grand Tour | Grand Tour | Miguel Gomes | PortugalItalyFrance |
| Harvest | Harvest | Athina Rachel Tsangari | United KingdomGermanyGreeceFranceUnited States |
| Misericordia | Misericordia | Alain Guiraudie | FranceSpainPortugal |
| The Most Precious of Cargoes | La Plus Précieuse des marchandises | Michel Hazanavicius | FranceBelgium |
| My Favourite Cake | کیک محبوب من | Maryam Moqadam, Behtash Sanaeeha | IranFranceSwedenGermany |
| The Party's Over | Fin de fiesta | Elena Manrique | SpainBelgium |
| Salve Maria | Salve María | Mar Coll | Spain |
| September Says | September Says | Ariane Labed | FranceGreeceIrelandGermanyUnited Kingdom |
| Sex | Sex | Dag Johan Haugerud | Norway |
| Stranger Eyes | 默視錄 | Yeo Siew Hua | SingaporeTaiwanFranceUnited States |
| Suspended Time | Hors du temps | Olivier Assayas | France |
| They Will Be Dust | Polvo serán | Carlos Marques-Marcet | SpainSwitzerlandItaly |
| Three Kilometres to the End of the World | Trei kilometri până la capătul lumii | Emanuel Pârvu | Romania |
| Vermiglio | Vermiglio | Maura Delpero | ItalyFranceBelgium |
| Wild Diamond | Diamant brut | Agathe Riedinger | France |

### Out of competition

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Rita | Rita | Paz Vega | Spain |
| Sing Sing | Sing Sing | Greg Kwedar | United States |
| RTVE Galas ||||
| Verano en diciembre | Verano en diciembre | Carolina África | Spain |

## Special Screenings

The festival's special screenings include:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The New Years (TV series) | Los años nuevos | Sandra Romero, David Martín de los Santos, Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain |
| The Wailing | El llanto | Pedro Martín-Calero | SpainFranceArgentina |
| Always+Positivo | Siempre+Positivo | Nacho Solana | Spain |
| Blackmail | Blackmail | Alfred Hitchcock | United Kingdom |
| Colita sin filtros | Colita sin filtros | Hortensia Vélez, Elisabeth Anglarill | Spain |
| Domar la luz | Domar la luz | Oihan | Spain |
| The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés | La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés | Antón Álvarez | Spain |
| State of Silence | Estado de Silencio | Santiago Maza | Mexico |

## Meeting Point (Punto de Encuentro)

The following films were selected for the 'Meeting Point' section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Blue Sun Palace | Blue Sun Palace | Constance Tsang | United States |
| Brief History of a Family | 家庭简史 | Lin Jianjie | ChinaFranceDenmarkQatar |
| Caught by the Tides | 风流一代 | Jia Zhangke | China |
| Edge of Night | Gecenin Kıyısı | Türker Süer [de] | GermanyTurkey |
| Eephus | Eephus | Carson Lund | United StatesFrance |
| The Fable | The Fable | Raam Reddy | IndiaUnited States |
| Familiar Touch | Familiar Touch | Sarah Friedland | United States |
| Ghost Trail | Les Fantômes | Jonathan Millet | FranceGermanyBelgium |
| In His Own Image [fr] | À son image | Thierry de Peretti [fr] | France |
| Holy Cow | Vingt dieux | Louise Courvoisier | France |
| Ivo | Ivo | Eva Trobisch [de] | Germany |
| Moon [de] | Mond | Kurdwin Ayub | Austria |
| To Our Friends | A nuestros amigos | Adrián Orr Serrano | SpainPortugal |
| A Real Pain | A Real Pain | Jesse Eisenberg | United StatesPoland |
| Scorched Earth | Verbrannte Erde | Thomas Arslan | Germany |
| Toxic | Akiplėša | Saulė Bliuvaitė | Lithuania |
| Universal Language | Une langue universelle | Matthew Rankin | Canada |
| Việt and Nam | Việt and Nam | Minh Quý Trương | VietnamPhilippinesSingaporeFranceNetherlandsItalyGermanyUnited States |

## Alchemies (Alquimias)

The following films were selected for the Alquimias section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Adamant Girl | Kottukkaali | PS Vinothraj | India |
| Agora | Agora | Ala Eddine Slim | TunisiaFranceSaudi ArabiaQatar |
| Bluish | Bluish | Lilith Kraxner, Milena Czernovsky | Austria |
| Cyborg Generation | Cyborg Generation | Miguel Morillo Vega | Spain |
| The Great Yawn of History | Khamyazeye bozorg | Iran |
| The Human Hibernation [de] | The Human Hibernation [de] | Anna Cornudella Castro | Spain |
| Invention | Invention | Courtney Stephens | United States |
| The Rim | La parra | Alberto Gracia [es] | Spain |
| An Unfinished Film | 一部未完成的电影 | Lou Ye | SingaporeGermany |

## Time of History (Tiempo de historia)

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Resistance Box | Caja de resistencia | Alejandro Alvarado, Concha Barquero, Alejandro Alvarado Jódar, Concha Barquero Artés | SpainPortugal |
| The Marseillaise of the Drunkards | La marsellesa de los borrachos | Pablo Gil Rituerto | SpainFranceItaly |
| My Brother Ali | Mi hermano Ali | Paula Palacios | SpainPortugal |
| Turismo de guerra | Turismo de guerra | Kikol Grau | Spain |
| Waldo (out of competition) | Waldo (out of competition) | Carlos Arnaiz Escalpés, Alberto Ortega Ahumada | Spain |
| Hija del volcán (out of competition) | Hija del volcán (out of competition) | Jenifer de la Rosa Martín | SpainMexico |

