In 2015 the festival is celebrating its 53rd edition, which is aimed at bringing filmmakers closer to audiences through the usual sessions, press conferences and coffee meetings and by focusing more on masterclasses, workshop courses and professional workshops taught by various film professionals and targeted at the general public as well as younger audiences.
This year Gijón Film Festival is paying tribute to the Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a key name in the thriving Asian film industry who has also been hailed as one of the most original filmmakers in contemporary audio-visual production. Apart from the programmes of the various sections, the festival also features courses, roundtables, meetings with directors and daily concerts, as well as celebrations with live music.
AC/E is collaborating by supporting the participation of international influencers in these activities in order to familiarise them with the emerging film scene in Spain. The guest visitors are Tom Davia, a US film consultant who is also a jury member this year; Giona Nazzaro (Visions Duréel, Switzerland); and Christophe Mercier (vice-president of 20th Century Fox for Europe).