A Chronicle of Modern Capitalism, San Sebastian Competition Contender ‘Suro’ Bows at San Sebastian

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a clear vote of confidence for Colombian director Juan Sebastián Mesa, Bordeaux-based Dublin Films has boarded his third film “Lovers Go Home!” The company also co-produced Mesa’s lauded sophomore pic, “The Rust.” “Lovers Go Home!” centers on a Colombian single mom who leads a double life as a webcammer. One day she meets a U.S. veteran online who becomes obsessed with her. He flies to Colombia to meet her in person. Their meeting makes them reflect on who they truly are. In development, the project participated in this year’s Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, one of San Sebastian Film Festival’s key industry events, which ran over Sept. 19-21. 

Anna Marie de la Fuente Principal photography is underway on police thriller “Memento Mori” from one of Spain’s biggest production shingles, Zebra Productions, part of Grupo iZen, which presented its upcoming series “Tenorio” at Iberseries’ Co-Production & Financing Forum on Sept. 28. Zebra produced “El Cid,” a meticulously accurate but grand-scale Prime Video series  “Tenorio” takes a deep dive into the life of iconic literary character Don Juan Tenorio to explore how he transformed into the legendary ‘Latin Lover’ of yore . “Memento Mori,” which has been shooting in the city of Valladolid, is based on a trilogy of novels by author César Pérez Gellida who hails from the town, said iZen’s Lara Lejarza.

Sam Smith has delivered a sweeping rendition of Sam Fender’s ‘Seventeen Going Under’.Performed for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge programme, Smith’s cover is a slick take on Fender’s gritty anthem. The cover replaces the original’s jangly guitars with an elegant piano, while a wash of rising guitar leads take the place of the original’s bombastic horns, as Smith glides above the support of a 17-piece choir.Watch Smith’s cover of Fender’s iconic anthem here:Both artists are admirers of one another’s work: on his appearance on the same BBC programme in 2019, Fender delivered an indie-rock flavoured cover of Smith’s ‘Dancing With A Stranger’.Earlier this March on this year’s BandLab NME Awards, Sam Fender took home Best Album In The World and Best Album By A UK Artist with his second record, ‘Seventeen Going Under’, beating out records by Halsey, Little Simz and Tyler, the Creator.The album, released last year, followed his 2019 debut effort, ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, and was named by NME as the best album of 2021.

Colombian filmmaker Laura Mora has clinched the Golden Shell in the main competition of the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival with her latest feature The Kings of the World (Los reyes del mundo).

Guy Lodge Film Critic Colombian director Laura Mora’s coming-of-age drama “Kings of the World” has taken the Golden Shell for Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival, marking the third consecutive year that a female filmmaker has taken the top prize at the Spanish fest. Longer report to follow; full list of winners below. OFFICIAL SELECTION PRIZES Golden Shell for Best Film: “Kings of the World,” Laura Mora Special Jury Prize: “Runner,” Marian Mathias Silver Shell for Best Director: “A Hundred Flowers,” Genki Kawamura

Liza Foreman Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger turned out at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Saturday to support the world premiere of Neil Jordan’s “Marlowe,” which closes the festival tonight. Jordan and William Monahan’s adaptation of John Banville’s novel “The Black-Eyed Blonde” centers Raymond Chandler’s famous detective Philip Marlowe, and – like Chandler’s books – is set in 1930s Los Angeles. Jordan said it was confusing to call it a film noir. “First of all, it’s shot in color,” he said. Even though it is set in the past, it’s a futuristic film that provided his reference point for the look of this one.

Liza Foreman Spanish production and distribution company Bteam Pictures has picked up all rights for Spain to San Sebastián competition title “Los Reyes del Mundo” (“Kings of the World”). Film Factory Entertainment brokered the deal with Bteam partners Ania Jones, Alex Lafuente and Lara Pérez Camiña. Film Factory’s Vicente Canales confirmed to Variety that the company is handling worldwide sales for the film, excluding France, Benelux, Colombia and Mexico.  “Bteam is well known for distributing quality films in Spain and has already released several of our Spanish pictures,” said Canales. “We believe they are the best match for ‘Kings of the World,’ which is one of the most important Colombian films of the year.”

