Seville European Film Festival Honors Agnieszka Holland, Thierry Frémaux and Cartoon Saloon

Seville European Film Festival opens on Friday with awards for Agnieszka Holland, Cannes director Thierry Frémaux and Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon. The festival says the honours recognise contributions to European and world cinema, while its competition and industry programme aim to showcase established filmmakers and emerging talent.

Holland said European cinema needs greater courage and openness to people’s realities, noting that social media, big data and AI have changed the world and made hard truths less appealing. Cartoon Saloon’s award marks its 25th anniversary and is the festival’s first Giraldillo honour for a company. The competition includes Dani de la Orden’s “The Director” about journalism under political and economic pressure, and Andrew Haigh’s “A Long Winter”; a new screenplay market, Insula, will feature 58 projects.