At the age of 70, Spain’s Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid, or Seminchi, refuses to look back.
Instead, the country’s second-oldest film festival will be held from October 24th to November 24th. 1 is very forward-looking, reaffirming its historic humanist DNA while opening the door to fresh voices, a broader audience, and the realities of an evolving industry.
“We didn’t want a nostalgic version,” says Seminchi director José Luis Cienfuegos. “This is a shining edition in motion, a festival for filmmakers and filmmakers.”
With 225 titles and 137 premieres (including 104 Spanish, 29 World, 3 European and 1 International), the 70th Valladolid Festival, best known in Spain as Seminchi, stands as one of the strongest writers’ showcases in Europe.
This year’s edition brings together international heavyweights such as Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Lav Diaz, Kelly Reichardt, Pietro Marcello, Ildico Eniedi, Christian Petzold, László Nemeth and Gianfranco Rosi, along with a generation of up-and-coming Spanish filmmakers.
Author-driven provocative edge
“Under Cienfuegos’s direction, Valladolid has acquired a more auteur-driven and provocative edge in its film selection,” notes Antonio Saura, CEO of Madrid-based arthouse and crossover distributor Latido Films.
That energy will define the 2025 lineup. The official competition includes 24 titles, including the world premiere of Spain’s Rafael Cobos, co-writer of Goya Award-winning Alberto Rodriguez’s hits Marshland and The Plague, and making his feature directorial debut with the thriller Golpes.
Also vying for the Golden Spike is Fernando Franco’s Subuero. The psychological drama marks the return of the filmmaker, whose debut film The Wounded won the Special Jury Prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sais is competing with Lionel, an emotional road movie about the relationship between a father and son, produced by Spain’s Icónica Producciones in collaboration with France’s Promenades Films.
Other Spanish titles include this year’s closing film, David Trueba’s Always Winter, and Judith Correll’s Frontera, Banijay’s diagonal TV production thriller set in post-Civil War Spain. The festival will host the world premieres of a total of 13 Spanish films.
Isabel Coixet, a perennial festival favorite, opens the edition with “Three Goodbyes” (Italy-Spain), an adaptation of the novel “Tre Ciotore” by the late Michela Murgia. Part midlife reminiscence, part meditation on food and memory, the film is Coixet’s third semi-opening feature, following The Bookshop (2017) and It’s Snowing in Benidorm (2020).
International stalwarts further increase their fame. These include “Silent Friend” directed by Enyedi, “The Chronology of Water” directed by Kristen Stewart, “Girl” directed by Shu Qi, “Sound of Falling” directed by Maska Silinski, “The Blue Trail” directed by Gabriel Mascaro, and “Hamnet” directed by Chloé Zhao, which was screened outside of the competition as a special event.
For festival directors, consistency is key. According to him, Seminchi is “not a container, but a programmed and curated festival” and continues to be a space where filmmakers can feel at home.
Two Honor Awards will round out the celebration. Both French actress and filmmaker Mia Hansen-Love (The Father of My Children, Sing to Come) and Spanish actor Luis Callejo (The Captive, The Snow Girl) will be honored for careers that bridge artistic vision and audience appeal.
All winter
Credit: Quim Vives
Strong presence in Spanish cinema
Seminchi remains a touchstone for Spain’s domestic film industry. This year, with 19 Spanish-language features and 13 shorts, we’re showcasing domestic films that are diverse in tone and ambition.
This festival marks the renewal of a generation. Filmmakers such as Carlos Solano (Leo and Lu), Ana Cerreto (Apuntes para una ficciónconsentida) and Irene Iborra (Olivia y el terremoto hidden) aim to combine creativity and accessibility, with the support of independent producers who are driving the resurgence of Spanish cinema.
Cienfuegos argues that the balance between art and audience defines the meaning of seminci. Radical experimentation can coexist with crowd-pleaser. For example, “The Teacher Who Promised the Sea,” which was discovered at the 2023 festival and surprised the domestic box office in his first year in office.
Its artistic yet practical nature also defines Valladolid’s role as a platform for discovery, a hub for prestigious filmmakers just weeks from San Sebastian, and a bridge for awards season exposure.
roots of humanism
Founded in 1956 as the Week of Religious Films, Seminchi has evolved into a bastion of socially conscious cinema in Spain. The roots of humanism, from Rossellini to Ken Loach, are carried through contemporary themes such as immigration, identity, gender and ecology, explored in sections such as ‘Punto de Encuentro’, dedicated to films with the potential for great commercial success, and ‘Tiempo de Historia’, for non-fiction works.
“Even under the dictatorship, Seminchi was a gateway to realism and a forum for discussion,” Cienfuegos says. “It’s part of its DNA.”
The legacy of that engagement still defines Valladolid today, and Seminci remains important as one of Europe’s most socially conscious writers’ festivals.
A celebration for the next generation
Off screen, Seminci continues to invest in education and audience development. Two of Spain’s leading film schools, ECAM in Madrid and ESCAC in Catalonia, were awarded honorary spikes this year for their role in developing new talent. That intergenerational focus extends to the Young4Film network, a European initiative dedicated to building bridges between creators and viewers.
“You can’t program Seminci without understanding its history,” he adds. “Knowledge is what allows us to keep moving forward.”
Base for the second half of the season
Alongside its artistic programme, Seminci has expanded its professional aspects such as the Merci Independent Film Market, the La Meseta Development Lab and the Europa Cinemas Audience Lab. These spaces transform Valladolid into a hub for industry networking and strategy for the second half of the season.
“We have built a strong foundation around auteur films,” Cienfuegos says. “Now we are adding a new generation.”
Saura added that this evolution illustrates why Valladolid is so important to the Spanish film industry. “Valladolid has long been a very comfortable and truly beneficial film festival for the industry. This is a rare balance.”
The Seminchi Valladolid Film Festival is celebrating its 80th anniversary and serves as the guardian of the conscience of cinema and the catalyst for its rebirth.
three farewells
Greta de Lazaris
