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Two movies which come in on immigration from vastly different angles – Laura Ferrés’ “The Permanent Picture” and Ken Loach’s “The Old Oak” – won big Saturday night at Spain’s Valladolid Festival, walking off with its main competition Golden Spike and the Spanish event’s best actor (Dave Turner) and Audience Award plaudits respectively.

The prize ceremony also saw Charlotte Rampling, star of closing film “Juniper” from Matthew J. Saville, accept an enthusiastically applauded Honorific Spike for her career achievement.

Though decided upon by independent juries, Valladolid’s prizes say much about the new-fit festival after a first-year reboot by new director José Luis Cienfuegos, previously a Gijón and Seville fest head.

Under directors Fernando Lara (1984-2004), Juan Carlos Frugone (2005-08) and Javier Angulo (2009-2022), Valladolid has consolidated as one of Spain’s biggest festivals, after San Sebastián. and a bastion of auteurist, arthouse independent cinema. Few figures in Europe...

Actor cites differences with board; Costume designer Yvonne Blake appointed as acting president until election can be held.

The actor Antonio Resines has resigned as president of the Spanish Film Academy.

He had been in the post since May 2015 after producer, distributor and exhibitor Enrique González Macho resigned during his second mandate at the head of the organisation.

Vice president Edmon Roch, producer of Capture The Flag, has also resigned.

Resines, who has shot the upcoming The Queen Of Spain with Fernando Trueba, described it as an “honour” to have held the position but also explained the reason for his departure in a statement released by the Academy: “This decision has been taken due to serious differences with part of the board of directors, differences that have made our task at the Spanish Film Academy presidency impossible.”

The board of directors is formed by two representatives of 14 different specialities in the Spanish film industry. Tensions escalated...

Pedro Almodóvar last weekend slammed Spain's right-wing governing party, the People's Party (Pp), for deliberately killing the nation's film scene as part of a political war against it.  Talking with Spanish website infoLibre, the writer and director took aim at what he believes is a systematic extermination of the country's filmmakers.Almodóvar's criticisms are in line with other prominent industry insiders. Just last month during the 61st San Sebastian festival, the new head of the producers' lobby, Joxe Portela, called for proposed financing reforms to be cemented to help the beleaguered sector.  A move from a subsidy model to tax break model are mooted.  Meanwhile, Enrique Gonzalez Macho of Spain's national film and arts academy had previously echoed Almodóvar's sentiments.    Pp traditionally has been at...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Leading directors accuse 'scared' government of political motive for slashing cinema financing

The Spanish government is conducting a vendetta against the national film industry in an attempt to destroy the creative heart of a once vital sector, according to senior industry figures, who see it as the latest round in the culture wars between right and left.

The accusations come amid some of the most draconian cuts made to state funding of Spanish cinema, which has halved in the past four years. Budget cuts introduced by the governing rightwing People's party last week mean the national cinematography fund will receive only €33m (£28m) in 2014, a 14% drop on last year, and barely enough to cover its debts.

The president of the Spanish cinema academy, Enrique González Macho, said: "This is a ridiculously small amount of money, for which there is no economic justification. The motivations are entirely political." He conceded that,...

After a week of stars, filmmakers, and worldwide media coverage on the Croisette, the 2013 Cannes Film Festival came to an end today. The Palme d’Or went to Blue Is The Warmest Color from director Abdellatif Kechiche, best director award went to Amat Escalante for Heli, while the Jury Grand Prix went to the Coen Bros. for Inside Llewyn Davis.

The Closing Ceremony of the 66th Festival de Cannes took place at the Grand Théâtre Lumière where the Jury, presided over by Steven Spielberg, revealed the award winners.

Audrey Tautou hosted Uma Thurman on the stage to award the Palme d’or to the best film among the 20 in Competition. Taking place May 15 – 26, director Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby kicked off the 66th Festival in the Grand Théâtre Lumière of the Palais des Festivals, out of Competition in the Official Selection.

With films such as Inside Llewyn Davis scheduled...

I haven't been able to find a partner for Red Carpet Convo discussions this holiday weekend *sniffle* so instead I thought I'd share some red carpet lineups with jury prizes and brief notes now that the awards are coming in. Are you with me?

First up is the Un Certain Regard jury which was led by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg who came to fame with the great Festen (Celebration) in 1998 and has been enjoying similarly ecstatic praise for his recent picture The Hunt which could be Denmark's Oscar entry this year. On his jury were actresses Zhang Ziyi, Ludivine Sagnier, Head of Brazil's Festival Ilda Santiago and producer Enrique Gonzalez Macho. Here's Ziyi... !

Which is your favorite? And when was the last time you saw Ziyi onscreen? It seems like it's been forever for me so I'm eager for The Grandmaster which is a totally unofficial 2046 reunion (see also: Tony Leung...

The Cannes sidebar Un Certain Regard 2013 presented in competition 17 films from 15 different countries, six of which were first films. Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring" opened the program out of competition. The jury led by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg ("The Hunt") included actresses Zhang Ziyi (China) and Ludivine Sagnier (France) as well as Ilda Santiago, the Head of Festival do Rio, and Enrique Gonzalez Macho, the Spanish producer, distributor, exhibitor. Vinterberg's letter is below: “Dear Thierry, dear Gilles Jacob, dear Cannes Film Festival, Thank you for giving us the responsibility of choosing and celebrating films from a very powerful Certain Regard selection 2013. It is a great honor for us, and the selection has been outstanding in many ways. One of the finest achievements in filmmaking is to create unforgettable moments - moments that stay with us - as a collective memory - as a collective mirror of our existence. Clay figures,...

