64th San Sebastian Film Festival Lineup

This year organizers started very early to tease with constant drops that add to the torrent of films that make the Official Selection as well as the other sections of the festival. So, been trying to do post since a while back, but didn't wanted to do constant updates.

Seems that today finally the Official Selection has been announced completely and according to latest toll there are twenty-five (25) films in the Official Selection with seventeen (17) films in the main Competition, four (4) Out of Competition and four (4) Special Screenings.

Before getting into the list wish to share that my spontaneous reaction to this edition is that has many films that most of us thought will end-up in one of the three main festivals but didn't. I even thought that some were withheld for next year's Berlin or Cannes. No, they are here, so we have films by Bertrand Bonello, Emmanuelle Bercot, Baltasar Kormákur, Arnaud des Pallières among others. Sigh. In my book, the inclusion of these films elevates the fest to a different category and well, makes it a lot more interesting to follow. Also take note of the great film quality in the many French films and co productions.

Still is hard to forget that most of San Sebastian fest films will also be in Toronto fest, a festival that now has a competitive section, Toronto Panorama, with an international jury; but most relevant, many films will have their world premiere in Toronto (September 8 to 18) just because runs before San Sebastian (September 16 to 24).

On September 16 at the opening ceremony the FIPRESCI Grand Prix will be presented to Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade.  Yes, is the film that Germany sent to Oscars -as many of us expected.  Still, I have my doubts as movie is a film critics "darling" and we all know Academy members are NOT film critics; nevertheless industry media has huge expectations for this film.  Most important is to mention that Maren Ade is the first female to receive the award since its creation in 1999.

Know that will have to update post as there are no jury members announcements, so as soon as organizers announce will proceed to include them here.

Official Selection

Competition
Opening Film: La Fille de Brest (150 Milligrams), Emmanuelle Bercot, France
American Pastoral, Ewan McGregor, USA
As You Are, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, USA
당신 자신과 당신의 것 Dangsinjasingwa dangsinui geot (Yourself and Yours), Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
Eiðurinn (The Oath), Baltasar Kormákur, Iceland
El Hombre de las Mil Caras, Alberto Rodríguez, Spain
El Invierno (The Winter), Emiliano Torres, Argentina and France
怒り Ikari (Rage), Lee Sang-il, Japan
Jätten (The Giant), Johannes Nyholm, Sweden and Denmark
Jesús, Fernando Guzzoni, France, Chile, Germany and Greece
La Reconquista, Jonás Trueba, Spain
Lady MacBeth, William Oldroyd, UK
Nocturama, Bertrand Bonello, France, Germany and Belgium
Orpheline (Orphan), Arnaud des Pallières, France
Plac Zabaw (Playground), Bartosz M. Kowalski, Poland
Que Dios Nos Perdone, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Spain
我不是潘金莲 Wo Bu Shi Pan Jinlian (I Am Not Madame Bovary), Xiaogang Feng, China

Out of Competition
Closing Film: L'odyssée (The Odyseey), Jérôme Salle, France and Belgium
A Monster Calls, J.A. Bayona, Spain
Colossal, Nacho Vigalondo, Canada
Snowden, Oliver Stone, USA, Germany and France

Special Screenings
Bigas x Bigas, Bigas Luna and Santiago Garrido Rua, Spai
君の名は Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name), Makoto Shinkai, Japan
Manda Huevos, Diego Galán, Spain
Vivir y Otras Ficciones, Jo Sol, Spain

New Directors
Sixteen (16) films will compete for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award


Anişoara (Anishoara), Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu, Germany and Moldovia
Compte tes blessures (A Taste of Ink), Morgan Simon, France
Fin de Semana, Morocco Colman, Argentina
呼吸正常 Hu Xi Zheng Chang (Something Blue), Yunbo Li, China
Bar Bahar (In Between), Maysaloun Hamoud, Israel and France
Le Ciel Flamand, Peter Monsaert, Belgium
Lumières d'été - Natsu no hikari (Summer Lights), Jean-Gabriel Périot, France
María (y los demás), Nely Reguera, Spain
Park, Sofia Exarchou, Greece and Poland
Pinamar, Federico Godfrid, Argentina
Porto, Gabe Klinger, Portugal, France and USA
Teesklejad (Pretenders), Vallo Toomla, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia
Vanatoare (Prowl), Alexandra Balteanu, Germany
Waldstille, Martijn Maria Smits, Netherlands
Yeon-ae-dam (Our Love Story), Lee Hyun-ju, South Korea
Yi Bai Wu Shi Sui de sheng huno (One Hundred and Fifty Years of Life), Liu Yu, China

Horizontes Latinos
Five former participants in last year’s Films in Progress will this year feature in the selection of the best in Latin American cinema plus the one film by outstanding Amat Escalante that also is in competition at Venice fest. There are thirteen (13) films competing for the Horizontes Award.


