2025-09-28T20:10:24+00:00
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Shafaq News – San Sebastian
The 73rd San Sebastian International Film Festival
concluded in Spain with Sundays by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain/France) winning
the Golden Shell, the festival’s highest honor.
The closing ceremony, held on September 27 at the
Kursaal Hall and hosted by José Luis Rebordinos and Itsaso Arana, featured
awards across the Main Competition, New Directors, Horizontes,
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera, Critics’ Prizes, and Audience selections.
Main Competition
The international jury, chaired by J.A. Bayona (Spain)
with Laura Carreira (Portugal), Gia Coppola (USA), Zhou Dongyu (China), Lali
Espósito (Argentina), Mark Strong (UK), and Anne-Dominique Toussaint (France),
awarded:
– Golden
Shell Award: Sundays by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain/France).
– Special
Jury Prize: Good Valley Stories by José Luis Guerin (Spain/France).
– Silver
Shell for Best Director: Joachim Lafosse for Six Days in Spring
(Belgium/France/Luxembourg).
– Silver
Shell for Best Leading Performance: Jose Ramon Soroiz for Maspalomas (Spain);
Zhao Xiaohong for Her Heart Beats in Its Cage (China).
– Silver
Shell for Best Supporting Performance: Camila Plaate for Belén (Argentina).
– Best
Screenplay: Joachim Lafosse, Chloé Duponchelle, and Paul Ismaël for Six Days in
Spring.
– Best
Cinematography: Pau Esteve for Los Tigres (Spain/France).
New Directors Award
The jury of Marco Müller (Italy), Beatriz Arias
(Chile), Isabella Eklöf (Sweden), Charlène Favier (France), and Elsa Fernández
Santos (Spain) honored:
– Best
Director: Emilie Thalund for Weightless (Denmark).
– Special
Mention: Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe for Aro berria (Spain).
Horizontes Make & Mark
The jury of Pilar Palomero (Spain), Christoph Friedel
(Germany), and Tatiana Leite (Brazil) awarded:
– Horizontes
Award: A Poet by Simón Mesa Soto (Colombia/Germany/Sweden).
– Special
Mentions: The Ivy by Ana Cristina Barragán (Ecuador/Mexico/France/Spain); A
Loose End by Daniel Hendler (Uruguay/Argentina/Spain).
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera
The jury of Yaël Fogiel (France), Xabier Arakistain
(Spain), and Line Langebek Knudsen (Denmark) awarded:
– Zabaltegi-Tabakalera
Award: The Ice Tower by Lucile Hadzihalilovic (France/Germany).
–
Coup de Coeur: Two Times João Liberada by Paula Tomás
Marques (Portugal).
– Special
Mention: Blue Heron by Sophy Romvari (Canada/Hungary).
Critics, Audience, and Youth Prizes
– FIPRESCI
Award: Sundays by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain/France).
– San
Sebastian Audience Award: The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania
(Tunisia/France).
– Audience
Award for Best European Film: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain by Mailys
Vallade and Liane-Cho Han (France).
– DAMA
Youth Award: The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo by Diego Céspedes
(Chile/France/Germany/Spain/Belgium).
Donostia Lifetime Achievement Awards
– Esther
García (Spain), honored for her work as a producer, received the award from
Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar.
– Jennifer
Lawrence (USA), recognized for her acting career, joined past recipients such
as Meryl Streep, Pedro Almodóvar, and Lauren Bacall.
Festival Overview
The San Sebastian Film Festival ran from September 19
to 27, 2025, screening 254 films from 56 countries across sections including
the Main Competition, New Directors, Horizontes, Zabaltegi-Tabakalera, Perlak,
Culinary Zinema, Nest, Zinemira, and others. It welcomed leading filmmakers,
actors, and critics.
For more info: https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2025/news/1/22948/in
Credit: Independent journalist and
reporter Mansour Jahani
