05/11/2012 - The director wants to boost the industry's role at the festival's 2013 edition

The great celebration of European cinema that is the Sevilla Film Festival has marked the first weekend of its ninth edition, the first with José Luis Cienfuegos as its artistic director, screening a multitude of productions from all corners of Europe (from the Spanish The End [+see also:
film review
film profile] to the Czech Made in Ash [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iveta Grófóva
interview: Jiří Konečný
film profile], via the Northern Irish Good Vibrations [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Italian titles Reality [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matteo Garrone
film profile] and Caesar Must Die [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
film profile]). During the event, the European Film Academy (EFA) also announced the finalists for its awards (read more).

After 16 years at the head of the Gijón Film Festival, Cienfuegos has chosen to dive into European film production from this edition onwards, in search of, according to the festival's programme, the new cinema of the Old Continent. However, the little time available for the festival's organisation -- only five months -- means that the event is regarded as an "edition zero" for Cienfuegos, with all hoping that the festival's new structure will have truly been optimised in time for the 2013 edition.

"This year we focused on having a good level of content without overstepping our assigned budget," Cienfuegos explained to Cineuropa after a gala screening at the Lope de Vega Theatre. The director wanted to maintain continuity with the Sevilla Film Festival's editorial line, with auteur films of great quality, exemplified by the nominees for the EFA awards, to which he has added "young cinema with new viewpoints, that is unclassifiable, but necessary".

"With a dialogue between both models of production, you can cover the current spectrum of European cinema," he said.

Of course, the European film sector's problems never included a lack of talent. Rather, it is difficult to distribute produced works, especially auteur films, whether in cinemas or via other exhibition channels. In this sense, festivals are "absolutely necessary for auteur cinema's survival and to educate viewers," said the director of the event.

From November 11, Cienfuegos and his team will have a whole year to work on developing their project, in which the industry is to hold a key role: "Sevilla needs to have a part of the festival in which to reflect and work on the industry."

(Translated from Spanish)