## Memory & Utopia (Memoria y Utopía)

The following films were selected for the 'Memory & Utopia' section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Portabella Constellation | Constel·lació Portabella | Claudio Zulian | Spain |

## International Short Film Official Section

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| 400 Cassettes | 400 Cassettes | Thelyia Petraki | GreeceGermany |
| Bad For a Moment | Bad For a Moment | Daniel Soares | Portugal |
| Baldilocks | Baldilocks | Marthe Peters | Belgium |
| El cambio de rueda | El cambio de rueda | Begoña Arostegui | Spain |
| El cuento de una noche de verano | El cuento de una noche de verano | María Herrera | Spain |
| Immaculata | Immaculata | Kim Lêa Sakkal | GermanyFrance |
| Le Loup | Le Loup | Theodore Ushev | Canada |
| Lluna de Sal | Lluna de Sal | Mariona Martínez | Spain |
| Marion | Marion | Joe Weiland, Finn Constantine | United KingdomFrance |
| My Senses Are All I Have to Offer | My Senses Are All I Have to Offer | Isadora Neves Marques | Portugal |
| Nens | Nens | Anna Martí Domingo | Spain |
| O | O | Rúnar Rúnarsson | IcelandSweden |
| On the Way | On the Way | Samir Karahoda | Kosovo |
| Pacific Vein | Pacific Vein | Ulu Braun | Germany |
| Percebes | Percebes | Alexandra Ramires, Laura Gonçalves | PortugalFrance |
| Punter | Punter | Jason Adam Maselle | South AfricaUnited States |
| Vegan Mayo | Vegan Mayo | Luca Tóth | Hungary |
| Vox Humana | Vox Humana | Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan | PhilippinesUnited StatesSingapur |
| White Cloud | White Cloud | Emmanuel Van der Auwera | Belgium |

## Spanish Short Films Official Section

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| At Night We Walk Alone | At Night We Walk Alone | Rafa Alberola | Spain |
| Berta | Berta | Lucía Forner Segarra | Spain |
| Futuro | Futuro | Amanda Cots, Ángel Suárez Ávila | SpainCuba |
| Made of sugar | Made of sugar | Clàudia Cedó | Spain |
| Mater Benefacta | Mater Benefacta | Marc Riba, Anna Solanas | Spain |
| The Other | The Other | Eduard Fernández | Spain |
| The Prince | The Prince | Àlex Sardà | Spain |
| They Send Word | They Send Word | Mariano Schoendorff | Spain |
| Una cabeza en la pared | Una cabeza en la pared | Manuel Manrique | Spain |
| You were Paris | You were Paris | Claudia Barral Magaz | SpainFrance |

## Castilla y León

The Castilla y León feature films and Castilla y León short films programmes include the following films:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Castilla y León feature films ||||
| Devil Dog Road | Lo carga el diablo | Guillermo Polo | Spain |
| Pastoris | Pastoris | Pablo Moreno | Spain |
| Castilla y León short films ||||
| Arenillas | Arenillas | Marta Martín | Spain |
| DxTequiero | DxTequiero | Sergio López, Mariola Aygües, Macarena Peri | Spain |
| In Between | Lo que paso entre medias (de estudiar cine) | Dacio de las Heras | Spain |
| Only the Dead Remain | Sólo los muertos se quedan | Alejandro Renedo | Spain |
| Panorama | Panorama | Margo García | Spain |
| Seeds from Kivu | Semillas de Kivu | Néstor López, Carlos Valle | Spain |

## Awards

A list of awards is listed as follows:

### Official Section — Feature Films

* Golden Spike: Misericordia
* Silver Spike: Stranger Eyes & They Will Be Dust
* 'Ribera del Duero' Award for Best Direction: Guan Hu (Black Dog)
* Best Actress: Laura Weissmahr (Salve Maria); special mention for Ángela Molina (The Will Be Dust)
* Best Actor: Jan Gunnar Roise & Thorbjørn Harr (Sex); special mention for Alfredo Castro (They Will Be Dust)
* Best Cinematography: Weizhe Gao (Black Dog)
* 'Miguel Delibes' Award for Best Screenplay: Alain Guiraudie (Misericordia)
* 'José Salcedo' Award for Best Editing: Telmo Churro & Pedro Filipe Marques (Grand Tour)

### Other awards

* 'Meeting Point' award: Holy Cow
* Fundos Special Award: Familiar Touch
* 'Alchemies' Grand Prize: The Rim; special mention for Bluish
* 'Time of History' Grand Prize: Youth (Hard Times)
* 'Time of History' Special Award: Henry Fonda for President; special mention for Savanna and the Mountains
* 'Pilar Miró' Award for Best Spanish Direction: Elena Manrique (The Party's Over)
* DOC. España Award: Caja de resistencia
* Young Seminci Award: Hija del volcán
* Young Jury — Official Section Prize: Armand
* Golden Spike for Best Short Film: Baldilocks
* Silver Spike for Best Short Film: Punter & Lluna de sal
* Rainbow Spike: Three Kilometres to the End of the World
* FIPRESCI Award: Christmas Eve in Miller's Point
* Audience Award (Official Section — Feature Films): Bob Trevino Likes It
* Audience Award (Meeting Point): Holy Cow