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SAN SEBASTIÁN 2022 New Directors

Fourteen debut films will compete in San Sebastián's New Directors section

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- As well as Tobacco Farms, the second feature film by Rocío Mesa, which increases the substantial Spanish presence at the Basque competition

Fourteen debut films will compete in San Sebastián's New Directors section
Fifi (Spare Keys) by Jeanne Aslan and Paul Saintillan

UPDATE (1 September 2022): The section is rounded off by two new titles: A Tale of Shemroon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the first feature by Iranian filmmaker Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi, a French-German-Italian-Iranian co-production narrating the story of two siblings and a city, Tehran, which swallows their own children; and Something You Said Last Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luis De Filippis
film profile
]
, the first feature by Canadian filmmaker Luis De Filippis, a Canadian-Swiss co-production which follows the footsteps of a young trans woman who loses her job and goes on holiday with her Italian-Canadian family.

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Thirteen films from 15 countries will compete for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, which will celebrate its 70th edition from 16th to 24th September. Of all the films selected for this section, twelve are debut films and one is a second film. All of them, with more to be added in the near future, are eligible for the €50,000 prize, shared between the director and their distributor in Spain.

If we take a look at this New Directors section by continent, from Europe, specifically from France, comes the film by Jeanne Aslan and Paul Saintillan, called Spare Keys [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the story of a teenage girl who starts a relationship with a friend’s brother. Ion Borș, WIP Europa Industry Award and WIP Europa Award a year ago with Carbon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, will participate with this black comedy, co-produced between the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Spain, set in the early 1990s during the Transnistria war.

Danish filmmaker Katrine Brocks will compete with The Great Silence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristine Kujath Thorp
film profile
]
, about a young novice who receives an awkward visit from her twin brother in the convent. The Russian actress Dinara Drukarova, currently living in France, will present Grand Marin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dinara Drukarova
film profile
]
. She plays the protagonist, a woman who leaves everything behind to take a fishing boat and set sail for the northern seas.

Swiss filmmaker Carmen Jaquier will also make her feature film debut with Thunder [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carmen Jaquier
film profile
]
, a portrait of a woman's emancipation in early 20th century Switzerland. Also, Croatian director Josip Žuvan will screen Carbide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Josip Žuvan
film profile
]
, a film starring two inseparable friends who try to preserve their friendship despite the quarrels between their respective families.

The director of a previous documentary and producer Rocío Mesa will participate in New Directors with  Tobacco Farms [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rocío Mesa
film profile
]
, her first feature-length fiction film (co-produced between Spain and the United States), a story tinged with magical realism that takes place in the buildings where tobacco plants are stored. We recall Maria Elorza’s already announced work To Book and Women I Sing [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: María Elorza and Marian Fer…
film profile
]
, which is created around an anonymous and unarmed army that protects literary works. The Spanish presence (read more), including co-productions, currently stands at 21 films.

Laura Baumeister will arrive from the American continent with Daughter of Rage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Baumeister
film profile
]
, (Nicaragua/Mexico/Netherlands/Germany/France/Spain), a story about a girl who survives in a rubbish dump: this film won the award for best project at the 8th Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum 2019 and the WIP Latam Industry Award 2021.

And from the always interesting (and sometimes surprising) Asian cinema we will get to see Jeong-sun, by Ji-hye Jeong, who won the Korean competition at the Jeonju Festival with this film about a woman who starts a secret relationship with a colleague at the factory where they work. Japan’s Takeshi Kogahara will showcase Nagisa about love between siblings separated by fate. The trio Masahiko SatoYutaro Seki and Kentaro Hirase make their feature film directing debut with Roleless (Japan) which deals with the ups and downs of a cable car operator who also works as a film extra. Finally, India's Parth Saurabh will present On Either Sides of the Pond, which follows a couple who, for pandemic economic reasons, return to their hometown, where their relationship begins to deteriorate.

The selected films:

A Tale of Shemroon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi (France/Germany/Italy/Iran)
Spare Keys
 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Jeanne Aslan, Paul Saintillan (France)
Carbon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Ion Borș (Moldava/Romania)
The Great Silence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristine Kujath Thorp
film profile
]
- Katrine Brocks (Denmark)
Something You Said Last Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luis De Filippis
film profile
]
 - Luis De Filippis (Canada/Switzerland)
Grand Marin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dinara Drukarova
film profile
]
Dinara Drukarova (France)
Thunder [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carmen Jaquier
film profile
]
 - Carmen Jaquier (Switzerland)
Carbide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Josip Žuvan
film profile
]
- Josip Žuvan (Croatia)
Tobacco Farms [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rocío Mesa
film profile
]
Rocío Mesa (Spain/United States)
To Book and Women I Sing [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: María Elorza and Marian Fer…
film profile
]
- María Elorza (Spain)
Daughter of Rage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Baumeister
film profile
]
- Laura Baumeister (Nicaragua/Mexico/Netherlands/Germany/Germany/France/Spain)
Jeong-sunJi-hye Jeong (South Korea)
NagisaTakeshi Kogahara (Japan)
Roleless - Masahiko SatoYutaro SekiKentaro Hirase (Japan)
On Either Sides of the Pond - Parth Saurabh (India)

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(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)

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