bored

If anyone had any doubts about Santiago Segura’s fit as master of ceremonies at the Xixón International Film Festival, it was the actor and director himself who settled them as soon as he took the stage at the Jovellanos Theater, recognizing that independent cinema is boring and It’s boring, but it enjoys the favor of critics, and proudly claims the commercial cinema it makes.

Thus, the first laughter started in the stalls and thus also began the opening gala of the 61st edition of the FICX, a dynamic gala adjusted to time, with a lot of humor and also emotion. Under the motto ‘Let yourself be dazzled by the best auteur cinema’, Gijón once again becomes, once again, the enclave where you can enjoy the best independent, national and international cinema, for the next eight days.

After reviewing the bad relationship he maintains with a large part of the film critics, stating “the critics hate me, but I don’t care,” Santiago Segura did not want to overlook the upcoming arrival of high speed and with a good brought a play on words about Pajares, he took the opportunity to compare “a thing you have here called the Pajares Variant or something like that” with the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

The first stop of the gala, enlivened by a band of four musicians who joined expressly for this event, was the tribute to the Asturian actress and singer, Lilián de Celis, who received the IV Isaac del Rivero Award for artistic career. Award that bears the name of the founder of the Festival and which was presented by his children.

It was the most emotional moment of the gala when De Celis received the ovation from the Jovellanos Theater and assured that this was not an award, but rather a satisfaction. The cuplet player, born in a village in Parres, recognized, with tears in her eyes, the pride that receiving an award means for her “when I can still afford to go on stage to do what I like.” Happy and positive, as she herself explained, she said goodbye to the public assuring that she never planned to retire because she did not have to be accountable to anyone.

Actress Ingrid García-Jonsson spoke on behalf of the jury, highlighting the “very high” level of the Gijón Festival, both in Spain and in Europe, which is why “it is worth seeing.”

Another of the moments of humor of the gala came when Santiago Segura went down to the stalls and put the audience in some trouble, trying to measure their cinematographic knowledge, ending in a nice chat with the Asturian actors Maxi Rodríguez and Eduardo Antuña, that tomorrow afternoon they present the film ‘Literato’, by Carlos Navarro, at the Teatro de la Laboral.

The mayor of Gijón, Carmen Moriyón, established as the savior of the contest after breaking the government pact that she herself had signed with VOX to be a councilor, due to the attempted interference of one of the councilors of the ultra formation in the festival programming, was in charge of presenting the Portuguese director Miguel Gómes, awarded the FICX Honor Award for his entire filmography.

In “portuñol”, as he claimed to speak, he was very happy because this was his first time at the Gijón Festival, which he always heard was a “very nice” festival because it put the idea of ​​sharing cinema at the center of its objectives. with people, something that seems obvious, as he said, but deep down it is not.

The director of ‘Lobo’, a film that was shown in its world premiere and out of competition, at the end of the gala, Alfonso Cortés-Cabanillas, and two of its protagonists, Marian Álvarez and Nora Navas, took to the stage at the Jovellanos to put on point and end to the inauguration ceremony. ‘Lobo’ is a film that addresses sexist violence, but it is also a film that talks about friendship, survival and true love, which highlights the bond between human beings and animals.

Marian Álvarez, protagonist, co-writer and from whom the idea arose, explains that it is a film made with family and friends “because I have the most talented friends in the world.” In fact, Lobo, the dog that appears in the film was Lolo, his own dog, who has since passed away.

With Asturian ancestors (his mother was in the stalls), he assured that when he proposed this film to Alfonso Cortés, with whom he had already collaborated on three other occasions, both thought of making it for the Gijón Film Festival, which they consider one of the best festivals in Spain and Europe. Premiering the film in Asturias, where its roots are, has a very important emotional component for it that would not exist anywhere else.

The Xixón International Film Festival will host the screening of 155 films, more than 40 of which are directed by women. A total of 28 feature films, with two world premieres, one European and the rest in Spain, will compete in the three sections that make up the Official Section, Albar, Retueyos and Tierres en Trance.

The winners will be announced at noon on Saturday, November 25, and the closing gala will take place that afternoon, again with the Jovellanos Theater as the stage.