30/09/2024 - The Catalonian filmmaker has snagged the top prize at the Basque event with his visually stunning doc, which plunges headfirst into the world of bullfighting, with all its light and shadow

On Saturday, the 72nd edition of the San Sebastián Film Festival came to a close, with the victor being one of the films that had been mooted as a favourite ever since its first screening: Afternoons of Solitude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile], a non-fiction title in which Catalonian director Albert Serra pries deep into that religion known as bullfighting and its most faithful followers. In it, he uses his camera to give us a close-up portrait of the private and professional moments of Peruvian matador Andrés Roca Rey. With this work, Serra has picked up his first major prize in Spain – so far, a Goya has eluded him, for example, although he has snagged several Gaudís.

At the closing ceremony on the night of 28 September, a Special Jury Prize from the jury chaired by Jaione Camborda (the winner of the Golden Shell one year ago for The Rye Horn [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaione Camborda
film profile]) also served to single out the cast of the US flick The Last Showgirl by Gia Coppola, which includes Pamela Anderson, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, Dave Bautista and Jamie Lee Curtis. The filmmaker came up on stage together with her lead actress, Pamela Anderson, to accept the trophy.

In the Best Director category, the jury opted to split the Silver Shell between two first-timers: Portugal’s Laura Carreira, for her impressive work on On Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Carreira
film profile], which was another feature with good odds to win, and Spaniard Pedro Martín Calero for The Wailing [+see also:
film review
interview: Pedro Martín-Calero, Isabel…
film profile], a horror film that didn’t inspire as much affection as the former. Another movie that also failed to garner unanimous opinions was When Fall Is Coming [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by a familiar face at this gathering, François Ozon (the winner of the Golden Shell in 2012 for In the House [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), who, according to the jury, was deserving of two awards: Best Screenplay, written by the director together with Philippe Piazzo, and Best Supporting Performance, for Pierre Lottin.

As for the Silver Shell for Best Lead Performance, it ended up going to Alavés-born actress Patricia López Arnaiz, who gives an excellent performance in Glimmers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pilar Palomero
film profile], the third film by Pilar Palomero (whose previous effort, La maternal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pilar Palomero
film profile], picked up this very same prize two years ago, for the young Carla Quílez), which was also one of the favourites. The Award for Best Cinematography in the Official Section was bestowed upon Piao Songri for his work on Bound in Heaven, the feature debut by China’s Huo Xin.

The ceremony provided heartfelt support to the Argentinian film industry (which had a strong presence at the festival with some 25 titles, encompassing films in various sections and projects in the industry strand), currently under threat from the restrictive measures of Javier Milei’s government. Indeed, actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart made the most of his moment collecting the award he received in the Horizontes Latinos section for Kill the Jockey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luis Ortega
film profile], directed by Luis Ortega (which previously took part in Venice) and which he stars in, to urge everyone to stand up for the seventh art in his home country (as well as making a plea for peace in Gaza).

Another of the most invigorating and passionate speeches – in favour of diversity and the queer community – was made by Swiss helmer Piet Baumgartner, who picked up the gong in the New Directors section for his second feature, Bagger Drama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Piet Baumgartner
film profile]. The Special Mention in this sidebar went to Antón Álvarez (aka musician C Tangana) for his directorial feature debut, the non-fiction film La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés [+see also:
film review
interview: Antón Álvarez
film profile].

The Zabaltegi strand saw the victory of Georgia’s Dea Kulumbegashvili (as was the case four years ago in the Official Section, with Beginning [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dea Kulumbegashvili
film profile]) with April [+see also:
film review
interview: Dea Kulumbegashvili
film profile], while Collective Monologue [+see also:
film review
interview: Jessica Sarah Rinland
film profile] by Jessica Sarah Rinland pocketed a Special Mention.

Lastly, it’s worth pointing out that Spaniard Paco Plaza came out on top in the Culinary Zinema sidebar. The master of inducing fear (we only need think of The Grandmother [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile], which competed at this same festival) was not afraid to venture into the kitchen when he agreed to direct the documentary Mugaritz. Sin pan ni postre, about the titular Basque restaurant.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Competition

Golden Shell for Best Film
Afternoons of Solitude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] – Albert Serra (Spain/Portugal/France)

Silver Shell for Best Director (ex aequo)
Laura Carreira – On Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Carreira
film profile] (UK/Portugal)
Pedro Martín Calero – The Wailing [+see also:
film review
interview: Pedro Martín-Calero, Isabel…
film profile] (Spain/Argentina/France)

Special Jury Prize
The cast of The Last Showgirl – Gia Coppola (USA)

Silver Shell for Best Lead Performance
Patricia López Arnaiz – Glimmers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pilar Palomero
film profile] (Spain)

Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance
Pierre Lottin – When Fall Is Coming [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France)

Best Screenplay
Philippe Piazzo, Francois Ozon – When Fall Is Coming

Best Cinematography
Piao Songri – Bound in Heaven (China)

New Directors

Kutxabank-New Directors Award
Bagger Drama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Piet Baumgartner
film profile] - Piet Baumgartner (Switzerland)
Special Mention
La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés [+see also:
film review
interview: Antón Álvarez
film profile] – Antón Álvarez (Spain)

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award
April [+see also:
film review
interview: Dea Kulumbegashvili
film profile] - Dea Kulumbegashvili (France/Italy/Georgia)
Special Mention
Collective Monologue [+see also:
film review
interview: Jessica Sarah Rinland
film profile] - Jessica Sarah Rinland (Argentina)

Horizontes Latinos

Horizontes Latinos Award
Kill the Jockey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luis Ortega
film profile] – Luis Ortega (Argentina/Mexico/Spain/Denmark/USA)

Culinary Zinema

Culinary Zinema Award
Mugaritz. Sin pan ni postre – Paco Plaza (Spain)

Nest

The Mediapro Studio Nest Award
El reinado de Antoine - José Luis Jiménez Gómez (Cuba/Dominican Republic) (short film)

Other awards

Irizar Basque Film Award
Charlie Chaplin, A Man of the World - Carmen Chaplin (Spain/UK/Netherlands/France)
Special Mention
Réplica – Pello Gutiérrez Peñalba (Spain)

Eusko Label Award
First Prize
Las guardianas – Borja de Agüero (Spain) (micro movie)
Second Prize
Km 0 - Jon Martija Leunda (Spain) (micro movie)

Audience Award
The Marching Band [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Courcol
film profile] – Emmanuel Courcol (France)

Audience Award for Best European Film
The Seed of the Sacred Fig [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mohammad Rasoulof
film profile] - Mohammad Rasoulof (Germany/France/Iran)

DAMA Youth Award
Turn Me On - Michael Tyburski (USA)

FIPRESCI Award
Bound in Heaven – Huo Xin (China)

Feroz Zinemaldia Award
Afternoons of Solitude – Albert Serra

(Translated from Spanish)