San Sebastian International Film Festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival, commonly abbreviated to San Sebastián Festival (in Basque and co-officially: Donostiako Nazioarteko Zinemaldia), is a film competition of the highest category (A) accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). It is held annually at the end of September, in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain. Its first edition started on September 21, 1953.

The San Sebastián Film Festival is the most important film festival held in Spain and in all Spanish-speaking countries, as well as one of the longest-running and most prestigious in Europe. It is, in fact, one of the largest and most influential cultural events in Spain. It is the only festival in the highest category (A) in the country and one of only seven European festivals and fourteen worldwide with this category. Throughout its history, it has been the scene of notable international events, such as the international premiere of Vertigo and the world premiere of North by Northwest, both by Alfred Hitchcock., the European premiere of the first title of the Star Wars saga, in 1977, or, more recently, the world premiere of Melinda and Melinda and Rifkin&# 39;s Festival by Woody Allen.

In its more than half a century of existence, the festival has fostered the discovery of new talents from the world of cinema. For example, it is the first festival that Roman Polanski attended at the beginning of his career and promoted those of directors such as Francis Ford Coppola or Pedro Almodóvar. At the same time, the Festival has enjoyed the presence of established international stars, from Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Glenn Ford, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn to Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland, Michael Caine, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Richard Gere, Michael Douglas, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Willem Dafoe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mel Gibson, Demi Moore, Naomi Watts, Brad Pitt, Danny DeVito, Viggo Mortensen, Johnny Depp, Ethan Hawke, Ewan McGregor or Marion Cotillard, to give just a few examples.

After several editions that were the object of forceful criticism, in the 55th edition, in 2007, the Festival launched a new graphic identity and a new formula that combined independent and international quality cinema and very especially Latin American and Spanish capable of attracting with strength to the fans and to please the critics, with a greater presence of actors and directors known to the public. Although this formula has allowed it to regain the support of the public and increase its media impact, the pressure from other festivals, with budgets much higher than that of San Sebastián and a much higher capacity to attract the industry, poses great difficulties to which the San Sebastian Festival will have to face in the coming years.

History

The stage of the Victoria Eugenia Theatre has promoted much of the stars of the 20th century cinema.

After being conceived for its first edition in 1953 as an International Film Week promoted by local businesses, in the 1954 edition it acquired the name of International Film Festival, when the National Syndicate of Cinema took over the organization of the event. Show and the Ministry of Information and Tourism, both organizations satisfied with the results obtained in that first edition and with ambitious aspirations for the future. In said second edition, it obtained category B (non-competitive festival) from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), as a reward for the efforts shown by the Franco government to make censorship more flexible and allow certain tax privileges for the films presented. to the contest

In 1955 the Festival awarded the first Silver Shell as the contest's distinctive prize (the winner was Giorni d'amore, by Giuseppe de Santis), the first award granted by the Festival to a Foreign movie. The following year, in 1956, the FIAPF did not recognize the Festival. Certain storm clouds were looming that could lead to the disappearance of the San Sebastian cinematographic experience. Given the interest of the Franco regime in promoting a film festival that would project a modern and cosmopolitan image of Spain, the city council of Palma de Mallorca showed extraordinary interest in having the festival transferred to that city, blaming the hesitations and crises of the event. to the fact that it was held in San Sebastián. The authorities decided, however, to keep the festival in the Gipuzkoan capital and open it with some generosity, within the limited margins of a dictatorial regime, to American cinema.

Woody Allen at a press conference during the 52nd edition, in which he released his film Melinda " Melinda ".

Thanks to this decisive step, which was the definitive endorsement of the contest, in 1957 it was awarded the highest category, category A (competitive festival), establishing the Great Golden Shell as the main award. In this first edition in the highest category, another Italian film, La nonna Sabella, by Dino Risi, was proclaimed the winner. In the next edition, in 1958, the Ewa chce spac, by Tadeusz Chmielewski, was awarded. A decision that was controversial, given that a much higher quality film was competing against it, Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock, which visited San Sebastián, presented in a world premiere at the San Sebastian competition. The presence of stars like Kirk Douglas, who patiently attended the exhausting program of events that the precarious organization of the Festival had prepared for him, or Alfred Hitchcock himself, was the reward of the Hollywood industry for the interest shown in the organization of the event. Despite the certain injustice committed with Vertigo, Hitchcock kept his promise to premiere his next film, North by Northwest, in San Sebastián the following year, with which he was also unsuccessful. the Golden Shell.

