The film “La noche está marchándose ya”, directed by Argentine filmmakers Ramiro Sonzini and Ezequiel Salinas, has been selected to compete in the Official Section of the 70th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), which will take place from October 24 to November 1. The directors return to the festival after winning the Golden Spike for Best Short Film in 2021 with Mi última aventura. This time they present a feature that turns a movie theater into both stage and shelter: an old cinema palace inhabited by a group of people living in precarious conditions who now face the threat of eviction. Amid worn-out seats and reels of celluloid, the characters have built something resembling a home, forging bonds of resistance and community. The story focuses on Pelu, a thirty-something who makes a living as a projectionist in a municipal film club and, forced by the economic crisis, takes on a night caretaker job at the theater. There, he encounters a human fauna living on the fringes of social codes, while the film, as in the directors’ previous work, offers a critical look at the fractures of the neoliberal model.

This year’s Seminci will gather prominent filmmakers such as Sergei Loznitsa, the Dardenne brothers, Lav Diaz and Bi Gan, with a lineup that blends portraits of women who defy conventions, stories that examine the transformation of the world through innocence, and films that boldly dissect the present. Among the most anticipated titles are Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut The Chronology of Water, inspired by the memoirs of Lidia Yuknavitch; Duse, by Pietro Marcello, about the final years of stage legend Eleonora Duse, with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in the lead role; and Silent Friend, by Ildikó Enyedi, which weaves together three time periods to reflect on the relationship between humans and nature. Joining this selection are works that engage directly with cinema itself, such as The Mastermind by Kelly Reichardt or Mirrors Nº3 by Christian Petzold, and others that offer perspectives on a changing world, like Orphan by László Nemes or Vivir la tierra by Huo Meng.

Also vying for the Golden Spike are films such as Below the Clouds by Gianfranco Rosi, Yes by Nadav Lapid and Pillion by Harry Lighton, along with Spanish productions that will be announced in the coming days. With this diverse lineup, the 70th edition of Seminci reaffirms its role as a key meeting point for contemporary auteur cinema, where established voices and emerging perspectives coexist.