Two Netflix Originals and new movies from Mike Leigh, Joshua Oppenheimer, Gia Coppola and Edward Berger will vie for San Sebastian’s top Golden Shell this September.
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The festival features a main competition that is stronger than usual on both bigger-name directors and ‘A’ list stars, such as Tilda Swinton in Oppenheimer’s “The End,” Jamie Lee Curtis and Pamela Anderson in Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl” and the ensemble cast of Berger’s “Conclave” that includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini.
Bound for Toronto and Telluride before San Sebastián, Oppenheimer’s “The End” stars Swinton, George MacKay and Michael Shannon in what is described as a post-apocalyptic “Golden Age” musical.
“Conclave,” from “All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger,” is a psychological thriller written by Peter Straughan, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Robert Harris and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow.
Leigh’s “Hard Truths” reunites the filmmaker with Marianne Jean-Baptiste , who received an Oscar nomination for his 1996 drama “Secrets & Lies.”
“The Last Showgirl” is a mother-daughter drama starring Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, Dave Bautista, and Brenda Song, with Anderson at a career crossroads when her Las Vegas show closes after a 30-year run.
The two Netflix Originals take in “El lugar de la otra,” the debut fiction feature of two-time Chilean Oscar nominee Maite Alberdi (“The Eternal Memory” and “The Mole Agent”), produced by Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula (“El Conde,” “Spencer”), and “The Man Who Loved UFOs,” a dramedy from Argentina’s Diego Lerman, turning on a cock-and-bull alien visitation scam in the 1980s.
There is no ban on Netflix titles in competition at San Sebastian. Director José Luis Rebordinos and his selection committee simply choose the most interesting they can.
In Latin America, Netflix quite regularly backs high-profile auteurs who have played in San Sebastián before – Lerman competed at the Spanish film festival in 2017 with “A Sort of Family,” winning the festival’s Jury Prize, and 2022 with “The Substitute.”
The competition cut also takes in new films from legendary France-based director Costa Gavras, “The Last Breath,” as well as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Paris-set thriller “Serpent’s Path” and François Ozon’s “When Fall is Coming.”
The 72nd San Sebastian Festival runs Sept. 20 -28.
San Sebastian Main Competition
As it currently stands, more titles to come.
“Afternoons of Solitude,” (Albert Serra, Spain)
Exploring the spiritual pain of bullfighting and its aesthetics, the creation of ephemeral beauty in a brutal clash between man and bull, seen from the POV of the matador. The latest, a doc feature, from the Spanish director of Cannes competition player “Pacifiction.”
“Bound in Heaven,” Huh Xin (China) or Xin Huo
The story of a terminally ill man and and a young girl trapped by violence as they set out on a race against the clock through different cities.
“Conclave,” Edward Berger (U.K., U.S.)
A Focus Features thriller from Oscar winner Berger set in the Vatican as Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), tasked with organising the selection of a new Pope, finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy and discovers a secret that could shake the very foundation of the Church.
“The End,” (Joshua Oppenheimer)
Produced by Neon, the first foray into fiction of acclaimed U.S. documentarian Oppenheimer, director of The Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence,” both Academy Award nominated. It turns on one of the last families on earth, surviving in a luxurious compound deep underground. Final Cut for Real’s produces; Wild Atlantic Pictures (Ireland), The Match Factory (Germany), Dorje Film (Italy), Moonspun Films (U.K.) and Anagram (Sweden) co-produce.
“Emmanuelle,” Audrey Diwan (France)
Shot in Hong Kong, the film is adapted from Emmanuelle Arsan’s novel of the same name. It casts a female gaze on the intimate quest of the woman whose name still evokes one of cinema’s most provocative characters.
“Last Breath,” Costa-Gavras (France)
Based on the book “Le Dernier Souffle” by Régis Debray and Claude Grange, this film investigates the world of palliative care through the interactions of a doctor and his patients. Sold by Playtime.
“I Am Nevenka,” Iciar Bollaín, (Spain)
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Written by Bollaín and Isa Campo (“Between Two Waters”), co-scribes on Bollain’s 2021’s breakout “Maixabel,” a film inspired by a landmark sexual harassment case in Spain, taking place way back in 2001, weaving a narrative of power, gender discrimination, and the courage to stand alone. Sold by Film Factory.