After the comeback that began in 1957, the Festival lost category A in 1963, recovering it the following year. Directed since 1970 by Luis Gasca, a serious crisis took hold of the contest between 1980 and 1984. When Diego Galán took the reins, the road to recovery of the highest category began, establishing the Donostia Prize. In 1990 Pello Aldazabal was appointed General Delegate of the Festival and the following two editions, the 39th and 40th, in 1991 and 1992, were managed by Koldo Anasagasti as Director and by Rudi Barnet as General Delegate.

Since 1991, the Festival has been organized by a public limited company with the name of the Festival, in whose shareholders the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (Ministry of Culture), the Basque Government, the Provincial Council participate in equal parts of Guipúzcoa and the City Council of San Sebastián.

Since January 2001, the festival has been directed by Mikel Olaciregui from Gipuzkoa, replacing Diego Galán. The new director has experienced some of the festival's most difficult years. In 2001, on the eve of the festival, the 9/11 attacks took place, which led to the absence of American stars. In 2003 there was a strike at the Hotel María Cristina, the nerve center of the event, supported by 90% of the workforce, so that the usual concentration of stars dissolved and they sought accommodation in other hotels in the city..

However, in 2004 Woody Allen gave his film Melinda & Melinda at the opening gala of the 52nd edition, which was a milestone in the festival's history, displacing the Venice Film Festival as the premiere venue for the New York director's films. After two more controversial editions, the 53rd and 54th editions, the 2007 one, positively marked by the recovery of the historic Victoria Eugenia Theatre, which had been closed and under construction since 2000, returned a good handful of international stars to San Sebastián, among which include Samuel L. Jackson, Demi Moore, Roberto Benigni, Viggo Mortensen, David Cronenberg or Richard Gere. The huge crowds of people from San Sebastián who came to receive the stars far exceeded those that had occurred in previous editions, and returned to the Festival the full popular acceptance of the San Sebastián public that was not usual in cinemas during the event. In any case, the main characteristic of the Festival, differentiating it from the rest of the festivals, is the ability to attract the people of San Sebastian themselves, who flood the city's cinemas, which only show Festival films during those days. This is the Festival with the highest public attendance in the circuit of first-class international Festivals.

The Kursaal during the closing gala of the 54th Edition (2006).

In 2008 there was another upturn in the festival's trajectory with the presentation of the new Woody Allen film: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, with the presence of Woody Allen himself and Javier Bardem. Antonio Banderas receives the Donostia Award from Pedro Almodóvar, and Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr present their new blockbuster film Tropic Thunder; You can also see small film pearls such as the adaptation of the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Other illustrious visitors are Meryl Streep, winner of the Donostia prize, and John Malkovich.

The San Sebastian Festival has stabilized its traditional approach to the Spanish-speaking sphere without having renounced its international dimension.

Organization

The Festival's budget is, today, the largest of all the festivals held in Spain (around 7 million euros per year), and is financed thanks to income from sponsorships and subsidies that, in equal parts, are awarded by the San Sebastián City Council, the Guipúzcoa Provincial Council, the Basque Government and the Ministry of Culture. The Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), dependent on the latter, dedicates almost half of its support budget to Spanish film festivals (2,200,000 euros) to the San Sebastián Festival, allocating the remaining funds to 41 different film festivals.

Shareholding

The San Sebastian Film Festival is managed by a public company whose shareholders are made up of:

• Instituto de las Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas (Ministry of Culture): 25%
• CAE administration: 25%
• Foral de Guipúzcoa: 25%
• San Sebastian City Council: 25%

Sections

View of the Kursaal during the 55th edition of the festival (2007).

The Festival is made up of various sections.

Sections to contest

Official Section

The Official Section is the highest category of the festival competition. High-budget competition films participate in it, on the condition that they have not been submitted to other festivals. The average number of films that participate in this section is about fifteen.

New directors

This is a competitive section that brings together first or second unpublished works by its directors. Previously integrated in the Zabaltegi section, it separated from it in the 60th edition.

Pearls

This is a selection of some of the best films previously presented at other international festivals of the same year.

Zabaltegi - Tabakalera

Zabaltegi ('open place', in Basque) is a free space, open to all kinds of styles, durations and themes. The informal air of the screenings, very different from the elegance that characterizes those of the Official Selection, encourages direct contact between the public and the directors and actors of the films, with the filmmakers usually appearing live after the screenings to respond to questions from the audience and exchange ideas with them. This last point is one of the strengths of the Festival and what sets it apart from other festivals. In 2016 the section became competitive and was renamed Zabaltegi-Tabakalera.

