11th Seville European Film Festival

Seville European Film Festival (SEFF), supported by Instituto de la Cultura y las Artes de Sevilla (ICAS), has been organised since 2001. With minor and major changes throughout its course, this year’s festival was held for third time under the direction of José Luis Cienfuegos and his team. The festival took place from the 7th to the 15th of November. The festival covers an extensive program, ranging from European festival hits of the year to a selection of up-and-coming Spanish and Andalusian directors. This year the festival was host to a special announcement: the nominations for the 27th European Film Awards, which will be delivered December 13th at a ceremony in Riga, European Capital of Culture 2014.

Some of the most powerful EFA nominees were also part of the festival’s Official Section, including; Leviathan (Leviafan), Human Capital (Il Capitale Umano) and Turist (Force Majeure). Force Majeure was awarded with the main prize, the ‘Golden Giraldillo’. Composed of Pelin Esmer, Nora Navas, Marcello Panozzo, Carlos Vermut and Neil Young, the jury evaluated a competitive selection including the latest features from Roy Andersson, Mike Leigh, Pedro Costa, and Larry Clark. The Kindergarten Teacher (Haganenet) directed by Nadav Lapid won the Silver Giraldillo, and the ‘Special Jury Award’ was given to The Wonders (Le Meraviglie) by Alice Rohrwacher.

Alongside an impressive selection of festival gems from the year, SEFF comprised several other sections that featured a panorama of European films, with a special focus on Spanish and Andalusian cinema. The New Wave section, divided into two subsections, fiction and non fiction, presented a collection of brilliant films from Europe. Another section, entitled Resistances – evaluated by the FIPRESCI jury – consisted of films from Spain, oscillating between fiction and non-fiction, professional and amateur. It gave an overview of the independent film production climate with an emphasis on ‘here and now’. The festival also included sections with a special focus on Andalusian cinema. Overall, it could be said that the festival provided a balanced view of European and Andalusian cinema.

The special focus of the festival this year was Austria with a selection of films by Ulrich Seidl, Michael Haneke, and Michael Glawogger to name but a few. An exciting discovery was Heinz Emigholz’s architectural documentaries that were featured as part of a special section at the festival. With a young, vibrant and welcoming ambience, SEFF provides a valuable ground to support and encourage Sevillian artists by spanning many generations. This spirit may have found its best expression through the rich festival programme, as well as the poster by famous Sevillan painter Curro González, specially designed concerts, and an elegant touch of foyer music to warm up the cold atmosphere of the multiplex cinemas. (Senem Aytaç)

Seville European Film Festival: http://festivalcinesevilla.eu/en/