Gijón International Film Festival

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Gijón International Film Festival was created in 1963. It was born as an initiative of the local authority and it was sponsored mainly by Gijón Town Council and the then Caja de Ahorros de Asturias (now Cajastur); both institutions are still the main organisers of the festival, along with funding from the Culture Council of the Principado de Asturias, the Ministry of Culture and the European Commission through its MEDIA programme. Its current director, José Luis Cienfuegos, was appointed in 1995 after the departure of Juan José Plans. At the time, the Festival depended on the Sociedad Mixta de Turismo y Festejos de Gijón, S.A., which organised most tourist and cultural activities in the town. The re-opening of the Teatro Municipal Jovellanos and the steady increase in cultural, musical and entertainment activities in the town led said institution to split up in two and in May 1996 the Entidad Mercantil Artístico-Musical Teatro Municipal Jovellanos de Gijón, S.A. was created. This body manages the Teatro Municipal Jovellanos and the Cultural and Civic events of the town, and is responsible for the organisation of Gijón International Film Festival. Throughout the past few years, some of the most prestigious professionals in independent filmmaking have attended the festival, as subjects of retrospectives and homages, such as Abbas Kiarostami, Aki Kaurismäki, Todd Haynes, Pedro Costa, Paul Schrader, João César Monteiro, Seijun Suzuki, Jem Cohen, Kenneth Anger, Ulrich Seidl, Hal Hartley, Lukas Moodysson, Tsai Ming-liang, Claire Denis or Todd Solondz. Worth mentioning as well among the national and international guests, either as members of the International Jury or presenting their films in the various sections of the festival, are John Cale, Maria Schneider, Monte Hellman, Paprika Steen, Julio Medem, Fele Martínez, Elvira Mínguez, Jorge Perugorría, María Esteve, Tristán Ulloa, Daniel Guzmán or Jan Cvitkovic. Gijón International Film Festival comprises also a series of events, such as courses, panel discussions, q&a’s and daily concerts, as well as live music parties. The festival awards various prizes in its competitive sections and collaborates in other initiatives with an aim to promote Asturian filmmaking industry. Said awards are decided upon by an International Jury (made up of at least 5 professionals from different countries), a Young Jury (50 young people between 17 and 26 years of age) and, since 2005, a FIPRESCI jury.