Latin horizons

Entrance of the Kursaal Auditorium during the Festival.

This section presents films unreleased in Spain shot by a Latino director or inspired by Latino communities and financed totally or in part in Latin America.

Contains the section Films in Progress, whose objective is to offer new opportunities to independent Latin American and Spanish films in the post-production phase and offer their directors and producers, in collaboration with the Latin American Cinema Meetings de Toulouse, a place of direct exchange with professionals and institutions as a decisive step to reach the public.

With the creation of this section, the Festival came to reinforce its hegemonic position in terms of film festivals in the Hispanic/Latin American sphere. Horizontes Latinos, with its extensive sample of Latin American cinema, has become, in recent years, the main differentiating vein of the festival and one of its most important assets.

Made in Spain

It is a sample of the best cinema produced in Spain during the year. Some of the films in the section are world premieres. With this section, the Festival reaffirms its hegemony among Spanish film festivals and its support for Spanish cinema, which has proven decisive for the national and international promotion of actors and directors.

Zinemira

Created in 2009, this section presents a sample of films produced in the Basque Country, both shot in Spanish and in Basque. Thus, Basque Film Day is replaced by a fixed section through which the event aims to support film creation in the autonomous community.

Sections out of competition

Retrospectives

These are cycles of classic or more modern films programmed as a tribute to different figures from the world of cinema. In each edition there are between two and three retrospectives:

• Classical retrospective: In this cycle classic films are projected as homage to an actor or director of classic cinema.
• Thematic retrospective: This retrospective is a social theme determined through a careful selection of films.
• Contemporary retrospective: This is a series of films in which it acts or are directed by the homaged figure, which must be an active film figure.

The San Sebastian Festival publishes several books every year on the themes and filmmakers to whom the different retrospectives have been dedicated. A pioneer in this work, both the retrospectives and the books about them published by the Festival are two of the most internationally significant elements of the event.

Velodrome

This is the broadcast of films for a popular audience, mainly children, in the Velodrome of the Anoeta sports complex. A large screen is installed in said enclosure and films are broadcast for all audiences. The objective of these screenings is to bring the festival closer to all citizens.

Side Events

International Film School Meetings

During the festival, the International Meetings of Film Schools are held, an exchange of ideas and experiences between film students from Europe and Latin America that includes screenings of the students' work. Organized in collaboration with the European cultural television channel, Arte, and the French Government, it includes a preview of the world premiere of the Atelier/Masterclass works before being broadcast on said channel. In order to provide maximum visibility to the work of future filmmakers, the festival makes its video library and Sales Office available to them.

The Industry Club

The Festival makes available to professionals in the film industry an office called The Industry Club designed for them to facilitate the closing of financing or film production agreements, facilitating contact between the different film professionals by the organization itself in an intimate and conducive environment. This space offers internet connection, video library with booths, projection rooms, meeting rooms, exhibitors with information and information stands.

Parties

The festivals organized by the San Sebastian Festival are another of the important aspects of the event. They take place every night at the Hotel María Cristina, in the discos of La Concha Bay, at the Ayete Palace or the Miramar Palace, and are an important meeting point for actors, producers, directors and critics from all over the world. the world, although mainly from Spain and Latin America.

Awards

Meryl Streep, Donostia Award in 2008

Official Awards

The official awards are granted only to films presented in the Official Section of the festival. The person in charge of awarding them is the official Jury of the Festival, made up of prominent figures from the world of cinema. These awards are internationally recognized with the highest category by the FIAPF.

• Gold shell

(any nationality)

• Silver shell at the best address

• Silver shell to the best actress

• Silver shell to the best actor

• Jury Award for Best Photography
• Jury Award for Best Screenplay

Unofficial Awards

Entrance to the Kursaal chamber, where the films of the Zabaltegi section are broadcast.

Apart from the aforementioned official awards, the Festival grants others under advertising sponsorship and with different types of jury.

