68th Valladolid International Film Festival

The 68th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) took place from 21 to 28 October 2023, in Valladolid, Spain. The Movie Teller, an adaptation of the Hernán Rivera Letelier's novel, directed by Lone Scherfig, opened the festival.

Background
The festival will be directed by José Luis Cienfuegos for the first time, takes over after Javier Angulo, who served as the festival's director from 2009 to 2022. Cienfuegos had previously taken the same role for the Seville European Film Festival and the Gijón International Film Festival.

A new competitive section named Alquimias was introduced, destined to "welcome stories set in distant latitudes, tales that define a time and a place, while portraying the passions inherent in the human condition and highlighting the possibilities of cinema as a shared mirror of world events". A €10,000 award will be presented to the winner, sponsored by Grupo Recoletas Red Hospitalaria.

Later in October, actresses Charlotte Rampling, Nathalie Baye, and Kiti Mánver were announced as the recipients of Honorary Spikes. Actress Blanca Portillo and the European Film Academy completed the set of recipients of Honorary Spikes. Meritxell Colell, Mike Goodridge, Pan Nalin, Jara Yáñez, and Iván Granovsky were announced of jury members of the official selection.

Sections
The films selected for each section are as follows:

Official competition
The following films were selected to compete for the Golden Spike:
 * Feature-Length Films
 * Highlighted title indicates Golden Spike winner.


 * Short Films

Punto de Encuentro
The following films were selected for the Punto de Encuentro section:
 * Feature-Length Films


 * Short Films

Tiempo de Historia
The following films were selected for the Tiempo de Historia section, dedicated to non-fiction films:
 * Feature-Length Films


 * Short Films

Alquimias
The following films were selected for the Alquimias section:

Memoria y Utopía
The following films were selected for the Memoria y Utopía section, dedicated to restored films:

EFA (European Film Academy)
The following films were selected for the EFA section, for European films chosen by the European Film Academy:

Educación
The following films were selected for the Educación section, consisting of Miniminci and Seminci Joven, for films intented for young audiences:

Cine Gourmet
The following films were selected for the Cine Gourmet section, consisting of films that see gastronomy through the eyes of cinema:

Cine de Castilla y León
The following films are productions made in Castile and León:

Awards
Some of the festival award winners are listed as follows:

Official section

 * Golden Spike: The Permanent Picture by Laura Ferrés
 * Silver Spike: La chimera by Alice Rohrwacher
 * Best Director: Angela Schanelec for Music
 * Best Screenplay: Marco Bellocchio and Susanna Nicchiarelli for Kidnapped
 * Best Actress: Léa Seydoux for The Beast
 * Best Actor: Dave Turner for The Old Oak
 * Best New Director: Molly Manning Walker for How to Have Sex
 * Best Cinematography: Ivan Marković (cinematographer) for Music
 * Best Editing: Gesa Jäger for The Teachers' Lounge
 * Golden Spike for Best Short Film: Wander to Wonder by Nina Gantz
 * Silver Spike for Best Short Film: Aitana by Marina Alberti

Meeting Point

 * Best Film: Gasoline Rainbow by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross
 * Special Jury Prize: Arthur&Diana by Sara Summa
 * Special Mention: Animal by Sofia Exarchou
 * Best Foreign Short: Nocturnal Burger by Reema Maya
 * Special Mention for Best Foreign Short: Heartbreak Hotel by Emma Axelroud Bernard, Toujours Panthère
 * The Night of Spanish Shorts Award: Meteoro by Víctor Moreno

Tiempo de Historia

 * First Prize: Between Revolutions by Vlad Petri
 * Second Prize: Pictures of Ghosts by Kleber Mendonça Filho
 * Prize to the Best Short Documentary: Ours by Morgane Frund

Alquimias

 * Recoletas Award for Best Feature Film: Femme by Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping
 * Special Mention: Critical Zone by Ali Ahmadzadeh

Other awards

 * Doc Spain Award: Zinzindurrunkarratz by Oskar Alegria
 * Castilla y León Short Film Award: The King of the Week by David Pérez Sañudo
 * Green Spike: Muyeres by Marta Lallana
 * Special Mention: Crack of Dawn by Anna Llargués
 * FIPRESCI Award: Foremost by Night by Víctor Iriarte
 * Fundos Award: The Battle by Vera Gito
 * Audience Award Official Section: The Old Oak by Ken Loach
 * Audience Award Meeting Point: Muyeres by Marta Lallana
 * Audience Award Time of History: The Mother of All Lies by Asmae El Moudir
 * Young SEMINCI Award: The Movie Teller by Lone Scherfig
 * Young Jury Prize Official Section: How to Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker
 * Meeting Point Youth Jury Award: One Last Evening by Lukas Nathrath
 * Youth Jury Mention Meeting Point: Hello Darkness by Soda Jerk
 * Rainbow Spike: All of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh
 * Special Mention: On the Go by María Giséle Royo, Julia De Castro