A predictably spectacular sunset spreads streaks of red and orange all over a northern Spanish unhurried September sky, heralding the tip of one other packed version of the San Sebastian Movie Competition, where on the closing gala, “The Rye Horn” the 2d characteristic from Spanish director Jaione Camborda has factual been handed the Golden Shell, the festival’s high award.
It is maybe a surprising gain, nonetheless does now mark the fourth consecutive 365 days that the festival’s most prestigious prize has long gone to a female director. Nonetheless in a single opposite route it has to be a prime: the global jury, comprising French director Claire Denis, alongside Chinese language actor and producer Fan Bingbing, Colombian producer-director Cristina Gallego, French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, Spanish actor Vicky Luengo, Canadian producer and distributor Robert Lantos and German director Christian Petzold, has chosen to award no longer factual a Spanish film, nonetheless one from a female director who turn into as soon as born lawful right here in San Sebastián. Given the festival also honored one other San Sebastián native, Victor Erice, this 365 days, the 2023 version has to mark a excessive-watermark in home-team triumph.
“The Rye Horn” is an austere memoir of the rigors of womanhood and motherhood in Seventies Galicia. It tracks the emotional and literal dash of a woman, sensitively performed by Janet Novás, fleeing alongside a smugglers’ path to Portugal from her small shellfish-farming neighborhood, which has factual been hit by a tragedy in which she is implicated. As a handsomely mounted duration drama, it is amongst the more classical of the festival’s 16-title-true competition, which this 365 days turn into as soon as strangely receptive to comedies, boasting no fewer than four.
Of those, Argentina’s deliciously amusing “Puan,” a current on the bottom, took two awards. Co-directed and co-written by María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat — with the latter no stranger to the San Sebastian stage having directed 2018’s terrific “Rojo,” which acquired three prizes — “Puan” deservedly took Simplest Screenplay. And it also bagged an vastly properly-earned ex-aequo Simplest Lead Performance, for big name Marcelo Subiotto, who performs the lovably hapless philosophy professor whose adventures in dwindling dignity are any such witty pleasure to gaze.
“Puan” turn into as soon as no longer the top likely double-winner within the Legit Decision: Swedish director Isabella Eklöf’s thorny Greenland-place drama “Kalak” garnered a subdued serious reception, nonetheless took home the Special Jury Prize, as properly as Simplest Cinematography – severely with out observe, brooding regarding the restraint of DP Nadim Carlsen’s imagery. On the opposite hand, provided that the film follows a man dealing with the trauma of sexual abuse by his father, which is graphically depicted within the hole scene, maybe that subdued quality turn into as soon as precisely what impressed the jury.
Two strangely complementary Asian favorites also made the Legit Decision winners roster: the intimate, transferring nonetheless prickly Taiwanese drama “A Trot in Spring,” about an growing outdated man struggling to cope after the unexpected loss of life of the accomplice he’d been taking as a correct, acquired the Simplest Director award for Peng Tzu-Hui and Wang Ping-Wen, who had been visibly moved at some stage in their acceptance speeches. And in actuality unsurprisingly for all who saw it and had been eviscerated by the portrayal of the ravages of dementia, the opposite ex-aequo Simplest Lead Performance award went to Tatsuya Fuji for Kei Chika-Ura’s restrained but devastating “Mountainous Absence.”
The ceremony itself turn into as soon as maybe moderately much less glitzy than fashioned, given the absence of most of the upper-profile taking fragment actors as a consequence of the ongoing SAG/AFTRA strike. Nonetheless the night did yield its pleasures and eccentricities, in particular within the borderline one-man-indicate acceptance speech proffered by Simplest Supporting Performance winner Hovik Keuchkerian. He took his award for having fun with the bearish, unlikely lover of Laia Costa’s rural runaway in Isabel Coixet’s “Un Amor,” and since there is a cramped sense that it’s a co-lead in preference to a supporting performance within the strictest sense, one can generally blame him for making the most of his time on stage.