“On Falling,” Laura Carreira, (U.K.)
Produced by Sixteen Films and Bro Cinema, sold by Goodfellas and directed by Carreira, based in Scotland, a Portuguese immigrant battles for human connection in a world dominated by an algorithm-driven gig economy. Another debut.
“Glimmers,” Pilar Palomero, (Spain)
A top-notch Spanish cast led by Patricia López Arnaíz and Antonio de la Torre drive the tale of a woman asked by her daughter to care for her father, the hospitalized ex-husband she has not seen for 15 years. Buried resentments well as she meets him again. After two multi-prized studies of female adolescence, Palomero’s biggest movie to date and a “reflection on the marks left on us and which we leave, which make us who we are,” Palomero has said.
“Hard Truths,” Mike Leigh, (U.K., Spain)
A film billed as a “tough but compassionate intimate study of family life.” Leigh’s label Thin Man Films and The Mediapro Studio co-produce, with Cornerstone Films handling international sales.
“I, Addict,” Javier Giner, Elena Trapé
An autobiographical story of how director Giner voluntarily entered a rehab center at 30 years old, suffering the darkest moments of his life, and came out a new person.
“The Last Showgirl,” Gia Copolla (U.S.)
Uncertain about her professional future when her 30-year-old Las Vegas show closes, a dancer (Pamela Anderson) attempts to re-set her relationship with her daughter. The latest from Sofia Coppola and Roman Coppola’s niece, director of “Palo Alto,” “Mainstream” and “The Seven Faces of Jane.”
“El lugar de la otra,” Maite Alberdi (Chile)
A Netflix Original lensed by Sergio Armstrong (“Neruda”) and inspired by author Alia Trabucco’s “Las Homicidas” (“Women who Kill”), a film that focuses on the real-life case of novelist Maria Carolina Geel who killed her lover in front of stunned diners at the Hotel Crillón in the early ‘50s, Variety reports.
“The Man Who Loved UFOs,” Diego Lerman (Argentina)
A second Netflix Original, from famed Argentinian auteur Lerman, a Locarno Silver Leopard winner for “Suddenly” and Cannes Directors’ Fortnight director with “The Invisible Eye.” In it, a journalist is invited to the Argentine countryside to pay testimony to a purported alien visitation. Leonardo Sbaraglia (“Wild Tales,” “Pain and Glory”) stars. Campo Cine and Bicho Films produce.
“Querer,” Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain)
In her TV debut Ruíz de Azua returns to an eye-opening intimate family drama set in her lush native Basque Country, a story which delivers once more some uncomfortable truths about women’s role in traditional family structures. One of the banner fall series from Movistar Plus+, combining the force of another emerging female voice and the industrial power of the Telefonica pay-TV/SVOD player.
“The Red Virgin,” Paula Ortiz (U.S., Spain)
A big Spanish period production “Hildegart,” starring Najwa Nimri (“Money Heist,” “Locked Up”) and Alba Planas (“Skam España”), the fact-based tale of the extraordinary and tragic life of Spain’s Hildegart Rodríguez, born in 1914, a child prodigy raised by her mother to be a model for future women, who gave conferences on feminism and sexuality from the age of 11. Producers Avalon and Elastica Films , behind 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” produce for Prime Video Spain.
“Serpent’s Path,” Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan, France)
“The Wailing,” Pedro Martín Calero, (Spain, Argentina, France)
Lead produced by on-the-rise Madrid production house Caballo Films (“The Beasts,” “La ruta”), a smart chiller about a presence that preys on young women and the feature debut of Martín Calero, whose work to date includes Weeknd pop video “Secrets,” commercials – the vertigo-inducing Honda Civic –Up spot, for instance – or fiction vignettes, such as “Julius Cesar.”
“When Fall is Coming,” François Ozon (France)
Produced by Playtime, Ozon’s follow-up to “The Crime Is Mine,” starring Hélène Vincent (“The Specials”), Josiane Balasko (“Back to Mom’s”) and Ludivine Sagnier (“Lupin”). Knit by Ozon’s hallmark irony, a take on autumnal life and a model grandmother whose blissful retirement is dashed when her grandson is left with her for summer vacation.
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