The San Sebastián International Film Festival has announced the films selected for its New Directors section, dedicated to discovering new talent, for the upcoming 73rd edition, which will take place from 19 to 27 September. Fourteen filmmakers from Europe, Latin America and Asia will present nine debut films and four second feature films in the section.

This year's selection will open with one of the most recognisable faces on the current scene, as four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan stars in the British production Bad Apples, a biting satire about a teacher forced to deal with a troubled student. The film is directed by Swedish filmmaker Jonatan Etzler, who made his debut with the Netflix film One More Time (2023).

Another well-known face appears in Redoubt, the second feature film by Swedish director John Skoog, following his documentary Ridge [+leggi anche:
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Joining them are debut works from European filmmakers, including British director Stroma Cairns’ The Son and the Sea, a journey of two friends along the northeast coast of Scotland in which they discover a connection beyond words; Weightless by Danish director Emilie Thalund, in which a fifteen-year-old girl at a weight-loss camp meets a charismatic girl and a charming camp counsellor she is attracted to; and Russians Anton Yarush (screenwriter of the acclaimed Closeness [+leggi anche:
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The section also includes the debut film by Kurdish director Seyhmus Altun, As We Breathe, portraying a family in rural Anatolia after a devastating fire, and a participant in last year’s the professional section of the WIP Europa festival. Also featured is If We Don't Burn, How Do We Light Up the Night by Costa Rican director Kim Torres, which follows a 13-year-old girl who feels trapped in her new family, and last year participated in WIP Latam. Rounding out the programme are the second feature by Chinese director Zhang Zhongchen, Nighttime Sounds; and the debut works by Taiwanese director Tsao Shih-Han, Before the Bright Day; Indian director Tribeny Rai, Shape of Momo; and Japanese director Yukari Sakamoto, White Flowers and Fruits, which will close the section.

In addition to these titles, the following Spanish productions have already been announced: Aro berria, the debut feature film by Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe, following her short film Contadores, which was selected for the Cannes Critics' Week; and La lucha, the second feature by José Alayón (read more).

The selection:

New Directors

Bad Apples - Jonatan Etzler (UK) (opening film)
La lucha - José Alayón (Spain/Colombia)
As We Breathe - Seyhmus Altun (Turkey/Denmark)
The Son and the Sea - Stroma Cairns (UK)
Aro berria - Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe (Spain)
Shape of Momo - Tribeny Rai (India/South Korea)
Redoubt - John Skoog (Sweden/Denmark/Netherlands/Poland/Finland/UK/Switzerland)
Weightless - Emilie Thalund (Denmark)
If We Don't Burn, How Do We Light Up the Night - Kim Torres (Costa Rica/Mexico/France)
Before the Bright Day - Tsao Shih-Han (Taiwan)
Foreign Lands - Anton Yarush y Sergey Borovkov (Russia)
Nighttime Sounds - Zhang Zhongchen (China)
White Flowers and Fruits - Yukari Sakamoto (Japan) (closing film)