Alba, Ana Cristina Barragán, Ecuador, Mexico and Greece
Aquí no ha pasado nada (Much Ado about Nothing), Alejandro Fernández Almendras, Chile, USA and France
El Amparo, Rober Calzadilla, Venezuela and Colombia
El Cristo Ciego, Christopher Murray, Chile and France
El Rey del Once, Daniel Burman, Argentina
Era o Hotel Cambridge, Eliane Caffé, Brazil, France and Spain
La Idea de un Lago, Milagros Mumenthaler, Argentina, Switzerland and Qatar
La Larga Noche de Francisco Sanctis, Francisco Márquez and Andrea Testa, Argentina
La Región Salvaje (The Untamed), Amat Escalante, Mexico, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and Switzerland
Rara, Pepa San Martín, Chile and Argentina
Santa y Andrés, Carlos Lechuga, Cuba, France and Colombia
Viejo Calavera, Kiro Russo, Bolivia and Qatar
X Quinientos, Juan Andrés Arango, Canada, Colombia and Mexico

There are many more sections in the festival screening great films from all over the world, most come from any of the three big festivals but there are more, use below links to check the films in each section.  Please note that some sections still have no movies info, but eventually everything will be listed at each section.

Pearls -a selection of best films of the year- go here.
Zaaltegi-Tabakalera -competitive section, open zone with unconventional films- go here.
Culinary Zinema -competitive selection of gastronmy related films accompanied by themed dinners- go here.
Savage Cinema -adventure and sports films- go here.
Zinemira -section dedicated to Basque film- go here.
Made in Spain -non competitive selection showcasing Spanish Films- go here.
International Film Students Meeting -short films- go here.
Velodrome -big premieres- go here.
Movies for Kids -non competitive section for younger audiences- go here.
Classic Retrospective -Jacques Becker- go here.
Thematic Retrospective -The Act of Killing. Cinema and global violence- go here.
Films in Progress -Latin American films in progress- go here.

Here are some of the awards already announced

Donostia Award: Sigourney Weaver
Donostia Award: Ethan Hawke
Latin Cinema Award: Gael Garcia Bernal
Zinemira Award: Actor and filmmaker Ramón Barea

As the 2016 edition has great posters will share them below.

4th Sebastiane Latino Award Winner

The Chilean film Rara, directed by Pepa San Martín, will receive the Sebastiane Latino Award at the coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival. The Award goes to the Latin American feature film released during the previous year to best defend the demands and values of lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual people.

The accolade also reflects the support lent to Latin American productions by the Sebastiane Award, now in its 17th edition, and the San Sebastian Festival.

The Jury, made up of members of GEHITU, the Basque gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual association, opted for the film, to be presented in the coming Horizontes Latinos section, telling from a teenager’s point of view the story of her mother, the lesbian judge Karen Atala, who had the custody of her children taken from her by the Chilean justice because of her sexual orientation. Atala took her struggle to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which finally condemned Chile.

The Jury also rated the way the film conveys “the internal enemy that all we LGBT people have, the internalized homophobia, that feeling which after years of repression may have taken brutal root inside us, preventing us from expressing healthy affectivity in society”. San Martín prompts her leading character, “for fear of non-existent rejection, to unleash a succession of events leading to an unpleasant situation for all those around her”.

They also highlighted the fact that Rara is a work directed, written and performed largely by women, “an obvious example of the strong presence of women in many films” participating in the fourth edition of the Sebastiane Latino Award.

Synopsis from Berlinale 2016 
“So ... do your Mom and Lia kiss in public?” · “Sometimes. Not that much.”

Since their parents split up, Sara and her younger sister live with their mother, whose new partner is a woman. Everyday life for the four of them is hardly any different than it is for other families. The situation is actually totally fine with Sara. But not everyone sees it that way – her father in particular has his doubts. As Sara’s 13th birthday approaches, she’s feeling rather overwhelmed: her first crush, a body in the midst of changes and to top it off, conflicts over loyalty with her parents ... Everything feels wrong. The empathetic feature-length debut of director Pepa San Martín is based on a true story.

Pepa San Martín





The poster that reminds us film was in 2016 Berlinale where won the International Jury Grand Prix for Best Film in the Generation Kplus section.

To check news at official site go here, available only in Spanish.

4th Sebastiane Latino Award Finalists

The coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival will include screening of the winner of the Sebastiane Latino Award, presented by the Basque gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual association, GEHITU.

The Award goes to the Latin American feature film released during the previous year to best defend the demands and values of lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual people.

The Sebastiane Latino Award Jury, composed of members of GEHITU, has selected as finalists the films Amores Urbanos, Mãe só há uma, Nunca vas a estar solo, Rara, Santa y Andrés and Uio: sácame a pasear. Four of the six finalist films are directed by women.

This fourth edition of the award renews its support of Latin American cinema at the San Sebastian Festival, an event well known for its backing of Latin American productions. In addition to presenting the award to the winner, to be announced on the 18th, the 2nd Meeting of Ibero-American LGBT Film Festivals will also take place at the coming edition of the Festival.

No surprise when I say the most interesting film is the one from Ecuador as was not aware of film and is unusual to find a lesbian interest film made in Ecuador; on top, film already has won some local production awards. Interesting.

Amores Urbanos (Restless Love), Vera Egito, Brazil
Amores Urbanos is a comedy-drama telling the tale of three friends who live in the same building in the city of São Paulo. Julia, Diego and Micaela are young anti-heroes who deal with their ups and downs in love and work with humour and heaps of personality.



