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56th San Sebastian Film Festival
September 18-27, 2008
Jonathan Demme to chair the Official Jury at this year’s edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival
Jonathan Demme, winner of an Oscar for best director for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and director of films including Something Wild (1986), Philadelphia (1993), The Manchurian Candidate (2004) and Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006) will chair the Official Jury at the coming edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival.
Academy Award-winning director, Jonathan Demme will present his new feature film, Rachel Getting Married, and a “work in progress” version of his latest Neil Young concert film, Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert.
Demme has taken part in the San Sebastian Film Festival on three occasions –Stop Making Sense out of competition as part of the 1984 New Directors section; Married to the Mob as part of the 1988 Official Selection; and in 2006 with Neil Young: Heart of Gold in Zabaltegi-Perlas.
- 08.08.2008
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PREVIEW OF THE 56TH SAN SEBASTIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The work of Italian maestro Mario Monicelli and the specific treatment dedicated to film noir by Japanese cinema throughout its history will play the leading part in this year’s edition of San Sebastian Festival, to take place from 18-27 September. CLASSIC RETROSPECTIVE: MARIO MONICELLI Comedy was one of the most important genres in the Italian cinema of the 1950s and 60s. Outstanding among the directors dedicated to these movies of comical overtones barely concealing a critical view of society, is Mario Monicelli, author of the most representative works delivered by this popular trend responsible for the success of actors like Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi, Marcello Mastroianni, Nino Manfredi or Alberto Sordi. Born in Rome in 1915, Monicelli continues to shoot, and his latest film to date is Le rose del deserto (The Roses of the Desert, 2006). Monicelli has participated four times in the San Sebastian Festival Official Selection: in 1958, I soliti ignoti nabbed the Silver Shell ex aequo with Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo; in 1965 Casanova 70 garnered the awards for best director and best actor for Marcello Mastroianni; in 1968 La ragazza con la pistola bagged the best actress award for Monica Vitti; and in 1971 Brancaleone alle crociate earned Vittorio Gassman the best actor award. THEMATIC RETROSPECTIVE: JAPAN IN BLACK Japan’s prolific detective and criminal movie production remains largely unknown in the West. Product of an obvious process of importing foreign literary and movie genres, principally American, Japanese film noir could seem like something of an anecdote in the history of Nippon movies. But Japan skilfully endowed its detective stories with a "national touch": the gangster sense of honour, the patient research work carried out by the police, the torment of the outcast criminal or the portrayal of a society badly hit by post-war chaos were all subjects expressing the many concerns and anxieties suffered by Japanese psychology. The Japan in Black retrospective permits an overview in this parallel history of a Japanese cinema unscreened at Western film festivals and clubs, yet enthusiastically consumed by local audiences. It will include movies about subjects ranging from the itinerant gamblers (batuko) of the silent period to the boom experienced by gangster movies post-WWII, the important contributions made by moviemakers like Akira Kurosawa or Shohei Imamura or the significant incursions of excellent directors from the period of Japanese modernity (Nagisa Oshima, Mashahiro Shinoda, Hiroshi Teshigahara) who used criminal intrigue to make subversive, highly personal films. And we will particularly focus on the moment of splendour enjoyed by yakuza eiga (Japanese gangster movies) in the 60s, with an enormous output of reels about heroic, solitary gangsters; and on the decade of the 70s, when yakuza eiga took on a more realistic aspect. But Japan in Black will consider other expressions of film noir: criminal melodrama or the adventures of hardboiled detectives in the purest tradition, not forgetting the interesting revival enjoyed by the genre since the 90s thanks to directors like Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Miik (...)
56th EDITIONDirector Mario Monicelli and Japanese film noir will play the lead in two of the Festival retrospectives.
San Sebastian 2007 - Facts and Figures
Close to 200,000 film-goers took part in the various screenings and activities at the 55th edition of the San Sebasti?n International Film Festival, which came to a close on September 29th. Ticket sales were up 8% this year, with a total of 100,576 tickets sold compared with 93,253 in 2006. Added to this figure are the 60,300 entrances by Festival accredited participants and the 18,000 children who enjoyed the morning screenings at the Velodrome, in addition to the people who took part in different activities such as Films in Progress, Cinema in Motion, Sales Office, the exhibition on Paco Rabal, the film workshop held at the Tobacco Factory and the concert offered by Gary Clark Jr at the Altxerri.
