2017

Xan 4, 2026

45th Edition

2017 marked a turning point by proving that the festival was no longer just an autumn event, but a cultural lifeline that energised Vilagarcía throughout the entire year. The machinery started early, in January, recovering classics such as Willow and bidding an honourable farewell to Princess Carrie Fisher, a “living festival” philosophy that continued in June with the premiere of PequeCurtas at the Liceo Casino. Those family animation screenings were the perfect prelude to what was to come: a Star Wars invasion that exceeded all expectations. The Rivas Briones hall, transformed into the spaceport of Mos Eisley, proved too small for the more than five thousand visitors who wanted to see the life-size figures up close, even forcing the exhibition to be moved to the Arousa Shopping Centre after the festival closed.

That public success went hand in hand with a serious commitment to the industry through the creation of the Competitive Feature Film Section. The Auditorium became a prestigious showcase where the Berlinale Golden Bear winner, On Body and Soul, coexisted with the Portuguese freshness of A mãe é que sabe and home-grown talent with O Rebelde. It was a year of high-level encounters: from talks with Ángel Sala (director of the Sitges festival) or Miguel Ángel Vivas, to an electrifying closing ceremony with Juanma Bajo Ulloa celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Airbag. Meanwhile, the world of comics once again proved to be a fundamental pillar, bringing together legends of the art such as Juan Giménez, Esteban Maroto, Jesús Merino and Luis and Rómulo Royo on the same poster. With the bar set high and the city still recovering from the Imperial March, the festival was already looking ahead to 2018 with its focus set on the universe of Tolkien.