Mãe só há uma (Don't Call Me Son), Anna Muylaert, Brazil
On discovering that he was stolen as a child by the woman he thought was his mother, Pierre (also known as Felipe) must face up to the consequences of his mother’s actions and try to deal with his biological family.



Nunca Vas a Estar Solo (You'll Never Be Alone), Alex Anwandter, Chile
After the violent assault of his gay teenage son Juan, a withdrawn manager at a mannequin factory, struggles between paying his son’s exhorbitant medical bills and his last attempt at becoming partner with his boss. As he runs into dead-ends and unexpected betrayals, he discovers that the world he thought he knew was waiting to be violent with him too. Juan has already made too many mistakes, but his son can still be saved.



Rara, Pepa San Martín, Chile and Argentina
A story taking its inspiration from the real-life case of a Chilean judge who lost custody of her children for being a lesbian, narrated from the point of view of her eldest daughter, Sara, aged 13. The screenplay is based on a true story which could be told as a tale of lawyers and courts, of lawsuits, plaintiffs, defendants and victims, but is, instead, the story of a family.



Santa y Andrés, Carlos Lechuga, Cuba, France and Colombia
1988, Andrés is a homosexual writer with counterrevolutionary ideas. He lives confined by the government in a cabin deep in the mountains of eastern Cuba. When a political meeting is about to be held they send Santa, a local girl, to keep an eye on him for three days. Although the odds seem to be stacked against them, they soon realize that they have far more in common than they thought.



Uio: Sácame a Pasear (UIO: Take Me For a Ride), Micaela Rueda, Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia
Sara is in her last year of high school, doesn't have many friends and is trapped between a dominating mother and an inattentive father. But everything changes when she meets Andrea, her new schoolmate, and the two become involved in a secret intimate relationship.




To read the news at the official site go here, available only in Spanish.

#Cannes2016 Wish List - Part 2 Prominent Diversity

Usually I do not spontaneously think about independent cinema but I was reminded that in Cannes there is an important showcase of world independent cinema that's looking forward to find distribution, I'm talking about ACID. It's not easy to talk about world cinema as usually feels more like underground cinema than anything closer to mainstream, but that's why sections like ACID are crucial to learn about newcomers and become a vehicle to help their films be seen by audiences.  I find this Cannes section to be highly unpredictable as there are not many sites that specialize in independent world cinema.

One of best sites to read their Cannes predictions is Wask, unfortunately is available only in French but nevertheless if you don't understand French, consider that film names and directors are easy to identify and then go elsewhere to read more about them. Up to this moment Wask has only the prologue of what's coming and they promise five different posts with what I imagine 20 films each. Soon we will learn what the site will do this year, check it here.

Will share with you all a copy and paste of Article 3 from the Festival de Cannes Rules & Regulations 2016 as will clarify to many -including me- if film has the conditions to receive an invitation to the Official Selection (Competition, Out of Competition and Un Certain Regard).

Article 3
The Board of Directors chooses and invites the films which will be presented in Competition, Out of Competition or for Un Certain Regard. Each film invited to be part of the Official Selection by the Board of Directors will receive a Certificate of Participation. Only films that meet the following conditions may be chosen for invitation in the Official Selection:

Films that have been produced during the twelve months preceding the Festival;
Films that have not been released anywhere other than their country of origin;
Films that have not been presented at any other international motion picture event;
If the film (feature or short) has been selected in an international section (competitive or not) of a festival, it becomes ineligible for the Festival de Cannes. A selection is international if it presents films from different countries;
Films that have not been exhibited on the Internet;
Films that respect the aims of the Festival as defined in Article 1;
If participating in the "short film" category, films that do not exceed 15 minutes in length, including credits.

The second part of my wish list covers many of my most interesting directors, some have films ready while others I'm not sure they will have a finish version; some will premiere film in Cannes, while others suggest will open film before the festival. No matter what, they have new films that absolutely are must be seen for me.

Most Interesting Directors

Pedro Almodóvar with Julieta

It was called to my attention that Almodóvar tends to premiere his films in Spain before going to Cannes and if we check his films records we find that it's true for 3 films out of the four he has had in competition. As we can see in article 3, filmmakers can premiere their films in the country of origin and still be eligible for the Official selection. So, yes, Almodóvar latest film, Julieta, will premiere in Spain on April 8, 2016 and could be eligible; BUT if we believe IMDb then we see that on April 21 will premiere in Portugal and on May 6 in Mexico, so IF true, then film will NOT be in Cannes, no matter if France release is scheduled to May 18 as becomes not eligible.

Still, let's hope IMDb is not accurate and film still is Cannes eligible as is time he returns to Cannes with a strong drama in the female universe as Julieta suggests to be. Film international sales are handled by FilmNation and already has been sold to Sony Pictures Classics for North American rights. Film expectations are so HIGH that American cinema pundits are already speculating that film is a strong contender for the 2017 Oscars (!). Please recall that he has an Oscar and was not for a foreign-language film but for Talk to Her original screenplay. Yes film has extremely good credentials for Oscar and to be in the mother of all festivals.

