Gijón prepares for wave of films
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Everything is ready for the 46th Gijón International Film Festival (November 20-29), in which a wave of European titles and co-productions is expected to hit the Asturian coastal city.
The competition line-up features a total 21 films, most of them previously seen at Cannes, Locarno and Venice, and now shown for the first time in Spain.
The titles vying for the €25,000 prize include Bouli Lanners' Eldorado [trailer], Claire Denis' 35 Shots of Rum, Sergey Dvortsevoy's Tulpan, Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir, Sylvie Verheyde's Stella [trailer] and three titles directed by Argentinean filmmakers co-produced by Europe's companies: Lisandro Alonso's Liverpool, Pablo Aguëro's Salamandra and the highly anticipated third title by Lucrecia Martel, La Mujer sin Cabeza.
The sidebar sections also have impressive titles in store. Una parte del cielo: Directoras europeas en el Nuevo Milenio will focus on the work of female directors. Without a common theme apart from the fact that selected films may reveal a potentially common female perspective on reality, Gijón selected Angelina Maccarone's Hounded [trailer], Aneta Lesnikovska's Does it Hurt? and Claire Simon's latest film, God’s Offices [trailer]. In the same section, Libanese directors Joana Hadjithomas and Khali Joreige will present the French documentary Je veux voir [trailer], featuring Catherine Deneuve.
Austrian avant-garde filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky will be the subject of a retrospective that will include some of his recent titles, such as Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine.
The programme is rounded out by the competitive section Enfants Terribles, of children films, and with a series of concerts in the Casino of Asturias.
Vitor Pinto cineuropa.org