Cinema Jove - Valencia International Film Festival

The VALENCIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CINEMA JOVE has been held each year for 30 years in Valencia; each month of June, the event draws film professionals like a magnet and it has become one of the top Spanish specialised festivals. In its inception, it was geared towards filmmaking education, only to become, in just a few years, a space catering to the needs of up-and-coming filmmaking professionals. It has not cast aside its educational component (known today as Encuentro Audiovisual de Jóvenes – Audiovisual Encounter for the Young).

In this vein, it has both inspired and fostered many initiatives, both in Spain and the world over; today it stands as Europe’s longest-living filmmaking event, with the added advantage of being held in a professional filmmaking setting. Over the years, the Festival has functioned as a key international forum for youthful audiences and young filmmakers alike, all of whom are drawn from all over the world. There are two official categories focusing on feature films and shorts, as well as categories for homages, retrospectives, animation, themes and book launches. The idea is to bring audiences as close as possible to filmmakers and to this end encounters, seminars and workshops are held with both groups in mind. Looking back over the years, there is now a quite formidable list of filmmakers, both Spanish and foreign who started to blossom after going through the Cinema Jove Festival.

Starting at the beginning of the second millennium, the focus on offering a Spanish première within the official feature film category, has contributed to the Festival being seen as a “not to be missed” event in the quest for uncovering new talent. The directors who participate in both official categories are the very ones who, a short time later, tend to pick up the main prizes at key filmmaking festivals and events the world over. It is beyond any doubt that the Festival has consolidated itself as one the most relevant European events in terms of supporting the industry and enhancing filmmaking education.