Particularly noteworthy this year was the high level of occupancy, 76%, in a total of 20 screening rooms in eight theatres, plus five cinemas in different towns in Gipuzkoa for children?s movies. This year?s festival featured 224 films from 34 countries and a total of 665 screenings.
Professional activities
There was also a notable increase the purchasing of films in the different sections of the Festival destined for a range of geographical areas. The transactions will be carried out in the upcoming months. 75% of the films in the Official Section already have distributors in Spain.
1230 industry professionals used the services and facilities of the Sales Office, including 1391 viewings of 168 films at the video library. 82 professionals and 68 companies from 17 countries took part in Cinema in Motion 3.
There was also increased participation in Films in Progress. 129 films were received from 17 countries, from which six titles were selected: Acn?, La extranjera, A festa da menina morta, Gasolina, Una semana solos and Sol na neblina. 198 participants from 127 companies and 21 countries took part in the Films in Progress workshops.
Youth Jury and Film Schools
The Youth Jury was made up of 230 students between the ages of 17 and 21, who voted on 26 films from Zabaltegi and the Official Section.
Worth noting was the healthy participation in the Audience Award and the high scores awarded. Eight of the 13 Zabaltegi-Pearls voted on were given scores of at least 7 points out of a maximum of ten.
The VI International Film School Meeting, which also saw its numbers increased, was chaired this year by Alfonso Cuar?n, who held a film workshop at the Tobacco Factory with director of photography Affonso Beato.
Stars and award winners
The 55th edition came to a close on the 29th with a party held at the Palacio de Miramar attended by a large group of invited guests, the press and accredited film industry professionals. Highlighted among the guests were the award-winners, who only a few hours earlier had been showered with applause by audiences at the Kursaal Auditorium and the Velodrome, in particular Wayne Wang, this year?s Golden Shell, Hana Makhmalbaf, winner of the special jury award, and Gracia Querejeta, taker of the jury prize for best screenplay. Accompanying them were members of the jury headed by Paul Auster, the architect of a decision that pleased both audiences and film critics alike.
David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen were the first in a long list of prominent guests taking part this year in the San Sebasti?n Film Festival: Richard Gere, Liv Ullmann, Paul Auster, Eduardo Noriega, Bahman Gobadhi, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Wang, John Sayles, Alyssa Milano, Carlos Saura, Sergi Lopez, Lou Reed, Julian Schnabel, Mathieu Amalric, Gracia Querejeta, Maribel Verd?, Bl (...)
Hong Kong-born director Wayne Wang's "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers" won the best film and best actor awards at San Sebastian
Hong Kong-born director Wayne Wang's "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers" won the best film and best actor awards at the 55th annual San Sebastian film festival in Spain on Saturday.
Based on a short story by the same name by award-winning author Yiyun Li, the movie depicts the tensions that follow when a widower from Beijing, Mr Shi, goes to the US to visit his recently divorced daughter Yilan.
"It was a small film that needed a lot of time to be done because I think films need to breathe, like us," said Wang who was named after his father's favourite actor, John Wayne.
The movie marked a return to low-budget filmmaking for Wang, 58, whose recent films include "Maid in Manhattan" (2002) staring US singer Jennifer Lopez and "The Last Holiday" (2006) featuring Queen Latifah.
The jury was presided by US author and director Paul Auster who Wang worked with on the 1995 independent film "Smoke" and its sequel "Blue in the Face".