Originally was called Silencio (Silence) but director decided to change name to Julieta so will not be confused with Scorsese's film. But the original name is crucial to learn about film as there is very little info about film plot; yes, I imagine is about silence and the main character, about something that happened when she was young and that will emerge when she's older.



Semih Kaplanoğlu with Grain

Kaplanoğlu's trilogy Yumurta (Egg), Süt (Milk) and Bal (Honey) is one of the most visually impacting cinema that I have seen, with a particular storytelling style -telling the story backwards- and outstanding performances. So waiting for a new Kaplanoğlu film has been a very long wait that finally is over, BUT my huge surprise is to discover that he's doing a film in the English-language even do is a Turkish, German, French and Swedish co production. Still the use of that language probably has something to do with the filming in Detroit, Michigan -plus Central Turkey, Cappadocia and Germany- and story is related to ecological science-fiction set in an indefinite near future, where existence of sustainable life is threatened, where a genetics expert and a general chaos scientist join forces in the Dead Lands to find fresh seeds, changing everything they thought they knew in the process.

International cast includes French-American Jean-Marc Barr, awesome Belgian Lubna Azabal and more actors from B&H, Russia, among other countries. Have no doubt that cinematography has to be with spectacular use of light and shadows as film is in black and white. Not sure what to expect of film but nevertheless because of his magnificent previous films, movie is must be seen for me no matter if makes it to Cannes or not. The Match Factory picked up international rights at 2015 Toronto fest where was promoted to buyers, so seems film is ready for

Andrea Arnold with American Honey

She came to my attention with her outstanding raw/realistic 2009 Cannes Jury Prize winner Fish Tank -wish was the second film with Michael Fassbender I've seen-; then her Wunthering Heights version that opened at 2011 Venice fest did not touch me, so I'm looking forward to her latest, American Honey that many expect to be ready for Cannes.

This UK and USA co production has a not-easy to watch story with a cast that includes troubled -but great performer- Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keogh among many not-known (to me) actors. Yes, story seems not really the kind I enjoy in film as tells about a teenage girl, Star, with nothing to lose who gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love; but hope that Arnold's Fish Tank filmmaking style is present as will make story and film go up to a different -unique- level.

Film already sold to  A24, which has USA rights; film was introduced in Cannes 2014 by Protagonist Pictures.

Ken Loach with I, Daniel Blake
Seem Loach much announced retirement is over -or never happened-, great!!!  His very particular social storytelling style is one that shouldn't be silenced, ever -not even by him.  Add very raw, direct filmmaking style and we have some of the best films in British Contemporary Cinema.  Highly enjoy his films so very glad that he didn't retire and very curious about his latest films.  This time seems he will explore state welfare as tells about a middle aged carpenter who requires state welfare after injuring himself, and is joined by a single mother in a similar scenario.



Cristian Mungiu with Fotografii de familie (Family Photos aka Recycling Feelings)

Four years after outstanding Beyond the Hills, Mungiu has a new film and yes, I'm already "dying" to see it even when is Mungiu's first feature focusing on a male character, as he became famous with his female-characters stories. Still, film is a family drama about parenting set in a small Romanian town where everybody knows everyone, main character is a doctor.

Most surprising he didn't work with long time collaborator cinematographer Oleg Mutu, so I wonder how the look in this film will be and IF will be as breathtaking as in Beyond the Hills or as disturbing as in 4 months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.  Not sure if film is ready for Cannes, but filming closed on August 2015, so should be ready for the fest even when official production site, Mobra Films has no info yet about movie, nor the other co production companies like Why Not Productions.  The only place where found basic info was in Dardenne Brothers' production company Les Films du Fleuve.

Derek Cianfrance with The Light Between the Oceans

Cianfrance's fabulously darkish Blue Valentine opened in 2010 Cannes Un Certain Regard, so there are chances this film could also go to Cannes specially now, after the 2015 awards seasons as film leads are none other than Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender and Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander, which obviously will bring some glamour and buzz to Cannes red carpet but more interesting, film Cannes presence will assure the quality of the film and actors performances.

A USA and New Zealand co production tells the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat.  Trailer suggests film feels/looks "different" to Cianfrance's previous films and maybe it is, as recent films he had sort of a claustrophobic atmosphere in  indoors scenes; but here thanks to breathtaking outdoors scenes and use of light, there could be an absence of his previous atmospheric treatment.

Have seen everything with  Alicia Vikander, including early Swedish films, so obviously film is must be seen for me, plus yes, also see and love everything with Michael Fassbender; "dying" to see them together, hope film will not disappoints me, as do not wish to see a melodrama -story could easily go that way- but an intense human drama with great performances and a masterful director. Cinematography is by Adam Arkapaw, fresh off working with Justin Kurzel and Michael Fassbender on Macbeth.



Cate Shortland with Berlin Syndrome

After Somersault and Lore, Shortland brings us a movie that seems could catapult her to an upper echelon in her filmmaker career as only from reading fantastic synopsis (by Memento Films) all my senses were stimulated and became very curious about film. Take a look.

