The 68th San Sebastián International Film Festival took place from 18 to 26 September 2020 in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The festival opened with Woody Allen's Rifkin's Festival. Viggo Mortensen was awarded the Donostia Award for lifetime achievements.
The competitive awards were presented on 26 September 2020. Beginning by Dea Kulumbegashvili swept the official selection prizes, winning the Golden Shell, as well as Best Actress, Screenplay, and Director. Another Round ensemble lead cast won the Silver Shell for Best Actor.
Background In June 2020, American actor Viggo Mortensen was announced as recipient of a Donostia Award. Other than the announcement of the opener (Rifkin's Festival, out of competition), the first films confirmed to be in for screening were official selection competitive titles Another Round, True Mothers, Summer of 85, In the Dusk, Beginning, and Any Crybabies Around?. The festival picked up 17 works (13 feature films and 4 short films) that have been pre-selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Cannes Festival director Thierry Fremaux participated in the Zinemaldia's opening gala on 18 September, making together with José Luis Rebordinos a plea for the return of people to the theatres.
Juries Official Selection Luca Guadagnino (President) Joe Alwyn Marisa Fernández Armenteros Michel Franco Lena Mossum
Sections Official Selection In competition The lineup of films selected for the Official Selection is as follows: Highlighted title indicates award winner. English title Original title Director(s) Production country Summer of 85 François Ozon France True Mothers Naomi Kawase Japan Courtroom 3H Antonio Méndez Esparza Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan Julien Temple United Kingdom Beginning Dea Kulumbegashvili Another Round Thomas Vinterberg Japan Eduardo Crespo Argentina Simple Passion Danielle Arbid Supernova Harry Macqueen United Kingdom Šarūnas Bartas Wuhai 乌海 China
Out of competition The following works were selected to screen out of competition: English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) Rifkin's Festival Woody Allen Forgotten We'll Be Fernando Trueba Colombia Coven Pablo Agüero Riot Police Rodrigo Sorogoyen Spain Special Screenings The Great Fellove Matt Dillon Patria Aitor Gabilondo Spain We Are Who We Are Luca Guadagnino Italy
Latin Horizons The following films were selected for the Latin Horizons section: Highlighted title indicates award winner. English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) The Intruder Edgardo Cozarinsky, Santiago Loza, , Argentina La Verónica Chile Mum, Mum, Mum Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière Argentina Tragic Jungle Yulene Olaizola Identifying Features All the Dead Ones Caetano Gotardo, Marco Dutra Night Shot Carolina Moscoso Chile
New Directors The following films were selected for the New Directors section: Highlighted title indicates award winner. English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) Spring Blossom Suzanne Lindon France Ane Is Missing Spain Memory House Chupacabra Grigory Kolomytsev Russia Gal-mae-gi / Kim Mi-jo South Korea Slow Singing Gē shēng yuán hé màn bàn pāi Dong Xingyi China Spain Piotr Domalewski Last Days of Spring Isabel Lamberti Limbo Ben Sharrock United Kingdom
Spagat Switzerland Along the Sea Umibe no kanojotachi / Akio Fujimoto
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera The following films were selected for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section: Highlighted title indicates award winner. English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) The Metamorphosis of Birds Catarina Vasconcelos Portugal Autofiction Laida Lertxundi Cold Meridian Peter Strickland Correspondence Carla Simón, Dominga Sotomayor The Woman Who Ran Domangchin yeoja / Hong Sang-soo South Korea Dustin Naïla Guiguet France Fauna Nicolás Pereda Having a Good Time Huan Le Shi Guang Bell Zhong China I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face Sameh Alaa The Salt of Tears Philippe Garrel Los conductos Camilo Restrepo Perpetual Night Noche perpetua Pedro Peralta Ping jing China Days Rìzi / Tsai Ming-liang Taiwan Simon Calls Marta Sousa Ribeiro Portugal Stephanie Leonardo Van Dijl Belgium The Trouble with Being Born Sandra Wollner Austria An Optical Illusion Spain Ya no duermo Marina Palacio Spain Yellow Cat Zheltaya koshka Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Surprise film The following film was programmed as a surprise: English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) Abel Ferrara
Official Selection Awards Golden Shell: Beginning by Dea Kulumbegashvili Special Jury Prize: Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan by Julien Temple Silver Shell for Best Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili (Beginning) Silver Shell for Best Actress: Ia Sukhitashvili (Beginning) Silver Shell for Best Actor: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe (Another Round) Best Screenplay: Dea Kulumbegashvili and Rati Oneli (Beginning) Best Cinematography: Yuta Tsukinaga (Any Crybabies Around?)
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