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THE SEVILLE FESTIVAL CONFIRMS THAT IT IS THE ESSENTIAL MEETING PLACE FOR EUROPEAN CINEMA

The public, the industry, the institutions and the media have supported the sixth edition of the Festival with their presence and have made it the indispensable meeting place for European cinema.

The VI edition of the Seville European Film Festival, held between 6th and 14th November 2009, has practically doubled its repercussion in the media last year, with 2,816 appearances. Of these, 933 are in the written press; 1,677 in Internet and 206 on radio and television, of which 334 appeared in international media. These news items, articles, interviews and reports in local, national and international media mean an increase of 95.55% with regard to the impacts registered in last year’s edition and mean that the Festival’s presence in the media has multiplied by five in only two years.

The public has showed its loyalty to the Festival which again beat its attendance records with a total of 69,521 spectators, which means an increase of 4.20%. Thanks to them, 126 screenings were sold out. Also, 1,230 people took part in the seminars, industry forums, master classes and other Festival activities, making a total of 70,751. In addition to the increase in the number of spectators, there was also a notable increase in the number of season tickets sold with a total of 2,434, 7.5% more than in 2008.

The Festival screened 171 films from 34 different countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Belgium. The total number of films has increased by 23.9% on last year.

But it wasn’t only the media and the public who supported SEFF ’09. The industry and national and international institutions have also done so. The European film industry, represented by its main actors, directors and producers, kept its appointment with the Festival. Those who walked the red carpet at the Exhibition Casino included: Paz Vega, Colin Farrell and Sir Christopher Lee, who presented the film “Triage” at the opening gala; Carlos Saura, film director and designer of the SEFF ’09 poster; Vittorio Storaro, Oscar-winning director of photography who received the City of Seville Award; Sören Staermose, producer of the “Millennium” saga who also received the SEFF/SILE Industry Award; the Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley, who received the International Honorary Award; John Hurt, who received the SEFF ’09 Special Award; Amanda Nevill, director of the British Film Institute, who also received an award; Sergi López, protagonist of the film 'Partir'; the director Gracia Querejeta; Fernando Trueba, who received the Honorary Giraldillo; the actors Antonio Resines and Loles León; the director Nicolas Roeg, Persident of the Jury for the Official Section; the producer Jeremy Thomas; the Malaga actor Antonio de la Torre, winner of the RTVA Award 2009; Marion Doring, director of the European Film Academy; Maurizio Scaparro, director of the closing film, who received a tribute from the Festival; Susan Azcona, widow of the screenwriter Rafael Azcona, who received a posthumous tribute; the writers Manuel Hidalgo, Jostein Gaarder and Juan Cobos Wilkins, member of the official jury; the Oscar-winning composer Richard Horowitz; the video creator and film director Pipilotti Rist; the producer and member of the advisory council Vibeke Windelov; Thomas Bidegain and Niels Arestrup, writer and actor of 'A Prophet', the film which received most nominations for the EFA Awards and which was shown at the Festival; the actors Alex O’Dogherty, José Luis García Pérez, Sebastián Haro, José Manuel Seda, the Andalusian directors Pilar Távora and Julián Lara; and the Andalusian producers Antonio Pérez, Gervasio Iglesias and Álvaro Alonso.

The most notable institutions in the world of culture also showed, with their presence at the Festival, their support for this gathering of European cinema. Representatives of the Ministry of Culture, FAPAE (Federation of Associations of Spanish Audiovisual Producers) and the Academy of Film Arts and Sciences of Spain were present at various ceremonies in the Festival.

As regards international institutions, we must mention the confidence which the European Film Academy (EFA) has placed in the Festival through the agreement by which Seville will continue hosting the ceremony for announcing the nominations for the annual EFA awards until 2012. EURIMAGES (Council of Europe’s Fund for co-production, distribution, exhibition and digitalization of European films); MEDIA, the European Union programme for the audiovisual industry; the French-German channel ARTE, the British Council and the British Film Institute were other organizations which have collaborated with SEFF ’09.

Support from Andalusian institutions included the participation of the Department of Economy and Inland Revenue through Extenda, the Foundation for the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean and Seville University. Also, the Andalusian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) and the Festival will continue to develop parallel cultural activities.

Others who didn’t want to miss this celebration of European cinema were the Duchess of Alba and the bullfighters Curro Romero, Espartaco, Morante de la Puebla and Dávila Miura, among others.

Other figures from SEFF ’09 include the 346 guest who travelled to Seville; the 2,252 people who were accredited; 286 direct and indirect workers; and the 347,920 hits on the official website.