While holidaying in Berlin, Australian photojournalist, Clare, meets Andi, a charismatic local man and there is an instant attraction between them. A night of passion ensues. But what initially appears to be the start of a romance suddenly takes an unexpected and sinister turn when Clare wakes the following morning to discover Andi has left for work and locked her in his apartment. An easy mistake to make, of course, except Andi has no intention of letting her go again. Ever.

Film is based on Melanie Joosten novel with the same name with a script by Shaun Grant who wrote Justin Kurzel highly disturbing The Snowtown Murders, so film has the right credentials to travel the 2016 festival circuit and good chances that trip could start in Cannes.

Emir Kusturica with On the Milky Road

Will long-awaited film be finally released this year?  Seems finally film will see audiences this year; but could be in Cannes or in Venice?  Don't know but many pundits speculate that has to be Cannes, to give him the opportunity of a third Palme d'Or.  Besides being a Kusturica film, movie has him acting in a leading role along with Monica Bellucci in the female lead role, so that's something that I have to see no matter what (!).  Been waiting for this film for the past 2-3 years, so let's hope Wild Bunch will release the film that just this morning announced in its 2016 lineup. Sigh.



Next installment will be about Latin American directors, then Asian directors, and will end with American directors.

30th Goya Awards Winners

According to award official site news, last night awards ceremony lasted 3 hours 10 minutes and was seen locally by almost 4 million viewers, which is higher than last year award ceremony. Yes, 2016 ceremony was quite entertaining, made me laugh hard/loud a few times, watched entire ceremony (training for the Oscars) and the best part was watching Juliette Binoche in my TV screen so many times, sigh.

Perhaps the most surprising moment in the ceremony was when Juliette Binoche didn't win a Goya as definitively her performance was extraordinary in Nadie Quiere La Noche and have to admit that the next best performance was multiple Goya winner, Penelope Cruz in Ma Ma; so when the winner's name was announced I was extremely surprised, as much as the winner actress was (lol!).

If was surprised with the best actress category there was no surprise in most of the other predictable top awards as I called the winner before was announced and was right. Yes I said Truman before the Best Film was announced, said Cesc Gay before Best Director was announced, said Ricardo Darin before Best Actor was announced, said Javier Camara before Best Supporting Actor was announced and no, the other Truman's nomination I forgot so couldn't say it before the announcement (lol). Truman was the BIG winner of the night with 4 top awards from 5 nominations.



The other two great moments were when El Clan by Pablo Trapero wins Best Ibero-American film and Mustang by Deniz Gamze Ergüven won Best European film as believe both honors are well-deserved.

To learn winners in all categories go official site here.  Winners are in *BLUE.

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12/14/15
Asier Etxeandia and Emma Suárez today announced the nominations for the 30th edition of the Goya Awards. La Novia by Paola Ortiz leads the pack with 12 nominations followed by Nadie Quiere La Noche by Isabel Coixet with 9, Un día perfecto by Fernando León de Aranoa and El desconocido by Dani de la Torre with 8, and Truman by Cesc Gay with 6 nominations.

Seems the new adaptation of Bodas de Sangre by Federico García Lorca could be worth watching, so perhaps is time to give La Novia a try even do is a story that has been told so many times before and I have seen so many times before too, sigh. The perhaps new generations will enjoy a more contemporary version.

Here are the nominees for some of the categories, to check all categories go to official site here (not up yet, but will be there soon).

Best Film
A Cambio de Nada, Daniel Guzmán
La Novia (The Bride), Paula Ortiz
Nadie Quiere La Noche (Nobody Wants the Night), Isabel Coixet
*Truman, Cesc Gay
Un día Perfecto (A Perfect Day), Fernando León de Aranoa

Best Director
Paula Ortiz for La Novia
Isabel Coixet for Nadie Quiere La Noche
*Cesc Gay for Truman
Fernando León de Aranoa for Un día Perfecto

Best New Director
*Daniel Guzmán for A Cambio de Nada
Dani de la Torre for El Desconocido
Leticia Dolera for Requisitos para ser una persona normal
Juan Miguel del Castillo for Techo y Comida

Best Ibero-American Film
*El Clan, Pablo Trapero, Chile
La Once, Maite Alberdi, Chile
Magallanes, Salvador del Solar, Peru
Vestido de Novia, Marilyn Solaya, Cuba

Best European Film
Sur le chemin de l'école, Pascal Plisson, France, China, South Africa, Brazil and Colombia
Leviathan, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia
Macbeth, Justin Kurzel, UK, France and USA
*Mustang, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Turkey, France, Qatar and Germany

Best Actress
Inma Cuesta in La Novia
PenélopeCruz in Mama
Juliette Binoche in Nadie quiere la Noche
*Natalia de Molina in Techo y Comida

Best Actor
Pedro Casablanc in B
Luis Tosar in El Desconocido
Asier Etxeandía in La Novia
*Ricardo Darín in Truman

No doubt that the category that looks the most interesting is Best Actress as includes outstanding Juliette Binoche and well-known Penélope Cruz. The 2016 Honorary Goya goes to Mariano Ozores. Award ceremony will be on Saturday, February 6th, 2016 and the host is Dani Rovira.

If you can't wait for organizers to update official site then check official twitter account here as all the info is available there.

