Alauda Ruiz de Azúa's Sundays wins the Golden Shell in San Sebastián
- The Basque director tops a list of winners with a strong Spanish presence, which also includes Good Valley Stories , Maspalomas and Los Tigres
With few surprises, the winners of the 73rd San Sebastian International Film Festival, held from 19 to 27 September in the photogenic yet rainy Basque city, were announced. The closing ceremony took place last Saturday, during which – as throughout the rest of the competition (read more) – calls were made for peace in Gaza. The film that received the highest honour, the coveted Golden Shell for Best Film in the official section, was Sundays [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
film profile], directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, which has already demonstrated its captivating power to critics and audiences alike since its festival screening.
In addition, this feature film also received, among other accolades (the full list appears at the end of this article), the FIPRESCI Prize and the Irizar Prize for Basque Cinema. The latter’s jury gave a special mention to The Last Rapture by Marta Medina and Enrique López Lavigne, which was included in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.
Although the only gasp of surprise at the Kursaal came with the double presence on stage of Belgian filmmaker Joachim Lafosse, who collected both the Silver Shell for Best Director (an award he had previously won in 2015 for The White Knights [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile]) and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay for Six Days in Spring [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], it was Spanish cinema that received the most cheers.
The other Spanish feature films in the official section also received awards. Another predictable winner was José Luis Guerín, who repeated his Special Jury Prize, having first won it here 24 years ago for En construcción, for his documentary Good Valley Stories [+see also:
film review
interview: José Luis Guerín
film profile]. He also repeated his triumph for Best Cinematography, twelve years after Cannibal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Manuel Martín Cuenca
film profile], for Los Tigres [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Alberto Rodríguez's aquatic thriller. Actor José Ramón Soroiz was moved as he received his trophy for Best Leading Actor – shared with China's Zhao Xiaohong, star of the film Her Heart Beats in Its Cage– for Maspalomas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi and José Mari …
film profile], directed by José Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi.
The remaining awards, presented by a jury chaired by Catalan filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona (read more), included Best Supporting Actress, which went to Argentine actress Camila Plaate. She accepted the award with nerves and emotion for her work in Dolores Fonzi's film Belén.
Meanwhile, Weightless [+see also:
film review
interview: Emilie Thalund
film profile], the debut film by Danish filmmaker Emilie Thalund, received the New Directors Award. The jury also gave a special mention to Spanish director Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe's debut film Aro berria [+see also:
film review
film profile], which had participated in the Ikusmira Berriak festival's residency programme during its development.
The Horizontes Award went to A Poet [+see also:
film review
interview: Simón Mesa Soto
film profile], directed by Simón Mesa Soto, which thrilled audiences and had previously premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, where it won the Jury Prize. Two special mentions were also awarded in this section: one to The Ivy [+see also:
film review
interview: Ana Cristina Barragán
film profile], by Ana Cristina Barragán, which had won Best Screenplay in the Orizzonti section at the Venice Film Festival; and another to A Loose End [+see also:
trailer
film profile], by Daniel Hendler, which premiered in the Venezia Spotlight section at Venice and won last year’s WIP Latam Industry Award.
Finally, the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award went to The Ice Tower [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucile Hadžihalilović
film profile], the latest work by French filmmaker Lucile Hadzihalilovic, winner of the Silver Bear for Artistic Contribution at this year's Berlinale. The jury also decided on two special mentions: one to the Portuguese production Two Times João Liberada [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paula Tomás Marques
film profile], by Paula Tomás Marques, which was screened at the most recent Berlinale, and another to the Canadian-Hungarian co-production Blue Heron [+see also:
film review
film profile], by Sophy Romvari, which had previously won Best First Feature at Locarno and the Canadian Discovery Award at Toronto.
The list of winners:
Competition
Golden Shell for Best Film
Sundays [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
film profile] – Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain/France)
Silver Shell for Best Director
Joachim Lafosse - Six Days in Spring [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Belgium/France/Luxembourg)
Special Jury Prize
Good Valley Stories [+see also:
film review
interview: José Luis Guerín
film profile] – José Luis Guerín (Spain/France)
Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance (joint winners)
José Ramón Soroiz - Maspalomas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi and José Mari …
film profile] (Spain)
Zhao Xiaohong - Her Heart Beats in Its Cage (China)
Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance
Camila Plaate - Belén (Argentina)
Best Screenplay
Joachim Lafosse, Chloé Duponchelle and Paul Ismaël - Six Days in Spring
Best Cinematography
Pau Esteve – Los Tigres [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Spain)
New Directors
Kutxabank-New Directors Award
Weightless [+see also:
film review
interview: Emilie Thalund
film profile] - Emilie Thalund (Denmark)
Special Mention
Aro berria [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe (Spain)
Horizontes Latinos
Horizontes Latinos Make & Mark Award
A Poet [+see also:
film review
interview: Simón Mesa Soto
film profile] – Simón Mesa Soto (Colombia/Germany/Sweden)
Special Mention
The Ivy [+see also:
film review
interview: Ana Cristina Barragán
film profile] – Ana Cristina Barragán (Ecuador/Mexico/France/Spain)
A Loose End [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Daniel Hendler (Uruguay/Argentina/Spain)
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award
The Ice Tower [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucile Hadžihalilović
film profile] - Lucile Hadzihalilovic (France/Germany)
Special Mention
Two Times João Liberada [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paula Tomás Marques
film profile] - Paula Tomás Marques (Portugal)
Blue Heron [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Sophy Romvari (Canada/Hungary)
Culinary Zinema
Culinary Zinema Award
Mam - Nan Feix (France)
Nest
Nest The Mediapro Studio Award
How to Listen to Fountains - Eva Sajanová (Academy of Music and Performing Arts - FTF VSMU, Slovakia) (short film)
Special Mention
The Old Bull Knows, Or Once Knew - Milan Kumar (Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, India) (short film)
Other Awards
City of Donostia / San Sebastián Audience Award
The Voice of Hind Rajab [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] – Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia/France)
Audience Award for Best European Film
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain [+see also:
trailer
interview: Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han
film profile]- Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han (France)
Irizar Award for Basque Cinema
Sundays– Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
Special Mention
The Last Rapture – Marta Medina, Enrique López Lavigne (Spain)
DAMA Youth Award
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo [+see also:
film review
interview: Diego Céspedes
film profile]– Diego Céspedes (Chile/France/Germany/Spain/Belgium)
FIPRESCI Award
Sundays – Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
Feroz Zinemaldia Award
Sundays – Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
Eusko Label Award
First Award
Hatsa (Alma/Soul) – Josu Ozaita Azpiroz (Spain) (micro-short film)
Second Award
Gatz Harana (Valle salado/Salt Valley) – Saioa Miguel (Spain) (micro-short film)
(Translated from Spanish)
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