The San Sebastián International Film Festival, the most prestigious of its kind in Spain, is currently underway. Here are 10 fascinating anecdotes and pieces of information that will help you understand its importance to Spanish culture.
The Local counts down ten essential facts about the most important film festival in the Spanish-speaking world, as it gets underway in the Basque seaside city.
1. The San Sebastián International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de cine de San Sebastián in Spanish and Donostia Zinemaldia in Basque) was founded in 1953. Although it was originally intended to honour Spanish language films, it soon allowed international films to compete and since 1955 has attracted the great and the good of world cinema.
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2. The film festival was started by a group of San Sebastián businessmen, and Spanish dictator Francisco Franco – perhaps surprisingly – immediately gave it his blessing. He saw the festival as an opportunity to present Spain as a more open and friendly country on the international stage.
Spanish dictator Francisco Franco repressed the Basque culture and language, but he allowed the San Sebastían festival to become international. (Photo by AFP)
3. This year’s festival – the 73rd – will take place between Friday September 19th and Saturday September 27th at the Kursaal Congress Centre and Auditorium on San Sebastián’s seafront, designed by Spanish architect, Rafael Moneo. It’s an impressive building, especially when lit up at night!
A multicolour Kursaal lit up at night. Photo: Zarateman/ Wikipedia (Public Domain)
4. It is one of only 15 category ‘A’ film festivals accredited by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) alongside such other illustrious film festivals as Venice, Cannes and Berlin.
5. Some of cinema’s most classic moments were brought to the screen for the very first time at San Sebastián. It hosted the international premiere of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, an event attended by the iconic film director himself, as well as the film’s star, James Stewart.
Alfred Hitchcock in 1972 in Cannes, one of Europe’s other big film festivals. (Photo by AFP)
6. Berlin has its Bear and Cannes its Palme, so what is the prize doled out at San Sebastián? Quite aptly for this seaside city, it is the Shell of course! The Golden Shell (Concha de Oro) is awarded to the best film of the festival, while the best actor and actress receive a Silver Shell.
US actor and director James Franco holds the “Concha de Oro” (Golden Shell) best film award for the film “The Disaster artist” in 2017. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP)
7. While San Sebastián is not one of the most headline-grabbing events on the film festival calendar, it has attracted quite a few cinematic icons in its time. Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Robert de Niro and Brad Pitt have all attended – among many others.
Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino during the presentation of “Inglorious Basterds” at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2009. (Photo by RAFA RIVAS / AFP)
8. The festival’s lifetime achievement award is the Donostia award, given every year to honour one more more actors for their work. In 2008, living legend Meryl Streep won alongside arguably the world’s most famous Spanish actor, Antonio Banderas. This year, movie producer Esther García (relatively unknown but pivotal in the rise of Spanish and Latin American cinema) and American actress Jennifer Lawrence will receive the lifetime award.
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9. In 1989, Bette Davis, one of the most classic stars from Hollywood’s golden age, came to the festival to receive the lifetime achievement award. It would be her last ever public appearance, she died two weeks later. A documentary about Davis’ time in the Basque city was made in 2014, titled El Último Adiós (The Last Goodbye).
10. At this year’s edition, many big Hollywood names are expected, including Jennifer Lawrence, Angelina Jolie, Juliette Binoche, Paul Dano, Harris Dickinson, Matt Dillon, Colin Farrell, Denis Lavant, Maria de Medeiros, Ron Perlman, Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgard.
