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SAN SEBASTIÁN 2021 New Directors

New Directors introduces nine fresh-faced new filmmakers at San Sebastián

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- This section of the Basque gathering includes 13 films that will be duking it out for the Kutxabank Award in September, encompassing feature debuts and second works by auteurs from all over the world

New Directors introduces nine fresh-faced new filmmakers at San Sebastián
Josephine by Javier Marco

As pointed out by José Luis Rebordinos, the director of the San Sebastián International Film Festival, which is all set to celebrate its 69th edition between 17 and 25 September, a total of 13 titles will be vying for its Kutxabank Award, worth €50,000: of these dozen or so contenders, nine helmers are first-timers in the world of feature films, while the remaining four titles are sophomore movies for their directors. In addition, among those selected, five of the titles hail from the industry sidebar of previous editions of the festival, which we detail below.

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Inventory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Darko Sinko
film profile
]
(Slovenia), the feature debut by Darko Sinko, which took part in WIP Europa 2020, is a singular tragicomedy about a man who discovers just how charmless and unharmonious what he thought was his normal, everyday life actually is. Between Two Dawns [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile
]
(Turkey/Spain/Romania/France) is the feature debut by Selman Nacar, who won the WIP Europa Award in 2020 when he outlined the grave moral dilemma facing his main character after suffering an accident in the workplace.

Hailing from Colombia, The Rust [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
is the second feature by Juan Sebastián Mesa, a co-production with France that passed through the VI Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum and WIP Latam 2020, and which depicts the romantic uncertainties of a young man in the countryside. Films in Progress 36, another strand of the festival’s industry section, played host to Hilda’s Short Summer, the feature debut by Uruguay’s Agustín Banchero, revolving around a woman who has severed all emotional relationships with those around her. In addition, Mara Pescio participated in the IV Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum with her feature debut, That Weekend (Argentina/Brazil), which broaches the subject of an unpredictable reunion with the past.

Standing out particularly in this 2021 New Directors selection is a Spanish flick, Josephine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the feature debut by the winner of the Goya Award for Best Short Film (for A la cara) Javier Marco, which stars Emma Suárez and Roberto Álamo: it tells the story of two individuals who are in need of something to fill the voids in their lives. Another standout title that has been selected is the Romanian effort Mikado [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuel Pârvu
film profile
]
, the sophomore work by Emanuel Parvu, about the tense relationship between a father and daughter. Then there’s the Russian drama about premature motherhood Unwanted, the debut outing by Lena Lanskih.

Coming to San Sebastián all the way from China is Sun Liang with a sophomore feature, Lost in Summer, the chronicle of a particularly complicated adolescence. Another contender hailing from Asia, this time from South Korea, is Aloners, the feature debut by Hong Sung-Eung, about a woman who feels like she is being harassed by those around her, both at home and at work.

Carajita by Silvina Schnicer and Ulises Porra is a co-production between Argentina and the Dominican Republic, which captures an extremely intense relationship between two women of very different ages. The Noise of Engines (Canada) by first-timer Philippe Grégoire follows an inquiry into some obscene drawings that have been unnerving the citizens of a town. And finally, set to rock up in San Sebastián from the United States is actor Fran Kranz with his directorial debut, Mass, a melodrama about families bearing tragic scars, starring Jason Isaaks and Martha Plimpton.

Here is the full list of titles taking part in the New Directors section:

Inventory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Darko Sinko
film profile
]
- Darko Sinko (Slovenia)
The Rust [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Juan Sebastián Mesa (Colombia/France)
Hilda’s Short SummerAgustín Banchero (Uruguay)
Between Two Dawns [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile
]
Selman Nacar (Turkey/Spain/Romania/France)
That WeekendMara Pescio (Argentina/Brazil)
Josephine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Javier Marco (Spain)
Mikado [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuel Pârvu
film profile
]
Emanuel Parvu (Romania)
UnwantedLena Lanskih (Russia)
Lost in Summer - Sun Liang (China)
Mass - Fran Kranz (USA)
The Noise of Engines - Philippe Grégoire (Canada)
Aloners - Hong Sung-Eung (South Korea)
Carajita - Silvina Schnicer and Ulises Porra (Argentina/Dominican Republic)

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(Translated from Spanish)

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