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San Sebastián International Film Festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival (abbr. SSIFF; Spanish: Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, Basque: Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country.[1][2]

Location

Donostia-San Sebastián,
Basque Country, Spain

1953

2023

Golden Shell, Silver Shells, Donostia Award, Sebastiane Award

Festival Internacional de Cine de Donostia-San Sebastián, Sociedad Anónima

200–250

International

sansebastianfestival.com

Since its creation in 1953 it has established itself as one of the 14 "A" category competitive festivals accredited by the FIAPF, of which it has one of the lowest budgets. It has hosted several important events of the history of cinema, such as the international premieres of Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock (who attended the Festival) and the European premiere of Star Wars. It was the first festival attended by Roman Polanski and has helped advance the professional careers of filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Bong Joon-ho and Pedro Almodóvar.


José Luis Rebordinos has served as the director of the festival since 2011.[3]

History[edit]

The festival was founded in 1953 with the first festival starting on September 21, 1953.[4] Although it was originally intended to honour Spanish language films, films of other languages became eligible for consideration in 1955, when the festival was specialized in color films. It has been acknowledged by the FIAPF as an A category festival since 1957, with the exception of the 1980–1984 period, when no major awards were given.


Many important moments of the history of cinema have taken place in the festival, such as the European premiere of Star Wars, the international premiere of Vertigo, presented by Alfred Hitchcock, and Roman Polanski's first attendance at a film festival.[5]

Official Selection: a selection of recent full-length cinematographic works, which have not previously screened in other festivals (except FIAPF-regulated non-competitive festivals and national competitions at festivals in their countries of production), compete for the major awards. Spanish-produced films in competition must be world premieres.[6] Some films are included out of competition.

[6]

New Directors: First or second movies of new talents.

Horizontes Latinos: A selection of films from , unreleased in Spain.

Latin America

Pearls: A selection of the best movies screened at other international festivals throughout the year.

Zabaltegi – Tabakalera: A competitive section aiming for heterogeneity with no formal norms.

Made in Spain: A showcase of the year's Spanish movies for their international launch.

Zinemira: A showcase of movies produced or directed by .

Basques

Retrospectives: Retrospectives are included in the program to present the works of a renowned filmmaker or works that represent a particular theme.

Culinary Cinema: A non-competitive selection of gastronomy-related films.

Velodrome: Projections of movies for a big audience in a giant screen installed at the .

Velódromo de Anoeta

Nest Film Students: Selected shorts, mostly graduation projects, from film schools around the world.

These are the main sections of the festival:

for Best Film

Golden Shell

Special Jury Prize

(since 2021)

Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance

Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance (since 2021)

Silver Shell for Best Director

Jury Prize for Best Cinematography

Jury Prize for Best Screenplay

Donostia Award

An international jury evaluates the films in the Official Selection and awards the following prizes:


Former awards include:


The following are the main awards for films in the parallel sections:

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Official website

at the Internet Movie Database

San Sebastián International Film Festival