20/06/2019 - The 34th Valencia International Film Festival will again throw itself into championing and exhibiting a rich programme of films helmed by emerging directors, with a strong European presence

Between 21 and 28 June, Cinema Jove – the Valencia International Film Festival will take place, headed up once again by Carlos Madrid. The 34^th edition of this exhilarating event organised by the Valencian Cultural Institute (IVAC) – which offers works by emerging filmmakers, encompassing both features and shorts (of all genres, including non-fiction and animation) as well as web series – is presenting a batch of extremely interesting European films across its various different sections.

Proof of this can be found in, for example, the French-Hungarian title Bad Poems [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Gábor Reisz, which will be screened straight after the opening gala; Asamblea [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the feature debut by Spaniard Álex Montoya; Letters to Paul Morrissey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Armand Rovira
film profile] by Armand Rovira, which is currently enjoying an excellent festival run all around the globe; El Zoo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Gemma Blasco; the documentary Almost Ghosts, which was shot in the USA by Ana Ramón Rubio; the Norwegian movie Harajuku [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Eirik Svensson; Love Beats [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the feature debut by Spaniard Roberto Bueso, which was backed by Mod; the Dutch production Light as Feathers [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Rosanne Pel
film profile] by Rosanne Pel; The Last to See Them [+see also:
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film profile] (Germany) by Sara Summa; and Parade [+see also:
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film profile] by Nino Zhvania (Georgia/Russia). 

This weekend (22-23 June), in the sidebar focusing on web series – which the Valencian festival has been promoting for the last four years – audiences will be able to enjoy surprising programmes such as Switzerland’s Bip, directed by Vincent Bossel; the UK’s The Grade by Joseph Simmons; and the Spanish shows Fracasados por el mundo by Gonzalo Gurrea, Gente hablando by Álvaro Carmona and Barbitúrica Burlesque: “Introducing Barbie” by Borja Segarra, among others.

The prizes that will be handed out in the next few days in the Mediterranean city, the recipients of which have already been made public, are the so-called “A Future in Film” Award, which will be bestowed upon promising actor Pol Monen (the star of Amar [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Esteban Crespo
film profile]), and the honorary “Moon of Valencia” Award, which will go to Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes (Tabu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile]). Gomes will also have a separate programme of movies dedicated to him: “He is one of the most personal, edgy and innovative voices in contemporary film. His presence at the festival will inject a healthy dose of quality into the programme because his movies transcend the narrative product and become works of art,” declared the festival’s director.

Apart from the aforementioned filmmaker, it’s worth highlighting another cycle that will revisit the early years of the Coen brothers, “Youth & the Wall” (featuring pictures such as Good Bye Lenin! [+see also:
trailer
interview: Wolfgang Becker
film profile] and Rita’s Legends), and one dubbed “Gods of Anime”.

Standing out among the industry activities being organised at Cinema Jove 2019 is the Audiovisual Co-production Forum organised by the Valencian Cultural Institute and the Valencian Association of Production Companies and Audiovisual Producers (AVANT), set to unspool on 27 June, which can boast the involvement of producers’ associations PAV and AVAPI. It will be a dedicated space for exchanges between producers from different autonomous communities of Spain, with the emphasis placed on those that share a native language. Producers from PROFicció (Valencia), PRODocs (Catalonia) and APAIB (Balearic Islands) have all been invited. The round-tables at the gathering will enable debates on how calls for public support affect funding, and on the role of television channels in the field of audiovisual co-production.

That same Thursday, Christian Solanas (from the MEDIA Office Spain Cultural Foundation) will lead an information session on the requirements that need to be fulfilled if a project wishes to compete for the support offered by the Creative Europe programme. Lastly, a meeting between state producers’ associations will take place on 28 June, as an integral part of Cinema Jove, with the ultimate aim being to sign off on the creation of a national producers’ federation.

(Translated from Spanish)