62nd San Sebastian International Film Festival

With its warm “hola!”, San Sebastian, the wonderful, welcoming coastal city in the Basque country of northern Spain, is a great favorite with festivalgoers, and we gladly keep coming back. One of the most important film festivals in the world, this year’s Donostia Zinemaldia/Festival de San Sebastian again offered a great range of films and filmmakers, including rich sidebars focusing on Latin American and Spanish cinema, as well as sections such as Eastern Promises: Portrait of Eastern Europe and a retrospective of director Dorothy Arzner. Actors Denzel Washington and Benicio Del Toro were in town to receive this year’s Donostia Awards, given to recognize careers in world cinema.

This 62nd edition screened almost 400 films, including features, short films and documentaries, in a well-scheduled program which you could enjoy without feeling anxious. San Sebastian is also the home of the FIPRESCI Grand Prix presentation, and on opening night, Richard Linklater’s 12-year project Boyhood was given the award for best film of the past year as voted for by FIPRESCI members.

The festival has three major competition categories, Kutxa: New Directors, Horizantes and Official Competition, with the grand honor of the Golden Shell going to the best film. Of the 17 feature films in the Official Competition, the FIPRESCI jury awarded Phoenix by German director Christian Petzold.

In San Sebastian, the “business” side of cinema is never neglected, since the festival’s Industry Department organizes activities to foster participation and cooperation in new projects and to help open new channels of international financing and promotion for films. (Esin Kucuktepepinar)

San Sebastian International Film Festival: www.sansebastianfestival.com/in