See The Hollywood Reporter's Live at Cannes video interviews with the winners below. Cannes – The Un Certain Regard sidebar announced its winners on the second to last day of the festival, with the jury awarding the top prize to Rithy Panh for The Missing Picture, in a casual ceremony in the Palais' Salle Bunuel. Cannes Jury Prize winner Thomas Vinterberg presided over the announcement. Along with Vinterberg, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, French actress Ludivine Sagnier, Rio Film Festival director Ilda Santiago and Spanish producer Enrique Gonzalez Macho selected the winners from 18 films in the parallel section. Video: Live From Cannes: 'Fruitvale Station' Cast at the Fest Vinterberg thanked everyone for

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In Cannes news, juries have been rounded out for the Un Certain Regard sidebar as well as the Camera d'Or. It was previously announced that Danish director Thomas Vinterberg -- whose drama "The Hunt" was an official selection up for the Palme d'Or last year -- will lead the tribunal as president for Un Certain Regard. The other members are Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, French actress Ludivine Sagnier, Festival de Rio director Ilda Santiago and Enrique Gonzalez Macho, president of Spain's equivalent of AMPAS. The jury will award one of the eighteen films in the selection the Prix Un Certain Regard, which last year went to Michel Franco's "After Lucia." The Camera d'Or is an award given to the best film out of either the main competition, Critics' Week or Directors' Fortnight (last year's winner was Oscar Best Picture nominee "Beasts of the Southern Wild"). On the jury this...

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi and French actor Ludivine Sagnier are among the four names on this year's jury for the Un Certain Regard sidebar in Cannes. Presided over by Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, Sagnier and Ziyi are joined by Rio Film Festival director Ilda Santiago and Spanish producer, distributor and exhibition player Enrique Gonzalez Macho. Festival de Cannes organizers also announced April 30 this year's Camera d'or jury, which will be led by French director Agnes Varda. Joining Varda is Spanish director Isabelle Coixet, French helmer Regis Wargnier, Chloe Rolland (Syndicat de la Critique), Michel Abramowicz (Afc), Eric Guirado (Srf)

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The 2013 Cannes Film Festival kicks off in just over two weeks, with the juries for the festival's Un Certain Regard program and Camera D'Or award (going to a first time filmmaker) being finalized. Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg will head Un Certain Regard, while French director Agnès Varda with lead Camera D'Or. Full list of juries in the press release below. The Members Of The Jurys Un Certain Regard And Camera D’Or Un Certain Regard 2013: President Thomas Vinterberg The films of Un Certain Regard will also be granted prizes alongside the films of the Competition. A five-member jury will award prizes, Danish director Thomas Vintenberg being the president. The members of the jury are: President: Thomas Vinterberg (Director - Denmark) Members of the jury Zhang Ziyi (Actress - China) Ludivine Sagnier (Actress - France) Ilda Santiago (Festival de Rio Director - Brazil) Enrique Gonzalez Macho (Producer, distributor, exhibitor - Spain) Eighteen films.

Oscars 2013 will no longer be '85th Annual Academy Awards' as prizegiving ceremony ditches 'musty' numbering in favour of informal name – for this year at least

Eighty-five years into its history, the Oscars ceremony appears to be gently dropping the term "Academy Awards" ahead of this Sunday's annual film prizegiving ceremony.

Organised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Oscars have been officially known by the grander, annually numbered title since their inception. An Oscar is the golden statuette handed to winners of the main prizes, though the ceremony itself has become known by the informal title.

Official publicity began to use the informal term around three weeks ago, in part of a deliberate move to freshen up the famous event. "We're rebranding it," Oscars show co-producer Neil Meron told TheWrap. "We're not calling it 'the 85th annual Academy Awards', which keeps it mired somewhat in a musty way.

Madrid - Two days after the Goya Awards ceremony that saw Pablo Berger's Blancanieves walk away with the top honors, tongues are still wagging about the televised gala that waxed political and suffered headline-worthy errors. Everyone expected Javier Bardem -- well-known for his defense of the Saharawi people -- to speak about human rights in the Sahara from the podium upon receiving the Goya for Sons of the Clouds, his documentary about the issue. And everyone expected the Spanish Academy president Enrique Gonzalez Macho to rail against the sales-tax hike, which saw tax on theater admissions jump from 8 percent

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Madrid, Sep 28 (Ians/Efe) "Blancanieves", a silent film shot in black and white, will represent Spain in the non-English best film category at the 85th edition of the Oscars and at Mexico's Ariel awards.

"I hope that the film has the success it deserves and that it will be the fifth Oscar in Hollywood" for Spanish moviemaking, said the president of the Film Academy, Enrique Gonzalez Macho.

Four movies from Spain, "Mar adentro", "Volver a empezar",.

Madrid -- Spain's newly installed center-right government wasted no time in passing the so-called anti-download law Friday, marking a new strategy in combating rampant piracy plaguing the sector. After two legislatures of sputtering progression, the Law of Economic Sustainability was passed by the government in its second cabinet meeting since taking office Dec. 22. "I think it is a quite a gesture that it has passed so quickly. And very positive," said Spanish Film Academy President and veteran distributor of Alta Films Enrique Gonzalez Macho. "If it wasn't approved until now it's because it was because they

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MADRID -- Oscar-winning Spanish director Fernando Trueba will see his work showcased in a retrospective at the 7th Malaga Spanish Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday. Additionally, veteran Spanish distributor-producer Enrique Gonzalez Macho will receive the Ricardo Franco lifetime achievement award at the festival, which runs April 23-May 1 in the Mediterranean beach resort town in southern Spain. The festival offers a 16-title official section that is yet to be announced. Also included will be the second installment of the documentary market Mercadoc and the third Documentary Congress -- the biannual conference that brings together Latin American and Spanish specialists in documentaries to discuss the genre.