Nonetheless the most beguiling acceptance with out a doubt came from “Mountainous Absence”‘s Fuji, whose speech, given in Japanese and translated in a staccato rhythm, turn into as soon as in point of fact a prolonged checklist of yowl-outs punctuated every time with a transient bow and an intense arigato. It turn into as soon as a tic that by some means turn into more endearing with every repetition, so unheard of so that Camborda referenced it when accepting her Golden Shell. Nonetheless then, no longer factual for the winners nonetheless for all of us attendees who bought to skills any such varied and eclectic program, in a single in every of the most gorgeous cities at one in every of the top likely-jog films festivals on this planet, maybe Fuji acknowledged it top likely. Except subsequent 365 days, San Sebastian, arigato.
Full checklist of winners:
OFFICIAL SELECTION PRIZES
Golden Shell for Simplest Movie: “The Rye Horn,” d. Jaione Camborda
Special Jury Prize: “Kalak,” d. Isabella Eklöf
Silver Shell for Simplest Director: “A Trot in Spring” d. Peng Tzu-Hui, Wang Ping-Wen
Silver Shell for Simplest Leading Performance (tied): Marcelo Subiotto for “Puan,” d. María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat and Tatsuya Fuji for “Mountainous Absence,” d. Kei Chika-Ura
Silver Shell for Simplest Supporting Performance: Hovik Keuchkerian for “Un Amor,” d. Isabel Coixet
Simplest Cinematography: Nadim Carlsen for “Kalak,” d. Isabella Eklöf
Simplest Screenplay: “Puan,” d. María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat
OTHER OFFICIAL AWARDS
Kutxabank New Directors Award: “Bahadur the Gallant,” d. Diwa Shah
Horizontes Award: “The Fortress,” d. Martín Benchimol
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award: “The Human Surge 3,” d. Eduardo Williams
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award (Special Mention): “El Juicio” d. Ulises de la Orden
Target audience Award for Simplest Movie: “Society of the Snow,” d. J.A. Bayona
Target audience Award for Simplest European Movie: “I’m Captain” (“Me Captain”) d. Matteo Garrone
Nest The Mediapro Studio Award: “Amma Ki Katha,” d. Nehal Vyas
Nest The Mediapro Studio Award (Special Mention): “Entre Les Autres,” d. Marie Falys
Irizar Basque Movie Award: “Sultana’s Dream,” d. Isabel Herguera
Culinary Zinema Simplest Movie Award: “The Taste of Issues” (“The Pot-au-Feu”), d. Tràn Anh Hùng
TCM Formative years Award: “The Blue Star,” d. Javier Macipe
Eusko Imprint First Prize: “Latxa,” d. Mikel Urretabizkaia
Eusko Imprint 2nd Prize: “Soroborda,” d. Paolo Tizón
DALE! Award: “Puny War,” d. Barbara Sarasola-Day
Artekino Worldwide Prize: “The Days Off,” d. Lucila Mariani
XII Europe-Latin The united states Co-manufacturing Discussion board Simplest Project Award: “These Were All Fields,” d. Daniela Abad Lombana
WIP Latam Alternate Award: “Most Folk Die on Sunday,” d. Iair Acknowledged
Egeda Platino Industria Award For The Simplest WIP Latam: “Most Folk Die on Sunday,” d. Iair Acknowledged
WIP Europa Alternate Award: “Mannequins,” d. Michael Fetter Nathansky
WIP Europa Award: “Mannequins,” d. Michael Fetter Nathansky
Ikusmira Berriak Award: “After the Night, the Night,” d. Naomi Pacifique
Zinemaldia Startup Grief Simplest Spanish Project: WitScript
Zinemaldia Startup Grief Simplest European Project: Hyperate.io
OTHER AWARDS
FIPRESCI Award: “Fingernails,” d. Christos Nikou
RTVE One more Appreciate Award: “The Royal Lodge,” d. Kitty Inexperienced
RTVE One more Appreciate Award (Special Mention): “All Filth Roads Taste of Salt,” d. Raven Jackson
Spanish Co-operation Award: “The Blue Star,” d. Javier Macipe
Dunio Asaya Award: “Creatura,” d. Elena Martín Gimeno
Dunio Asaya Award (Special Mention): “While You’re Peaceable You,” d. Claudia Pinto Emperador
Euskadi Basque Nation 2030 Agenda Award: “Les Indésirables,” d. Ladj Ly
HONORARY AWARDS
Donostia Awards: Hayao Miyazaki, Javier Bardem, Víctor Erice
Zinemira Award: Paco Sagarzazu