63rd San Sebastian International Film Festival Award Winners

Perhaps is my perception but seems that main awards tend to go to European and European co-productions movies which is interesting.  Awards ceremony was really fast which makes us wish the same speed to those traditionally-very-long awards ceremony in America.

I'm glad that a movie that is must be seen for me got the top award as I have to see everything by Rúnar Rúnarsson as his second feature film, Sparrows, seems will be as good as his first one, Volcano. Cheers! and congratulations to Iceland.

So that's it until next year!

Official Selection

Golden Shell for Best Film: Þrestir (Sparrows), Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland, Denmark and Croatia

Jury Special Award:  Evolution, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, France, Belgium and Spain

Silver Shell for Best Director: Joachim Lafosse for Les Chevaliers Blancs (The White Knights), Belgium and France

Silver Shell for Best Actress: Yordanka Ariosa in El Rey de la Habana, Agustí Villaronga, Spain and Dominican Republic
Silver Shell for Best Actor: (tie) Ricardo Darín and Javier Cámara in Truman, Cesc Gay, Spain and Argentina

Jury Prize for Best Screenplay: 21 Nuits avec Pattie (21 Nights with Pattie), Jean-Marie Larrieu and Arnaud Larrieu, France
Jury Prize for Best Cinematography: Manu Dacosse for Evolution, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, France, Belgium and Spain

Jury Special Mention:  El Apóstata (The Apostate), Federico Veiroj, Spain, Uruguay, and France

Kuxta-New Directors Award: Le nouveau (The New Kid), Rudi Rosenberg, France
Special Mentions
La Vida Sexual de las Plantas (Sex Life of Plants), Sebastián Brahm, Chile
Tjuvheder (Drifters), Peter Grönlund, Sweden

Horizontes Latinos

Best Film: Paulina (La Patota), Santiago Mitre, Argentina, Brazil and France
Special Mentions
Luis Silva in Desde Allá, Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela
Te Prometo Anarquía (I Promise You Anarchy), Julio Hernández Cordón, Mexico and Germany

Other Awards

FIPRESCI Award: El Apóstata (The Apostate), Federico Veiroj, Spain, Uruguay, and France
Feroz Zinemaldia Award: Truman, Cesc Gay, Spain and Argentina

SIGNIS Award: Moira, Levan Tutberidze, Georgia
Special Mention: Amama (When a Tree Falls), Asier Altuna Iza, Spain

TVE Another Look Award: Paulina (La Patota), Santiago Mitre, Argentina, Brazil and France

Solidarity Award: Freeheld, Peter Sollett, USA

Sebastiane Award:  Freeheld, Peter Sollett, USA
Sebastiane Latino Award: Mariposa (Butterfly), Marco Berger, Argentina

Youth Award: Paulina (La Patota), Santiago Mitre, Argentina, Brazil and France

Tokyo Goham Film Festival Award: Noma, My Perfect Storm, Pierre Deschamps, UK and Denmark

Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum EGEDA
Best Project Award: La Omisión (The Omission), Sebastián Schjaer, Argentina, Germany and France
Special Mention: Memorias del Calabozo, Alvaro Brechner, Spain and Uruguay

Cooperación Española Award: La Tierra y La Sombra (Land and Shade), César Augusto Acevedo, Colombia, France, Netherlands, Chile and Brazil

Films in Progress 28 Industry Award: Era o Hotel Cambridge (The Cambridge Squatter), Elaine Caffé, Brasil and France

Irizar Basque Film Award: Amama (When a Tree Falls), Asier Altuna Iza, Spain
Special Mention: Irene Escolar in Un Otoño sin Berlín, Lara Izaguirre, Spain

Audience Award: Unimachi Diary (Our Little Sister), Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan
European Film Audience Award: Shan he gu ren (Mountains May Depart), Jia Zhang-ke, China, France and Japan

Greenpeace Lurra Award (tie)
Psiconautas, los Niños Olvidados, Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero, Spain
Un día vi 10,000 elefantes, Alex Guimerá and Juan Pajares, Spain

14th International Film Student Meetings Awards - Short Films

First Prize - Panavision Award, Freak Independent Film Agency /Feelsales Award, BioBio Cine-DuocUC Award and an invitation to participate in the Short Film Corner at Cannes Festival: Nueva Vida, Kiro Ruso, Universidad del Cine, Argentina

Second Prize - an invitation to participate in the Short Film Cornet at Cannes Festival: El Enemigo, Aldemar Matias, Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV, Cuba

Thrid Prize - an invitation to participate in the Short Film Cornet at Cannes Festival: Wada' (Prediction), Khaled Mzher, Deutsche Film - und Fernsehakademie Berlin – DFFB, Germany

Orona Award:  Nueva Vida, Kiro Ruso, Universidad del Cine Argentina
Torino Award: Isabel Lamberti for Volando Voy, Netherlands Film Academy, Netherlands

Euskaraz bizi nahi dut Short Films Awards
Professional Filmmakers
First Prize: Semeak, Iker Azkoitia
Second Prize: Lasterketa, Patxi Basabe
Third Prize: Josuneren Bidaia, Peru Galbete
Amateur Filmmakers
First Prize: Nire eguneroko hautuak, Mattin Zeberio
Second Prize: Balu eta Balitz, Egoitz Albizu
Third Prize: Zentzu guztietan, Andrea Merino

Donostia Award:  Emily Watson
Zinemira Award:  Karmele Soler
Basque Culinary Gastronomiko: Santiago Segura

To check winners at official site go here.