• New Directors Award
  An international jury other than the official is responsible for awarding the prize of 90,000 euros to one of the first or second feature films of a director included in the New Directors section. The prize is distributed equally between the film director and the Spanish importer.
• Public Award
  The audience, by means of their score after the vision of each film, is responsible for deciding the winning film of this award from among those presented in the Perlas section. It aims to stimulate the import of quality films and is equipped with 70,000 euros in support of promotion.
• Youth Award
  It consists of 350 young people between 17 and 21 years of age, both Spanish and foreign, collectively chosen in schools or through registration in their study centre. The participants evaluate each film with a post-show vote, and have the possibility of chatting with the directors and interpreters. This jury evaluates the films of New Directors (first or second feature films by a director, both Zabaltegi and the Official Section).
• Horizontes Award
  This is a prize awarded by the Festival to one of the films in the Horizontes section. Its purpose is to stimulate the production and distribution of Latin American films unpublished in Spanish territory, with 18,000 euros.
• Film Awards in Construction
  To award these awards, the different films of the Film section in Construction of Latin Horizons are evaluated. They are aimed at the definitive financing of a post-production film.
• Film Awards in Movement
  A committee selects several films, which will have the opportunity move on a tour organized by the San Sebastian Festival through various points of the world.
• International Film Schools Award
  The Prize is awarded to the director of one of the works presented by students of the meetings, and consists of a complete equipment of a professional chamber for four weeks of shooting or a credit of 10 000 euros of any material rented for the director. The Jury of Meetings also determines the three new directors who will be able to present their works to the Short Film Corner Short Film section of the next edition of the Festival de Cannes.
• Another Look Award
  This is a prize awarded by TVE, sponsor of the festival, to that film that best reflects the female universe, from an optic committed to equality and non-discrimination.
• Irizar al Cine Vasco Award
  A specific jury is responsible for awarding this award to the best Basque film (Country Basque, Navarre and French Basque Country) presented in world premiere in any section of the Festival.
• Award Best Film Main Nationality Spanish
• Award Best Film Main French Nationality
• Best film award original version be the euskera

Donostia Award

Created in 1986, its objective is to honor an actor for his professional career. The first awardee was Gregory Peck.

Other awards

FIPRESCI Award

The FIPRESCI International Critics Award, decided by more than 350 professionals from all over the world among the international film production of the entire season, is awarded at the San Sebastian Festival.

National Film Award

The National Film Award, granted by the Ministry of Culture, is awarded annually at an event held at the Hotel María Cristina during the Film Festival.

Sebastiane Award

The Sebastiane award is given to the film or documentary screened during the Festival that best reflects the values and reality of lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals, and which in recent years has been awarded by the director of the International Film Festival from San Sebastián José Luis Rebordinos.

List of more or less official awards

Golden Shell for Best International Film

Irizar Basque Film Award (A specific jury is in charge of awarding this award to the best Basque film)

Award for best main film Spanish nationality

Award for best main film French nationality

Award for best original version film in Basque

Silver Shell for Best Director

New Directors Award

Jury Award for Best Screenplay

Best Adapted Screenplay

Silver Shell for Best Actor

Silver Shell for Best Actress

Best Supporting Male Performance

Best Supporting Female Performance

Best Newcomer

Best New Actress

Best Original Score

Best Original Song

Jury Award for Best Photography

Best mounting

Better sound

Best Art Direction

Best Costume Design

Best makeup and hairstyling

Best special effects

Best Production Direction

Best Animated Film

Best Documentary Film

Best Fiction Short Film

Best Animated Short Film

Best documentary short film

Donostia Award

Offices

Facade of Victoria Eugenia Theatre.

View of Hotel Maria Cristina from the square of Oquendo

The Festival takes place in different parts of San Sebastián. The organization's offices are located in the Victoria Eugenia Theatre, and are open all year round: those responsible for the Festival dedicate the twelve months of the year to organizing the next edition. The projections take place in different scenarios:

• Palacio de Congresos y Auditorio Kursaal

In the auditorium, the films in the Official Selection are screened and the opening, closing and awards ceremonies are held. Zabaltegi's films are shown in the camera room, as well as other special projections. The Industry Club is located in the Kursaal Multipurpose Rooms as well as other information offices.

• Victoria Eugenia Theatre

Main venue of the Festival until the construction of the Kursaal in 1999. The main stars of international cinema have paraded through it since 1953.

• Principal Theatre

The oldest theater in the city, inaugurated in 1843, hosts certain projections of the Festival.

• Hotel Maria Cristina

Despite not being a cinematographic point, the fact of being the lodging place for the stars that come to the Festival makes it a place of special interest and significance. The most important international film personalities of recent times have passed through its luxurious rooms and lounges.

• Cinemas Prince

In said cinema, located in front of the San Telmo Museum in the Old Town of San Sebastián, documentaries, press passes and other festival films open to the public are shown.

• Tabakalera

Since its opening in September 2015, the international culture center has hosted the screenings of the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section, the meeting of film students and screenings and meetings in its two cinemas.

In addition to these three points, in most movie theaters in the city during the Festival only films from the different sections of the event are shown. In this way, any citizen who wishes can enjoy all the films of the Festival.