The international festival Cineuropa returns to Santiago de Compostela with a new edition where comedy plays a leading role. From November 9 to 25, it will screen up to 115 films and offer a series of activities and tributes that will put the seventh art in the prominent place it deserves.

The event, which has become a benchmark for European and international film lovers, will begin with the screening of the film ‘Puan‘, an Argentine comedy directed by Benjamín Naishtat and María Alché, awarded at the San Sebastián Festival. It tells the story of an outcast philosophy professor and offers a portrait of the tension of everyday life in Argentina for years, using humor as a driver.

Thus, the 37th edition of the festival focuses on comedy and historical and political reflection. For this reason, it has created a new thematic cycle, ‘O mundo está tolo, tolo, tolo‘, which brings together twelve of the most singular comedies of the genre, including works by directors such as Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, Nanni Moretu or Mario Monicelli, among others.

Cineuropa will commemorate the centenary of Jorge Semprún’s birth with a selection of screenings and parallel activities in collaboration with filmmaker Costa-Gavras. Jorge Semprún was a politician, screenwriter and writer essential to understand the twentieth century.

Thus, the festival will explore his work as a film screenwriter, which earned him two Oscar nominations for Costa-Gravas’ ‘Z’ (1969) and Alain Resnais’ ‘The War is Over’ (1966).

The event also includes two other cycles that explore the construction of memory through film. The ‘ cycle40 D Cinema e democracia‘ focuses on the traces of Argentina’s dictatorial past, as it celebrates 40 years of democracy, while ‘A 50 años del Golpe de Chile‘ explores the suffering of the Chilean people during the Pinochet dictatorship through the eyes of filmmaker Carmen Castillo

A festival full of novelties

As for the official sections, the 37th edition of Cineuropa continues its commitment and brings the main novelties of the European panorama. Its program includes works by prominent directors such as Matteo Garrone, Aki Kaurismaki and Justine Triet.

Also present will be award-winning films from other festivals such as ‘Anatomy of a Fall’, Palme d’Or at Cannes, ‘Mal vivir’, Jury Prize at Berlin, or ‘Yo Capitán’, Silver Lion at Venice. All three are part of the European Official Selection of this edition.

The section dedicated to New Filmmakers brings together twelve films from different countries around the world, such as Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Romania, Argentina, Spain and South Korea. It is worth mentioning the inclusion of ‘O auto das ánimas’ by Pablo Lago Dantas, which becomes the first Galician film to participate in this category.

A tribute to outstanding careers

Finally, it should be noted that during Cineuropa 2023, tribute will be paid to the careers of actor Luis Zahera, Portuguese filmmaker João Canijo and actress Ana Torrent. These awards will be held in three different events on November 15, 19 and 23, respectively, during which one of the films of each will be screened.

The Cineuropa international festival promises an unforgettable edition, full of quality cinema, historical and political reflection, humor and tributes to prominent figures in the world of cinema. For 17 days, Santiago de Compostela will become the epicenter of international cinema, offering a unique opportunity to enjoy films from around the world. You can check the complete program through this link.