UPDATE (20 August): Two new films have been added to the selection: the second movie by Swiss director Piet Baumgartner (The Driven Ones [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film]), entitled Bagger Drama [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Piet Baumgartner
scheda film], and the debut from Danish filmmaker Sylvia Le Fanu, My Eternal Summer [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sylvia Le Fanu
scheda film].

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The San Sebastián International Film Festival has announced the titles of the ten films that will be locking horns for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award, endowed with €50,000, at the 72nd edition of the Basque gathering, which will take place from 20-28 September. Over the next few days, the organisers are expected to announce one or two more titles to top off the selection. All of the movies that have been chosen will also be duking it out for the DAMA Youth Award.

A few days ago, we found out the identities of the four debut films that will be included in the section, all of which are Spanish (see the news). They are La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Antón Álvarez
scheda film] by Antón Álvarez (aka C Tangana) and As Silence Passes By [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sandra Romero
scheda film] by Sandra Romero, both of which are feature debuts. The Spanish contingent in this section is rounded off by two sophomore features: Surfacing [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato, and Azken erromantikoak (Los últimos románticos) [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by David Pérez Sañudo.

Turkish filmmaker Belkis Bayrak will be heading to San Sebastián with Gülizar [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Belkıs Bayrak e Bekir Behrem
scheda film], her feature debut and a production involving Turkey and Kosovo that revolves around a young woman who is a victim of sexual assault. Another feature debut is Winter in Sokcho [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Koya Kamura
scheda film], which examines how the arrival of a French artist alters the life of a young Korean woman. It is a French-Korean co-production helmed by French-Japanese director Koya Kamura.

Hailing from Thailand is Sivaroj Kongsakul’s Regretfully at Dawn, his second film, in which he portrays how the fates of a girl, an old man and a soldier intertwine. In the Name of Blood [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Akaki Popkhadze
scheda film] is a co-production involving France, Belgium and Germany and is another feature debut, this time by Georgia’s Akaki Popkhadze. The movie is set in Nice and focuses on the death of a prominent member of the Georgian community.

The selection so far (which, again, is open to further additions in the coming weeks) is rounded off by two sophomore features. The first is Turn Me On, which marks the return of US director Michael Tyburski after the successful Sound of Silence. On this occasion, the helmer offers up a romantic comedy set in a new-age community that rejects human emotion. After he partook in IFFR with his feature debut, China’s Yongkang Tang is jetting off to San Sebastián with Stars and the Moon, his second outing, this time centring on a boy in search of aliens in the sky over his tiny mountain village.

Here is the full list:

New Directors

La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Antón Álvarez
scheda film] – Antón Álvarez (Spain)
Surfacing [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] – Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato (Spain/Argentina)
Bagger Drama [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Piet Baumgartner
scheda film] - Piet Baumgartner (Switzerland)
Gülizar [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Belkıs Bayrak e Bekir Behrem
scheda film] – Belkis Bayrak (Turkey/Kosovo)
My Eternal Summer [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sylvia Le Fanu
scheda film] - Sylvia Le Fanu (Denmark)
Winter in Sokcho [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Koya Kamura
scheda film] – Koya Kamura (France/South Korea)
Regretfully at Dawn – Sivaroj Kongsakul (Thailand)
Azken erromantikoak (Los últimos románticos) [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] – David Pérez Sañudo (Spain)
In the Name of Blood [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Akaki Popkhadze
scheda film] – Akaki Popkhadze (France/Belgium/Germany)
As Silence Passes By [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sandra Romero
scheda film] – Sandra Romero (Spain)
Stars and the Moon – Yongkang Tang (China)
Turn Me On – Michael Tyburski (USA)