AWARD-WINNERS
GOLDEN SHELL FOR BEST FILM
A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS, Wayne Wang (AEB / EE.UU. / USA)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
BUDA AZ SHARM FORU RIKHT/BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME, Hana Makhmalbaf (France-Iran)
SILVER SHELL FOR BEST DIRECTOR
NICK BROOMFIELD, BATTLE FOR HADITHA (UK)
SILVER SHELL FOR BEST ACTRESS
BLANCA PORTILLO, SIETE MESAS DE BILLAR FRANCÉS (Spain)
SILVER SHELL FOR BEST ACTOR
HENRY O., A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS ( USA)
JURY PRIZE FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
CHARLIE LAM, CEOT OI KAP GEI/EXODUS (Hong Kong)
GIDOI ONENAREN EPAIMAHAIAREN SARIA ex-aequo
JURY PRIZE FOR BEST SCREENPLAY ex-aequo
GRACIA QUEREJETA y DANIEL PLANELL, SIETE MESAS DE BILLAR FRANCÉS (Spain)
JOHN SAYLES, HONEYDRIPPER (USA)
ALTADIS-NEW DIRECTORS AWARD
SOUL CARRIAGE, Conrad Clark (China-UK)
HORIZONTES AWARD
EL BAÑO DEL PAPA, Enrique Fernández y César Charlone (Uruguay-
Brazil-France )
SPECIAL MENTIONS
PÁRPADOS AZULES, Ernesto Contreras (Mexico)
SATANÁS, Andrés Baiz (Colombia)
TCM AUDIENCE AWARD
CARAMEL, Nadine Labaki (Lebanon-France)
AWARD TO THE EUROPEAN FILM
LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON, Julian Schnabel (France)
YOUTH AWARD
CARAMEL, Nadine Labaki (Lebanon-France)
FILMS IN PROGRESS AWARDS
FILMS IN PROGRESS INDUSTRY AWARD
GASOLINA, Julio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala)
TVE AWARD
ACNÉ, Federico Veiroj (Uruguay-Argentina-Spain-
Mexico)
SOL NA NEBLINA, Werner Schumann (Brazil)
CASA DE AMÉRICA AWARD
GASOLINA, Julio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala)
SIGNIS AWARD
LA EXTRANJERA, Fernando Díaz (Argentina)
CICAE AWARD
GASOLINA, Julio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala)
CINEMA IN MOTION AWARDS
SALT OF THIS SEA, de Anne-Marie Jacir (Palestina)
RECYCLE, de Mahmoud Al Massad (Jordania)
VI INTERNATIONAL FILM SCHOOL MEETING AWARDS
PANAVISION AWARD
VITA DE GIACOMO, Luca Governatori (La Femis, France)
SPECIAL MENTIONS
- IDIOMA, Ian Menoyot ( IAD, Belgium)
- DE LAS RELACIONES, Jorge Acebo.( CECC, Barcelona)
- LA INVENCIÓN, Andrés García Franco (UNAM, Mexico)
OTHER AWARDS
FIPRESCI AWARD
ENCARNACIÓN, Anahí Berneri (Argentina)
TVE OTRA MIRADA AWARD
BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME, Hana Makhmalbaf (Iran- France)
SIGNIS AWARD
A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS, Wayne Wang (AEB /EEUU/ USA)
SPECIAL MENTION
BATTLE FOR HADITHA, Nick Bro (...)
Wayne Wang adresses in San Seb The Strange Death of Independent Cinema
Wayne Wang, the director of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers,explains that what he was really interested in showing in his film was the contrast between the American and Chinese cultures.“Despite the fact that the daughter has become very Americanised, she still respects certain values that she has learnt in China and speaks to her father with respect. In Chinese culture it is difficult to express your feelings; you don’t say things directly, you say them in a very roundabout, formal way.” According to the director who began his career in independent cinema, then switched to mainstream cinema and has now returned to films in his original style, “Nobody makes independent films anymore in the USA; at least nobody makes them like they used to; the big stars call independent cinema anything made outside of Hollywood; a definition that I don’t agree with. Contemporary “independent” cinema is financed by the big studios; some of them are more interesting than others, but the freedom that we had when we began doesn’t exist anymore.”
Films in selection at San Sebastian
Official selection
Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg is the Opening Night Film; Flawless by Michael Radford (Out of Competition) will be San Sebastian Festival Closing Night Film.
