13th Festival or European Cinema, Seville

The aim of the Seville European Film Festival is to promote and circulate European cinema, while establishing itself as an annual meeting place for talented European filmmakers, specialized journalists and professionals from the sector. Nine days during which industry, public and critics come together for a selection of the best European cinema. Spanish premieres of great films from contemporary auteurist cinema, the presence of a large number of emerging talents, the determined defence of the youngest Spanish cinema, support for Andalusian cinema and, above all, the total certainty that today, more than ever, a film festival can be useful to the public, to the films and to the filmmakers. Also, each year the festival is host to the nominations for the European Film Academy Awards, which are announced in Seville.

In its 13th edition, the Seville Film Festival paid tribute to French actor Vincent Lindon, actress-directress Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Spanish designer Paco Delgado. It has been opened with Stephane Brize’s Venice Fipresci Awardee “A Woman’s Life,” toplining actress Judith Chemla, who attended the opening gala.

After 12 editions, the Seville European Film Festival has become not only a hub for European film productions but also a launchpad for alternative movies by young Spanish talents. In 2016, the festival presented a record 27 world premieres. Spanish films dominated the programming of the 13th SEFF, with 67 productions selected, 30% of total titles. Of them, 33 come from Andalusia Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize winner Mimosas by Oliver Laxe, and Albert Serra’s Spain-France-Portugal co-production The Death of Luis XIV were screened as part of the Official Section. The New Waves and New Waves/Non-Fiction sections boast a large number of Spanish directors in competition. The competitive section Resistances, now in its fourth year, supports Spanish cinema that bucks trends. This year, the section contained 18 titles, many of them World Premieres. The Festival is a project by ICAS, the Institute of Culture and Arts of Seville and has additional support from Media, Cajasol, Deluxe and Renault, and also the collaboration of the European Film Academy. At present its director is José Luis Cienfuegos, who has headed the festival since 2012. (Mariola Wiktor, edited by James B. Evans)

Festival or European Cinema, Seville: www.festivalcinesevilla.eu