The San Sebastian Film Festival kicks off with Argentine cinema taking centre stage

The 72nd edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival begins

San Sebastian welcomes the constellation of stars from this Friday 72nd Film Festivalthrough which performers such as Cate Blanchett, Javier Bardem y Johnny Depp and directors of the stature of Pedro Almodovar, Costa-Gavras y Love Alberdi. An edition that will run until Saturday, September 28 and that opens with the new version of Emmanuellethe controversial 1974 erotic film that launched the stardom of Sylvia Kristel and now comes filtered through the sieve of French feminist cinema Audrey Diwan.

The screening of the film and the presentation of the first Donostia of honor to Javier Bardem These are the main points of the first day of a competition in which 17 titles will compete for the top prize, the Golden Shell, which will be awarded by a jury chaired by the Spanish actress Jaione Camborda and integrated among others, by Leila Warrior and the Austrian director Ulrich Seidl.

Javier Bardem will receive the first of the three Donostia of honor of this edition, an award that was granted to him in 2023 but that he could not collect due to the Hollywood actors’ strike. The festival recognizes the Madrid actor for his “chameleon-like ability” and his total immersion in the characters he plays, while Pedro Almodovar highlights its “extraordinary contribution” to the world of cinema, in addition to “his political commitment”, “his artistic talent and his recognizable visual style”.

Pedro Almodóvar with the Golden Lion at Venice for his film “The Room Next Door”. The Spanish director will receive a special award in San Sebastian

The Spanish director will receive his Donostia on Thursday, September 26 and Cate Blanchett -who also stars on the poster for this edition- will complete the list of honorary awards, which she will collect on Saturday 21st for her career and for her involvement in the cultural sector as a film and television producer.

On September 24, the San Sebastian Film Festival will dedicate a day to support Argentine cinema, within the “Focus on” section, an initiative aimed at promoting international contact between professionals from a country, region or territory. And this year, starting from “The exceptional situation that Argentine cinema is experiencing of project paralysis and lack of support from the Argentine government” – according to a press release from the Festival. This will be a special edition of the initiative, a Focus on + that will feature the participation of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Argentina, as well as producers, filmmakers and journalists.

On that day, a group of Argentine directors, actors and technicians will gather on the steps of the imposing Kursaal Auditorium to express their support for the national film industry in a global context and before a global audience. Diego Lermanwith his film The man who loved flying saucerswill take the first step. Minutes later, the screen of the Príncipe cinema will project Transfersof Nicolas Gil Lavedraa work that unearths the horror of the death flights during the last civil-military dictatorship.

“The Man Who Loved Flying Saucers”, starring Leonardo Sbaraglia, competes in San Sebastian

In addition to this activity, Sixteen Argentine films will compete in the most relevant sections: Official Section, New Directors, Horizontes Latinos, Zabaltegi-Tabakalera and Children’s Cinema. But the Argentine representation is not limited to movie theaters. In the field of Industry, six projects have been selected for the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forumalong with two films in development at the WIP Latam and a project of the platform New Sights.

A large group of international artists will be in San Sebastian for these 8 days full of cinema. Johnny Depp -although in his role as director-, Andrew Garfield, Monica Bellucci, Tilda Swinton e Isabel Huppert Among others, are the big names expected in this beautiful coastal city in the Basque Country. In addition, the directors Paul Sorrentino, Walter Salles, Costa-Gavras, Jacques Audiard, Joshua Oppenheimer, Mike Leigh, Francois Ozon and Gia Coppola -granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola- will present their new films

As for the official competition section, seventeen titles will be competing for the awards, including the documentary Afternoons of solitudewith which the Catalan director Albert Serra enters the world of bulls with the help of the Peruvian Andres Roca Rey. Titles such as: The last showgirlfrom Coppola; The Endthe Joshua Oppenheimer; When autumn comesof Francois Ozony Hard Truthsde Mike Leigh.

Chilean director Maite Alberdi presents “El lugar de la otra”, her first fiction film, in San Sebastian

The Chilean director’s first fiction film will also be presented. Love Alberdi, The place of the otheras well as Spy Nevenkaof Iciar Bollain; The last breathof Costa-Gavras, and Conclave Edward Berger’s The Last Jedi, starring Ralph Fiennes in a story about the papal election process. There are also highly anticipated films competing out of competition, such as Johnny Depp’s second as director, Modi, three days on the wing of madnessabout Amedeo Modigliani.

And in the Perlak section, which brings together the best of other festivals, will be screened Parthenopeof Paul Sorrentino; Anoraof Sean Baker -Palme d’Or at Cannes- and the highly anticipated The room next doorby Pedro Almodóvar, recent winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Source: EFE

[Fotos: EFE/Javi Colmenero; REUTERS/Yara Nardi; prensa Netflix]