Videos

Awards Ceremony



Premio Lurra 2015 Awards Ceremony Summary



Donostia Award Ceremony

63rd San Sebastian Opening Ceremony - Update: Also Closing Ceremony

In less than 3 hours watch the festival closing ceremony.

Watch fest Opening Ceremony in a few minutes... includes FIPRESCI Best Film of the Year award to Mad Max director George Miller.

XVI Sebastiane Award Winner

A few hours ago was announced the award winner and the winner is none other than Freeheld by Peter Sollett that has in the two leading roles Ellen Page and Julian Moore but also in the cast Steve Carrell and Michael Shannon.

All of us that have seen Academy Award winner documentary 2007 Freeheld by Cynthia Wade know that story is not easy-to-watch and just hope that film kept the story essence without too many creative licenses, sigh. Nevertheless I'm glad that this year lesbian interest films are winning awards at top festivals.

This is a copy and paste of the Jury Statement available only in Spanish and Euskara.

"El Jurado le concede el 16 Premio Sebastiane por reflejar una hermosa historia de amor entre dos mujeres que quedan atrapadas en la realidad de la enfermedad de una de ellas y en la lucha por la reivindicación de su pensión de viudedad; una pequeña lucha particular, que sin embargo, se convierte en un impulso notable del matrimonio igualitario en EEUU, que ha sido un gran avance por los derechos humanos y la igualdad real de nuestra comunidad que contribuye a lograr una sociedad mejor y más justa para todos.

Esta película rinde un justo tributo, a menudo omitido, a la lucha de las lesbianas que han abierto camino a los hombres gais y bisexuales.

FREEHELD está llena de valores de lucha, solidaridad, igualdad y compromiso."

The award ceremony will be this afternoon at the Galería Kur and tomorrow will be the traditional party at Centro Cultural Jareño.  To read announcement at award official site go here.

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9/3/15
Yesterday award organizers announced the films that will compete for the 2015 LGBT award given at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Along with the Sebastiane Award organizers will also present the 3rd Sebastiane Latino award given to Latin American films; as we already know, this year Sebastiane Latino goes to Mariposa by Marco Berger that will be screened in the Zabaltegi section and will receive the award on September 20.

Also from September 24th to 26th there will be a meeting of LGBT Film Festivals directors from Latin America and Europe.

These are the films competing for 2015 Sebastiane Award.

Official Selection
El Rey de la Habana, Agustí Villaronga, Spain and Dominican Republic (G)
*Freeheld, Peter Sollett, USA (L)

New Directors
Barash, Michal Vinik, Israel (L)

Horizontes Latinos
El Club (The Club), Pablo Larraín, Chile (G)
Desde Allá (From Afar), Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela (G)

Zabaltegi
Mariposa, Marco Berger, Argentina (G)

There is another film that is out of competition in a Thematic Retrospetive, New Japanese Independent Cinema 2000-2015: Parade by Isao Yukisada, Japan,, 2009 that I assume is just mentioned as a reference to complete all films with LGBT interest in San Sebastian fest.

The Jury president is Benoît Arnulf, artistic director of In&Out Nice festival and jury members come from the Gehitu organization. The award will be presented on September 25 at Kur Gallery and on September 26 will the the award party at Centro Cultural Jareño. If you wish to read about each film go to award official site here.

The magnificent B&W photo in this year award graphic identity is by Isabel Muñoz and to have a better look check the larger photo and the complete GM magazine cover.   If you wish to learn more about the photographer go to her official site here.

63rd San Sebastian International Film Festival Lineup - Update

Today with just a few days to go for opening day, organizers announced the jury of the Official Competition and yes, the president is none other than great Danish actress and director Paprika Steen.

On other news, organizers announced the Lurra Award (Earth in Basque-language) that will be presented to a film which best symbolizes environmental protection and peace. The award ceremony will be on September 25 and actress Bárbara Goenaga, producer Álvaro Longoria, reporter Carlos del Amor and Laura Pérez, Greepeace Spain Communications Director make the award jury.

If you wish to learn the many more news published since the first date of this post then go to the official site here or better, check the  Storyteller Pinterest 2015 San Sebastian festival board here that has everything relevant in one place.

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8/19/15
In the last few weeks organizers have been announcing drop by drop the films in the many sections of the festival. Seems that finally today the last drop was announced, so decided to do the post that could be upgraded if they decide there are more news. Sigh.

Up to this moment there are seventeen (17) films in the main competition, which is a true eclectic collection of films from almost every genre. Most notable are latest work by great authors like Rúnar Rúnarsson, Joachim Lafosse and Pablo Agüero.

Then, if anyone doubts about how great is the state of Latin American cinema just has to look at the films in the Horizontes Latinos competition, as many films have already collected top awards in Berlin and Cannes, are in competition in Venice, still are traveling the festival circuit and most are must be seen for me! It's been a long time since I see in one place, all together, so many great Latin American auteur films. Obviously this makes the Horizontes Latinos competition perhaps the most nerve racking -and very difficult to decide- of all competitions in San Sebastian current edition.

