The Gijón/Xixón International Film Festival has unveiled the films selected for the Albar and Retueyos competitions at its 64th edition, which will take place in the Asturian city from 13 to 21 November. The two sections will bring together 33 feature films, combining new works by established figures in international cinema with debut features and projects by emerging filmmakers. The festival will also host the world premieres of two Spanish productions in its Premiere section.
Albar will feature several prominent names in contemporary cinema, including Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude, who returns to the festival with The Diary of a Chambermaid, presented at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and Hungarian director László Nemes, whose Moulin premiered in competition at the French festival. The selection will also include The Dreamed Adventure by German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach, which won the Jury Prize at the Directors’ Fortnight.
The programme will also feature Another Day, by French director Jeanne Herry, starring Adèle Exarchopoulos and competing for the Palme d’Or; Goodbye Cruel World, the debut feature by Félix de Givry, which screened at Critics’ Week; and I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, by British filmmaker Clio Barnard, also presented at the Directors’ Fortnight. These titles will be joined by Everybody Digs Bill Evans, which marked British documentarian Grant Gee’s fiction debut and earned him the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlinale. The section will also include My Wife Cries by Angela Schanelec and Mouse by American filmmakers Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, both associated with the Berlin festival’s programme.
Other films arriving from major international festivals include One Minute to Midnight, the fourth feature by French filmmaker Nicolas Pariser, screened out of competition in Venice; Les Indes, a Swiss-Spanish co-production directed by Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier; and Donkey Princess, by Chilean filmmakers Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, which screened in Locarno. South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo will also return to the Asturian festival with Nowhere to Lay My Eyes.
Rounding out the Albar selection are The Guest, a drama by Danish filmmaker Mads Mengel that won two awards in Karlovy Vary; Shame and Money by Kosovar director Visar Morina, which received recognition at Sundance; From Dawn to Dawn by Chinese-Spanish filmmaker Xisi Sofia Ye Chen, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Visions du Réel; The Only Living Pickpocket in New York by American director Noah Segan, which premiered at Sundance before screening at the Berlinale; and Fujiko by Japanese filmmaker Taichi Kimura.
Retueyos, meanwhile, will focus on emerging voices in international cinema. Among its selections is Flesh and Fuel, the debut feature by French filmmaker Pierre Le Gall, which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week. The section will also include Dua by Blerta Basholli and I’ll Be Gone in June by Katharina Rivilis, both selected for the French festival.
Arriving from Venice are Diane in the Loop, by Belgian filmmaking duo Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni, which received an award in the Orizzonti section, and I Plant My Hand in the Garden, the debut feature co-directed by Hoda Taheri and Boris Hadžija. The selection will also feature films presented in Berlin, including Women as Lovers, the debut feature by filmmaker Koxi, and A Family by Dutch director Mees Peijnenburg.
The overview of emerging European cinema will be completed by Objet a by Ann Oren and Brave New Love by Maria Bäck, both screened in Locarno; Supporting Role by Georgian filmmaker Ana Urushadze, which received an award in Rotterdam; and Meanwhile in Namibia by Jonas Spriestersbach, recognised at DOK.fest Munich. The competition will also feature Honey Bunny by Croatian director Igor Jelinović, winner at the Pula Film Festival; Memorizu by Japanese filmmaker Miiku Sakanishi; The Convulsions by Spanish director David Gutiérrez Camps; and The Mantises, a Spanish-Argentine co-production directed by Dídac Gimeno.
Finally, the Premiere section will host the world premieres of two Spanish films: Girl and Wolf, the feature debut of illustrator Roc Espinet, and Margen de maniobra, the latest work by Miguel Ángel Blanca, who is also preparing to launch the series Second Season.
With this programme, the Asturian festival will once again bring together films that have travelled through major international festivals alongside debut features and works by filmmakers seeking to establish their careers. The 64th edition of the Gijón/Xixón International Film Festival will run from 13 to 21 November.