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SAN SEBASTIÁN 2021

A raft of great Spanish filmmakers set to premiere their new works at San Sebastián

by 

- Icíar Bollaín, Daniel Monzón, Fernando León de Aranoa, Alejandro Aménabar and Paco Plaza, among others, will unveil their most recent outings at the festival

A raft of great Spanish filmmakers set to premiere their new works at San Sebastián
The Good Boss by Fernando León de Aranoa

Ever since it started shooting, Maixabel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Icíar Bollaín
film profile
]
, a film by Icíar Bollaín about an attempt at dialogue between a victim of terrorist violence and the ETA member who murdered her husband, has generated extremely high expectations. This is also the case for the new outing by Paco Plaza, La abuela [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile
]
, a horror film (co-produced with France) boasting several virtues that make it especially enticing: the screenplay is penned by San Sebastián winner Carlos Vermut (of Magical Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Vermut
film profile
]
fame), no less. And that’s not to mention the drawing power of the new collaboration between Javier Bardem and Fernando León de Aranoa (winner of the Golden Shell, this gathering’s top prize, in 2002 with Mondays in the Sun [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
): The Good Boss [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, which tackles conflicts in the work place from a brutal and tragicomic point of view (see the news). Plus, Quién lo impide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonás Trueba
film profile
]
, the latest experiment by Jonás Trueba, ever in search of new narrative styles, is a cinematic exercise five years in the making. In September, these four features will compete in the official section of the 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival, locking horns with several others that have already been announced (see the news).

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Another Spanish title that will get an airing in the official section, albeit out of competition, is The Daughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Manuel Martín Cuenca, a drama-thriller about fatherhood, starring Javier Gutiérrez and Patricia López Arnaiz. Alejandro Amenábar is returning to the festival with his five-hour-long adventure series La Fortuna (see the news), while tireless genius Carlos Saura will open the gathering with his short film Rosa Rosae. La Guerra Civil, inspired by a song by José Antonio Labordeta, and full of photos and drawings by the Aragonese master. A helmer from eastern Spain, Daniel Monzón (who served on the jury of this festival a few years ago), will bring these nine intense days, brimming with audiovisual art, to a close with Las leyes de la frontera [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, his reimagining of quinqui (lit. “delinquency”) cinema based on the novel of the same name by Javier Cercas.

The Spanish contingent in the most important sections of this edition of San Sebastián is rounded off, in the ever-daring Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section, by They Carry Death [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samuel M Delgado and Helena…
film profile
]
(Spain/Colombia), a film helmed by Helena Girón and Samuel M Delgado, and the short Heltzear by Mikel Gurrea, centring on a young mountaineer from San Sebastián. Standing out in Horizontes Latinos is the Argentinian-Chilean-Spanish co-production Piedra noche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iván Fund
film profile
]
, a film by Iván Fund which scooped the WIP Latam Industry Award at this very festival last year.

Due to premiere in New Directors – as has already been reported (see the news) – are Between Two Dawns [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile
]
(Turkey/France/Romania/Spain) by Selman Nacar and Josephine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Javier Marco. Finally, rounding off the 14 Spanish titles announced so far for San Sebastián 2021, in the Perlak sidebar, we’re sure to laugh our heads off with Official Competition [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Spain/Argentina) by the vitriolic duo consisting of Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, which will have passed through Venice and Toronto prior to this gathering.

Here are the Spanish films announced so far for San Sebastián 2021:

Competition

The Good Boss [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Fernando León de Aranoa (Spain)
La abuela [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile
]
Paco Plaza (Spain/France)
Maixabel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Icíar Bollaín
film profile
]
Icíar Bollaín (Spain)
Quién lo impide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonás Trueba
film profile
]
Jonás Trueba (Spain)

Out of competition

Rosa Rosae. La guerra civilCarlos Saura (Spain) (short film)
Las leyes de la frontera [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Daniel Monzón (Spain)
La FortunaAlejandro Amenábar (Spain) (series)
The Daughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Manuel Martín Cuenca (Spain)

New Directors

Between Two Dawns [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile
]
Selman Nacar (Turkey/France/Romania/Spain)
Josephine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Javier Marco

Horizontes latinos

Piedra noche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iván Fund
film profile
]
Iván Fund (Argentina/Chile/Spain)

Zabaltegi – Tabakalera

They Carry Death [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samuel M Delgado and Helena…
film profile
]
Helena Girón and Samuel M Delgado (Spain/Colombia)
HeltzearMikel Gurrea (Spain) (short film)

Perlak

Official Competition [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn (Spain/Argentina)

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(Translated from Spanish)

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