At its 55^th edition (17-25 November 2017), the veteran Gijón International Film Festival will be introducing a brand-new organisational team, helmed by Alejandro Díaz Castaño, who comes straight from the Seville European Film Festival, where he worked as a programmer. Also a critic and short-film director, Díaz Castaño has been in charge of the gathering since April this year. He brings with him a flurry of novelties to enrich the festival, which has just opened its call for filmmakers wishing to take part in its various sections and thus get a shot at winning its different trophies.

And so, hopefuls can present films up until 20 September, except for those wishing to apply to the Enfants Terribles sidebar, which has a deadline of 25 August. This year, for the first time, the gathering will hand out the Award for Best Spanish Film to a title chosen from among all those of this particular nationality (including co-productions with other countries) that are screened as premieres in the various sections of the festival. And the international titles that have their Spanish premiere at the event will be in with a chance of winning the Audience Grand Prix for Best Feature.

For its part, the Rellumes international competition section, ever on the lookout for new languages and the most bold and daring alternative content, will be opened up to non-fiction. One of the sidebars that will be inaugurated this year will be called Cineteca FICX, co-produced with the Universidad Laboral, and will organise meetings with filmmakers who already form part of recent film history.

Finally, the call for submissions for the Días D’Asturies section, which gathers together the crème de la crème of films made in the local area, will be announced soon via the festival’s website, where readers can also find all the details of the other invitations to take part in the upcoming edition, which promises a slew of invigorating novelties.