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SAN SEBASTIÁN 2021 Competition

Laurent Cantet and Terence Davies go head to head for the San Sebastian Golden Shell

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- The French and British moviemakers will both take part in the 69 edition of the Festival, which has just announced the first nine titles in the Official Selection

Laurent Cantet and Terence Davies go head to head for the San Sebastian Golden Shell
Benediction by Terence Davies

Like every year in mid-summer, the San Sebastian International Film Festival is gradually revealing which films will contend for the different sections of the upcoming Festival - the 69th in its history - to be held from 17 to 25 September in the charming Basque town, so affectionately portrayed by Woody Allen in his latest film. The organisers have just announced nine films that will be included in the official selection, including two familiar visitors at the Festival: French Director Laurent Cantet and the British film maker Terence Davies. Cantet is contending with Arthur Rambo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Cantet
film profile
]
, a sharp reflection on the consequences of toxic messages poured out over social media, while the British Director's offer is Benediction [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a sensitive historical feature film focusing on a man seeking to accept himself in a twisted world.

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Other key names in this first announcement of the candidates for the Festival's most coveted award, the Golden Shell, are Lucile Hadzihalilovic and Claire Simon. The first one already won the Special Jury Prize six years ago with her fascinating second feature film Evolution [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, while an equally attractive candidate is her new film, Earwig [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
film profile
]
, described as telling the story of a girl with ice teeth who never leaves her closed-windowed apartment. Claire Simon’s offering, meanwhile, is the daring I want to talk about Duras [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claire Simon
film profile
]
, which narrates the intense relationship between the mature French writer Marguerite Duras with the young Yann Andréa (read more).

This first announcement of the programme for San Sebastian - which from this year onwards will award a single lead and supporting actor award, regardless of gender, like in the last Berlinale - includes a notable début from Romanian Alina Grigore with Blue Moon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alina Grigore
film profile
]
, a tense drama about a young woman trying to stop the violence taking place in her home. There is also another interesting début work: As in Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tea Lindeburg
film profile
]
, by Danish moviemaker Tea Lindeburg, portraying a sudden coming of age, based on the literary classic by Marie Bregendahl.

From across the Atlantic we will also see the US/Chilean/Spanish co-production Fever Dream [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claudia Llosa
film profile
]
, by Claudia Llosa (Director of the Golden Bear 2008 The Milk of Sorrow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and Aloft [+see also:
trailer
interview: Claudia Llosa
film profile
]
), a story of motherhood based on the book of the same name by Samantha Schweblin; and the Argentinian Director Inés Barrionuevo with her fourth film, Camila comes out tonight; while from Asia we will see the Chinese thriller Fire on the Plain, by another newcomer, Zhang Ji.

The selected movies:

Competition

Arthur Rambo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Cantet
film profile
]
Laurent Cantet (France)
Benediction [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Terence Davies (UK)
Camila comes out tonightInés Barrionuevo (Argentina)
Blue Moon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alina Grigore
film profile
]
Alina Grigore (Romania)
Fever Dream [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claudia Llosa
film profile
]
Claudia Llosa (US/Chile/Spain)
As in Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tea Lindeburg
film profile
]
Tea Lindeburg (Denmark)
Earwig [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
film profile
]
Lucile Hadzihalilovic (France/UK/Belgium)
Fire on the plainZhang Ji (China)
I Want To Talk About Duras [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claire Simon
film profile
]
Claire Simon (France)

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(Translated from Spanish by Alexandra Stephens)

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