José Luis Cienfuegos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1964
José Luis Cienfuegos | |
|---|---|
 Cienfuegos in 2025 | |
| Born | José Luis Cienfuegos Marcello 1964 Avilés, Spain |
| Died | 2 December 2025 (aged 60–61) Madrid, Spain |
| Occupations | Festival programmer, cultural manager |
José Luis Cienfuegos Marcello (1964 – 2 December 2025) was a Spanish festival programmer and cultural manager. He served as director of the Gijón International Film Festival, the Seville European Film Festival, and the Valladolid International Film Festival.
José Luis Cienfuegos Marcello was born in Avilés in 1964.[1][2] He studied psychology at the University of Oviedo.[3]
He took over the direction of the Gijón International Film Festival in 1995.[4] He was fired in January 2012 after the government of Asturias Forum got to municipal power in Gijón.[4] At that point, the FICX had grown to become the 12th largest film festival in Europe by attendance.[4] The decision to sack Cienfuegos was decried in a manifesto by over 400 filmmakers and members of the film industry.[5][n. 1] He then was appointed to the helm of the Seville European Film Festival (SEFF), serving from 2012 to 2022.[6] He served as jury of the Prince of Asturias Prize and as member of the European Film Academy.[3] From 2023 to 2025, he served as director of the Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci).
On 2 December 2025, Cienfuegos died suddenly from a stroke in Madrid.[2][7] He was posthumously bestowed the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts.[1]