- Battle for Haditha Nick Broomfield
- Buda az sharm foru rikht / Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (Buda explotó por vergüenza) Hana Makhmalbaf
- Ceot oi kap gei / Exodus Pang Ho-Cheung
- Daisy Diamond Simon Staho
- Earth Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield. Out of Competition
- Emotional Arithmetic Paolo Barzman
- Encarnación Anahí Berneri
- Free Rainer - Dein Fernseher lügt / Reclaim Your Brain Hans Weingartner
- Goong-nyeo / Shadows in the Palace Meejeung Kim
- The Inner Life of Martin Frost Paul Auster. Out of Competition
- Honeydripper John Sayles
- La maison Manuel Poirier
- Mataharis Icíar Bollaín
- Matar a todos (Kill Them All), Esteban Schroeder
- Padre Nuestro (Our Father), Christopher Zalla
- Siete mesas de billar francés (Seven Billiards Tables), Gracia Querejeta
- A Thousand Years of Good Prayers Wayne Wang
The best films of the moment are brought together each year in this section which, like other festivals considered by the IFFPA as "competitive non-specialized", shows a selection of competing films from among recent cinematographic works not to have competed in other Festivals.
18 films not yet released and selec (...)
The Jury members for the San Sebastian official selection awards
The international jury for the 55th San Sebastian Film Festival is chaired by Paul Auster (Chairman );other jury members include
PERNILLA AUGUST
NICOLETTA BRASCHI
BAHMAN GHOBADI
EDUARDO NORIEGA
SUSÚ PECORARO
PETER WEBBER
PAUL AUSTER (Chairman)
He has also written two memoirs, The Invention of Solitude (1982) and Hand to Mouth (1997), and a book of critical essays, The Art of Hunger (1992). Auster’s Collected Prose was published in 2003 and his Collected Poems in 2004. He also wrote the screenplay for the movie Smoke (1995) and was co-director (with Wayne Wang) of Blue in the Face (1995). Subsequently, he wrote and directed the film Lulu on the Bridge (1998). His most recent film is The Inner Life of Martin Frost (2007), which can be seen out of competition at the San Sebastian Festival, the Official Jury of which will be chaired by the author. His other works include I Thought My Father Was God (2001), the NPR National Story Project anthology, The Random House Book of Twentieth Century French Poetry (1982) – which he edited– and numerous translations of French writers and poets, including Jacques Dupin, André du Bouchet, Joseph Joubert, Stéphane Mallarmé, Phillippe Petit, Maurice Blanchot, and Pierre Clastres. He also edited the recent Samuel Beckett: The Grove Centenary Edition (2006). In 2006 Auster was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and won Spain’s most prestigious prize for literature – the Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Letras. Among other awards he has won are the Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Prix Médicis for the best foreign novel published in France (1992), the Morton Dauwen Zabel award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1990), the Silver Bear from the Berlin Film Festival for Smoke (1995), the Independent Spirit Award for best screenplay (1996), and the Borders Books Original Voices Award (2002). His work has been translated into thirty-five languages. PERNILLA AUGUST In 1992, she won the Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival for her performance in The Best Intentions, directed by Bille August and written by Ingmar Bergman. In 1993 she again worked with Bille August, this time in the world-famous Jerusalem(1996). Pernilla played in Private Confessions (1996), once again written by Bergman, but directed by Liv Ullman. In 1999, Pernilla August became Shmi Skywalker, mother of Anakin Skywalker in George Lucas’ Star Wars – Attack of the Clones. During recent years, Pernilla has worked in Sweden and abroad. One of h (...)
Paul Auster is the author of Travels in the Scriptorium (2007), The Brooklyn Follies (2006), Oracle Night (2003), The Book of Illusions (2002), The Red Notebook (2002), Timbuktu (1999), Mr. Vertigo (1994), Leviathan (1992), The Music of Chance (1990), Moon Palace (1989), In the Country of the Last Things (1987), and the three novels known as “The New York Trilogy”: City of Glass (1985), Ghosts (1986), and The Locked Room (1987).
Swedish actress Pernilla August has an earthy radiance and an amazing talent that translated well from stage to screen when she made a lasting impression in Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander (1982).