The 38th edition of the Cineuropa film festival returns to Santiago with a program of more than 130 films from around the world. It will take place from November 7 to 29 and will host different parallel activities aimed at young people.

The event will begin at the Teatro Principal with the screening of ‘Por todo lo alto’, directed by Emmanuel Courcol, after winning the audience award at the San Sebastian Festival. This year, Cineuropa arrives under the motto ‘The heart of cinema is freedom’ and will explore this theme throughout its screenings.

The official section of the cycle is made up of outstanding national and international films, which come from the hands of established figures such as François Ozon (‘When Autumn Falls’), Bruno Dumont (‘The Empire’), Quentin Dupieux (‘The Second Act’), Andrea Arnold (‘Bird’), Mike Leigh (‘My Only Family’) or Paul Schrader (‘Oh Canada’). In addition to these voices, there will be productions by new filmmakers that reflect the cultural and creative diversity of the global scene.

Cineuropa repeats, for the fourth consecutive year, as a competitive festival with its New Filmmakers section, where twelve films will compete for the main award. They will do so under the watchful eye of a jury made up of Brazilian filmmaker Flávia Castro, director, screenwriter and performer Sonia Méndez and Uruguayan programmer and cultural journalist María José Santacreu. Among the candidates are films from countries such as Colombia, Iraq and India, selected after their participation in renowned European festivals such as Locarno and Cannes.

A program with exclusive screenings

This edition comes with several premieres, such as the documentary ‘7291‘ by Juanjo Castro, which deals in depth with what happened in the residences for dependent elderly people in the Community of Madrid during the pandemic.

Another Cineuropa exclusive is ‘From Darkness to Light‘, a documentary by Eric Friedler and Michael Lurie in which they delve into the lost film by Jerry Lewis, a project from the 70s that never saw the light of day.

Elias Siminiani, an old acquaintance of the festival, will return to the Cineuropa stage to premiere ‘El Circo de los Muchachos‘, a series that narrates, through archival footage, the rise and fall of Benposta.

Henry Fonda for President, the ideal of a society

One of the special themes of this edition revolves around the figure of the American actor and legend Henry Fonda, in a parallel section entitled ‘Henry Fonda for President. O corazón do cinema é liberdade’. The retrospective explores how Fonda represented democratic and humanist values in a series of films that portray the history of the United States. As part of this section, the film ‘Henry Fonda for President‘, by Alexander Horwarth, which gives its name to this block of the program, will be presented. The film analyzes the connection between the characters played by the actor and the ideals of American society.

Cineuropa will also have other varied parallel sections, such as ‘Latidoamericano’, ‘Fantastique Compostela’ or one that celebrates the centenary of Marlon Brando and the method of the Actor’s Studio.

The festival’s award winners

The festival will pay tribute in its 38th edition to Ferrol-born director Alberto Gracia, Spanish-Swedish actress Ingrid García-Jonsson and Brazilian filmmaker Flávia Castro. Each of them will receive the Cineuropa Award in recognition of their careers at special galas throughout the event, accompanied by screenings of their most recent works.

Alberto Gracia will collect his award on Tuesday 12th at the Teatro Principal, where his film ‘La Parra’ will be screened. Ingrid García-Jonsson will receive her award on Thursday 14th, also at the Teatro Principal, accompanied by a screening of ‘La Ballena’.

Finally, Flávia Castro will receive Cineuropa’s highest distinction on Wednesday 20th at the Salón Teatro, where she will present ‘Diário de uma busca’, which explores her own childhood as a Brazilian refugee after the Pinochet coup.

Parallel activities

In its commitment to bring cinema closer to all audiences, the festival has organized numerous parallel activities, including screenings for children and young people, a selection of short films created in the educational program ‘Cinema en Curso’, and a training day on audiovisual financing in collaboration with AGAPI, EGEDA and Segoventure.

In addition, a tribute will be paid to the Spanish filmmaker José Val del Omar and concerts will be given by the Real Filharmonía de Galicia and the Santiago Municipal Band.

The venues of the festival will be the Teatro Principal, the Salón Teatro, the Auditorio de Galicia, NUMAX and Zona C. Tickets are already on sale at Zona C and on this website. You can consult the complete program of the festival by clicking here.