French director Robert Guédiguian and US helmer Paul Schrader will be competing for the Golden Spike with their latest features – Mali Twist [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (France/Canada/Senegal/Italy) and The Card Counter [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (USA/UK/China), respectively – in the Official Section of the 66^th Valladolid International Film Festival, which will unspool between 23 and 30 October in the Castilian city, with actress Emma Suárez serving as its “godmother” and with Argentina featured as its guest country.

The festival’s main competitive section will boast 23 films, three of which are showing out of competition: Journey to Somewhere [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Helena de Llanos
scheda film] by Helena de Llanos, about the highly private figure of her grandfather, Fernando Fernán Gómez; The King of All the World [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by the tireless Carlos Saura; and Funny Boy (Canada/India/USA/Sri Lanka) by Deepa Mehta, who is a regular visitor to the Seminci, is this year’s jury chair and has been entrusted with the responsibility of closing – out of competition, obviously – this 66^th edition of the gathering.

Other films in this, the premier league of the Valladolid-based gathering, include the Spanish outings The Odd-Job Men [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Neus Ballús
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intervista: Clara Roquet
scheda film] by Clara Roquet, the opening title of the 2021 Seminci, produced by Spain and Belgium. Clara sola [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
scheda film] (Sweden/Costa Rica/Belgium/Germany), the feature debut by Costa Rica’s Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, will be the first film of this particular nationality to compete in Valladolid, and Iranian cinema will once again enjoy a strong presence. Indeed, as well as highly acclaimed director Asghar Farhadi, with his A Hero [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Asghar Farhadi
scheda film] (Iran/France), there will be two more titles by first-time directors: Hit the Road, the feature debut by Panah Panahi, the son of Jafar Panahi; and Ballad of a White Cow [+leggi anche:
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Also locking horns for the top prize are the French production A Tale of Love and Desire [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], the second feature by Tunisia’s Leyla Bouzid; the feature The Girl and the Spider [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ramon Zürcher e Silvan Zür…
scheda film] by Swiss filmmakers Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zürcher; Hive [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Blerta Basholli
scheda film] (Kosovo/Switzerland/Albania/North Macedonia) by Kosovo’s Blerta Basholli, the winner of the Grand Jury Prize, the Award for Best Director and the Audience Award in the World Dramatic Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival; Compartment No. 6 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Juho Kuosmanen
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intervista: Anamaria Vartolomei
scheda film] by France’s Audrey Diwan, which is getting an airing in Valladolid after scooping the Golden Lion at the most recent Venice Film Festival.

Edwin will be taking part with Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Indonesia/Singapore/Germany), the winner of the Golden Leopard at Locarno, while the ever-fascinating Danish filmmaker Joachim Trier will partake in the Official Section for the first time with The Worst Person in the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joachim Trier
scheda film] (Norway/France/Sweden/Denmark). Argentina’s Paula Hernández will be duking it out with The Siamese Bond, the title selected to represent her country in the Best Latin American Film category of the upcoming Goya Awards.

The menu of the Official Section will also include Last Film Show (India/France), the fifth fiction feature by Pan Nalin, the auteur behind the multi-award-winning Samsara (2001); Huda’s Salon [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Maria Schrader
scheda film], the invigorating third feature-length directorial effort by German actress Maria Schrader, for which Maren Eggert picked up the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at Berlin; and The Fam [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Fred Baillif
scheda film], the third film by Switzerland’s Fred Baillif.

Finally, away from the Official Section, audiences will be able to enjoy the world premieres of the latest film by Benito Zambrano, Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Benito Zambrano
scheda film], and the freshest offering from Fernando Colomo, the comedy Cuidado con lo que deseas [+leggi anche:
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scheda film].

Details of all of the films, sections, tributes and activities of the 66^th Seminci in Valladolid can be found here.