12nd Sevilla – Festival of Euopean Cinema

Now in its 12th year, the Festival de Cine Europeo might not be too well known outside of Spain, but within the country it has apparently gained a reputation for being an important showcase for the young and artistically ambitious factions of the national film scene. Spanish film critics tend to attribute the steady rise in the festival’s stature to José Luis Cienfuegos, who in 2012 became its director after being unceremoniously dismissed by the Gijón International Film Festival.

This year the program boasted over 200 European productions, including a couple of retrospectives ranging from Weimar cinema to Paul Vecchiali. While the festival was obviously popular with local audiences, there seemed to be few sold-out screenings. This may be a symptom of the country’s ongoing economic and social crisis, but it also contributed to making the festival a very laidback affair for professional attendees. The same goes for the fact that almost all screenings took place in a multiplex within three minutes walking distance from the hotel that served as festival center. The aforementioned multiplex is located just outside of the city’s beautiful historic centre and right next to Sevilla FC’s stadium, thus a thunderous roar could be heard within the cinema each time the home team scored against and eventually defeated the Real Madrid three to two. Unfortunately, larger non-cinematic events caused a disruption of another kind: when news of the terrorist attacks in Paris reached Seville the festival responded by cancelling its closing ceremonies. (Holger Römers, edited by José Teodoro)

Sevilla – Festival of Euopean Cinema: www.festivalcinesevilla.eu