Official Selection (17)

21 Nuits avec Pattie (21 Nights with Pattie), Jean-Marie Larrieu and Arnaud Larrieu, France
Amama, Asier Altuna Iza, Spain
バケモノの子 Bakemono No Ko (The Boy and the Beast), Mamoru Hosoda, Japan (animation)
El Apóstata (The Apostate), Federico Veiroj, Spain, France and Uruguay
El Rey de la Habana, Agustí Villaronga, Spain and Dominican Republic
Eva No Duerme (Eva Doesn't Sleep), Pablo Agüero, Argentina, France and Spain
Evolution, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, France, Belgium and Spain
Freeheld, Peter Sollett, USA
High-Rise, Ben Wheatley, UK
Les Chevaliers Blancs (The White Knights), Joachim Lafosse, Belgium and France
Les démons (The Demons), Philippe Lesage, Canada
Moira, Levan Tutberidze, Georgia
Þrestir (Sparrows), Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland, Denmark and Croatia
Sunset Song, Terence Davies, UK and Luxembourg
Truman, Cesc Gay, Spain and Argentina
Un Dia Perfecte per Volar, Marc Recha, Spain
Xiang Bei Fang (Back to the North), Liu Hao, China

Official Competition Jury
President: Paprika Steen, actress and director, Denmark
Nandita Das, actress and director, India
Daniel Monzón, director and screenwriter, Spain
Hernán Musaluppi, producer, Argentina
Julie Salvador, producer, France
Uberto Pasolini, director, scriptwriter and producer, Italy
Luciano Tovoli, cinematographer, Italy

Out of Competition
Opening Night Film: Regression, Alejandro Amenábar, Spain and Canada
Closing Night Film: London Road, Rufus Norris, UK
Mi Gran Noche, Alex de la Iglesia, Spain

Special Screenings
Lejos del Mar, Imanol Uribe, Spain
No Estamos Solos, Pere Joan Ventura, Spain (documentary)

New Directors (14)

After Eden, Hans Christian Berger, Canada
Barash, Michal Vinik, Israel
Einer von Uns (One of Us), Stephan Richter, Austria
Granny's Dancing on the Table, Hanna Sköld, Sweden
Iona, Scott Graham, UK and Germany
Jajda (Thirst), Svetla Tsotsorkova, Bulgaria
Le nouveau (The New Kid), Rudi Rosenberg, France
Parasol, Valéry Rosier, Belgium
Paula, Eugenio Canevari, Argentina and Spain
Pikadero, Ben Sharrock, UK and Spain
Rodinny Film (Family Film), Olmo Omerzu, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Slovenia and Slovakia
Ul-bo (Stay With Me), Jinwoo Rhee, South Korea
Tjuvheder (Thieves Honor), Peter Grönlund, Sweden
La Vida Sexual de las Plantass (Sex Life of Plants), Sebastián Brahm, Chile

New Directors Jury
President: Diego Lerer, film critic, Argentina
Francine Brücher, Producer, France-born lives in Germany
Desirée de Fez, film critic, Spain
Olivia Stewart, producer, UK
Edgard Tenembaum, Producer, Argentina-born lives in France

Horizontes Latinos (14)

Opening Night Film: El Club (The Club), Pablo Larraín, Chile
600 Millas, Gabriel Ripstein, Mexico
El Abrazo de la Serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent), Ciro Guerra, Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela
El Botón de Nácar, Patricio Guzmán, France, Chile and Spain (documentary)
Chronic, Michel Franco, Mexico and France
Desde Allá, Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela
Las Elegidas (The Chosen Ones), David Pablos, Mexico and France
Ixcanul, Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala and France
Magallanes, Salvador del Solar, Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Spain
La Obra del Siglo (The Project of the Century), Carlos M. Quintela, Cuba, Argentina, Germany and Switzerland
Paulina (La Patota), Santiago Mitre, Argentina, Brazil and France
Para Minha Amada Morta (To My Beloved), Aly Muritiba, Brazil
Te Prometo Anarquía (I Promise You Anarchy), Julio Hernández Cordón, Mexico and Germany
La Tierra y la Sombra (Land and Shade), Cesar Augusto Acevedo, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Netherlands and France

Horizontes Latinos Jury
President: Agustina Chiarino, producer, Uruguay
Fran Gayo, producer, Spain
Rubén Ochandiano, actor, Spain

In the New Directors competition there are some films that called my attention but no one like Barash from Israel, a lesbian interest film that could be worth-watching. Then in Horizontes Latinos there was one film that is new for me and to my highly-positively surprise the star of the film is none other than amazing Magaly Solier; I'm talking about Magallanes, film became must be seen for me.

If you wish to learn films in other sections of the festival, Pearls, Zabaltegi, Savage Cinema, Culinary Zinema, Zinemira, Made in Spain, Retrospectives, Movies for Kids and Film in Progress please go here.

During the festival, the Europa touring expo Pasolini Roma will be at San Telmo museum. If you wish to read about the expo go to official site here or to San Telmo site here.