San Sebastian International Film Festival
San Sebastian International Film Festival
The San Sebastian International Film Festival is one of the most important annual events in the Basque Country. This event has been held uninterruptedly since 1953, presenting some of the best films ever and bringing together the most prominent names on celluloid.
Conceived as a film- and commercially-oriented International Film Week, it was not long before it received recognition as category B (non-competitive) festival by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, thanks to the success of its first edition. As a result, the following year it was renamed International Film Festival and, in 1955, the Federation recognised it as competitive, specialist festival for colour films: official prizes could now be awarded. This was the origin of La Concha, then still a silver award, the awarding of which had to be decided by an international jury.
By the time it was finally awarded category “A” status in 1957, and La Concha became a gold award in the most important categories, the main icons of the competition had appeared, the benchmark from which progress is still being made today, i.e. the option for a progressive, liberalising stream in contrast to the constraints of the censorship at the time. Elia Kazan’s America, America, Víctor Erice’s The Spirit of The Beehive, Fernando León de Aranoa’s Mondays In The Sun and Turtles Can Fly by Bahman Ghobadi are some of the films that have won the Golden Concha over the decades, clear examples of the most restless and refreshing cinema that the festival aims to showcase.
Since 1959, retrospectives devoted to major filmmakers such as Terence Davies, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrik or Bernardo Bertolucci have been presented annually, along with retrospective themes such as Portrait of Eastern Europe in 50 Films, American Film Noir and New Japanese Independent Cinema.
In 1986, the Donostia award was introduced in recognition of those who have contributed so much with their careers to the world of the seventh art, a tribute from the city, which has been awarded to Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Susan Sarandon, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irons, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robert de Niro, Sean Penn, Richard Gere, Meryl Streep, Ian McKellen, Julia Roberts, Glenn Close, Ewan McGregor and Dustin Hoffman, among others.
Besides the Donostia Awards, since its inception, the festival has attracted film professionals who have undoubtedly left their mark on the city. Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Quinn, Audrey Hepburn, Francis Ford Coppola, Orson Welles, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Roman Polanski, Sophia Loren and Mel Gibson, to name but a few, have presented their films in San Sebastian.
This event is a unique opportunity to enjoy independent feature films that are sometimes not marketed around the world. Theatres, auditoriums, museums, cinemas and even the city’s velodrome screen films these days, being a festival with one of the largest number of spectators.
In addition to the official sections, the festival also has other sections, such as New Directors, Horizontes Latinos, Culinary Zinema and Made in Spain, where themed films or movies from a specific region are presented. To these must be added other awards, including the FIPRESCI Grand Prix and the Jaeger LeCoultre Award, as well as new initiatives that are incorporated into the extensive agenda of the competition, such as Glocal in Progress, an activity consisting of screening European films in non-hegemonic languages in their post-production phase to professionals, who can contribute to their international circulation. For filmmakers, an environment as specialised as the one offered by the festival is ideal for getting the support they need to proceed with their productions. The Industry Club is a space offered by the organisation to interact and work to promote the international circulation of feature films and new projects.
Whether it’s for those who are taking time off to immerse themselves in auteur cinema, or for industry professionals seeking to realize their dreams, the truth is that the San Sebastian International Film Festival is a magical time for anyone experiencing it first hand. Something that should be experienced at least once in a lifetime. Even though those who have taken part in the festival and know about its parties, screenings, meetings with actors, press conferences and its ever-glamorous red carpet know that the following year they will return, attracted by the magic of cinema.
