After just four editions, Merci Valladolid has emerged as Spain’s go-to market for indie film, driving the circulation of arthouse titles from distributors to exhibitors, programmers and platforms.
Running Oct. 29–31 at Valladolid’s Broadway Cinemas, the market’s fifth edition — organized by Seminci, the Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid – and Adicine, Spain’s Association of Independent Film Distributors — expects to bring together over 150 professionals, including programmers, exhibitors, streaming buyers and TV commissioners.
The event offers exclusive professional screenings of upcoming 2025–26 releases plus roundtables and presentations focused on new tools for marketing and theatrical promotion.
“This opportunity to show films directly to programmers, platforms and TV buyers is a privilege,” says Elastica’s Enrique Costa Ríos, Adicine co-president,.
Merci is not aimed at the public but tailored entirely to the industry. That focus creates continuity and trust. “We’ve achieved a feeling of certainty — that Valladolid is our space to present the best of what we have each year,” Costa Ríos says.
For Stefan Schmidt, Avalon founder, Merci has become “a great initiative which has consolidated as an ideal framework for independent cinema.”
“Valladolid is a magnificent launch platform for the year’s final stretch and the start of the next,” Schmidt adds. “Its selection is a ‘best of the year’ and positions our films well for their Spanish release.”
Avalon’s film presence at this year’s Seminci includes “Left-Handed Girl” by Tsou Shih-Ching, “Living the Land” by Meng Hou, and “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother” by Jim Jarmusch, Venice’s Golden Lion winner.
“A live laboratory,” in Costa Ríos’ words, Merci “helps us gauge the market and test our releases. It gives us perspective, not just visibility,” he explains.
Merci has quickly become a model of cooperation in a once-fragmented sector. Adicine, its co-organizer, now unites nearly all of Spain’s leading indie distributors — A Contracorriente Films, Atalante, Avalon, Beta Fiction Spain, Bteam Pictures, Caramel Films, DeAPlaneta, Elastica Films, Festival Films, Filmax, Filmin, Golem, Karma Films, La Aventura, Lazona, SelectaVision, Sideral, Syldavia, Tripictures and Wanda Vision.
Strengthening Industrial Ties
Designated a Unesco City of Film in 2019, Valladolid channels that recognition into a growing audiovisual infrastructure teaming with the Valladolid Film Commission, part of the Seminci Industria framework.
Under Seminci director José Luis Cienfuegos, who took over the helm in 2023, the festival’s industrial strategy has become sharper and more collaborative.
He sees Seminci Industria as a long-term investment in professional circulation and audience renewal. “We’re strengthening the ties between distributors, exhibitors and the next generation of professionals,” he says.
Alongside Merci and La Meseta, Seminci hosts the Europa Cinemas Audience Lab, a hands-on workshop for exhibitors focused on audience growth.
From Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, Europa Cinemas’ participants will swap case studies, test data-led approaches to programming and marketing, and develop actionable plans for young-audience outreach and community partnerships —turning Valladolid into a practical training ground for getting arthouse films seen.
Valladolid’s industrial umbrella also includes initiatives promoting inclusion and professional evolution. Among them, the Women Filmmakers Encounter, focused this year on the expanding roles of women in the audiovisual industry.
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