Anna Marie de la Fuente Wrapping San Sebastian’s Culinary Zinema sidebar Sept. 23, Alfred Oliveri’s “Virgilio” tracks chef Virgilio Martinez, the genius behind one of the world’s top restaurants, Central, in Lima. Doc traces how the 45-year-old chef decides to embark on an expedition through the length and breadth of his native Peru to investigate the origins of its ingredients in the context of its culture, its history and the richness of its lands. This experience changes him and his view of gastronomy. He replaces Central’s traditional menu with its now acclaimed tasting menu which transports the diner through a multiple-dish culinary experience that begins with ingredients found below sea level to Peru’s Amazon, its coastal foothills, its high valleys and Andean peaks.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a rare move, Barcelona-based Film Factory Entertainment has snapped up world sales rights to documentary “Mibu, The Moon in a Dish” (“Mibu, La Luna en un Plato”), which opened the Culinary Zinema sidebar of the San Sebastian Festival Sept. 19. The feature debut of Spanish filmmaker Roger Zanuy, the documentary transports audiences to members-only Tokyo restaurant Mibu, which has greatly influenced some of the most prominent chefs in the world, including Spain’s Ferran Adrià (El Bulli), Jose Andrés, also renowned for his humanitarian work, as well as Italy’s Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana, among several others.

Carlos Saura has suffered a minor fall and will no longer attend San Sebastian for the premiere of his latest film, The Walls Can Talk (Las paredes hablan), the festival has said.

Miguel Herran had a big premiere this past weekend at the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival!

Anna Marie de la Fuente Signalling Mexican giant exhibitor-distributor Cinépolis’ gradual return to producing since the pandemic, the company has partnered once more with producer Javier González-Rubio of Invicta Films, here on film critic Hugo Lara’s second feature, “Serendipia” (“Serendipity”). “We are excited to be embarking on this new journey with Invicta Films and strengthening our partnership. ‘Serendipia’ is a captivating story that will touch the hearts of audiences around the world and with it, Cinépolis proves once again our commitment to Mexican cinema,” said executive producer Miguel Rivera, VP global programming and content, Cinépolis.

Anna Marie de la Fuente San Sebastian’s pix-in-post showcases, which have launched notable movies – Sebastian Lelio’s “Gloria” – and notable directors – Jayro Bustamante, introducing his debut “Ixcanul” – unspools in 2022, with the screenings of six WIP Latam titles taking place over Sept. 19 – 21. WIP Europe, with four titles, runs on Sept. 19 and 20.  In the mix is an awaited title from Chile, “Penal Cordillera,” directed by Felipe Carmona, produced by Dominga Sotomayor and Omar Zuñiga and sold by Luxbox, and “A Strange Path,” from Brazil’s Guto Parente, whose “The Cannibal Club,” acquired by Uncork’d Entertainment, made a stir by portraying a Brazil in which the rich literally eat the poor. 

Anna Marie de la Fuente Ecuador’s Ana Cristina Barragán, an alum of San Sebastian’s post-graduate film school Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE), has come full circle with her second feature “La Piel Pulpo” (“Octopus Skin”) as it competes at the San Sebastian Festival’s Horizontes Latinos, a year after it participated in the festival’s Work in Progress strand (WIP Latam). A coming-of-age family drama “La Piel Pulpo” turns on twins Iris and Ariel who live with their mother and younger sister on a remote island. Having grown up in this rarified environment with only the mollusks, birds and reptiles for company, the teens are inseparable and have formed a near transcendental connection with nature. Curious about the world beyond their island, Iris hitches a boat ride with a rare visitor to explore the mainland and search for their estranged father. The act of physically separating from her twin brother puts a strain on their relationship.

Holly Jones On the heels of a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and ahead of its bow in New Directors competition at San Sebastian, BFF, who heads international sales, has given Variety exclusive access to the trailer for Nicaraguan director Laura Baumeister’s debut feature, “Daughter of Rage.” The film follows 11-year-old María and her mother, Lilibeth, who navigate poverty by collecting and repurposing refuse from the local landfill. A look at stifling generational debt passed on in communities that work hard to stay afloat, the film also tackles precocious familial bonds, abandonment, and the salvation of an imagination that allows the protagonist to cope with uncertainty. 

Olivia Wilde is looking stunning on the red carpet!

Liza Foreman Playing in the prestigious New Directors’ section at San Sebastián, “Woman at Sea” (“Grand Marin”), a beautifully shot adaptation of the best-selling book of the same name, marks the feature directing debut of Russian actor Dinara Drukarova, who also stars in the film.  Sold by Loco Films, “Woman at Sea” is produced by Marianne Slot and Carine LeBlanc at Paris-based Slot Machine (“Melancholia”). Lensed in Iceland, the film captures the struggle for integration, and the search for self, all set in the film’s stunning but cold seascapes.  Drukarova’s character Lili follows in the footsteps of the book’s author, Catherine Poulain, who spent 10 years working on fishing boats in Alaska, as documented in the book. 

Penelope Cruz received a special honor at the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival this weekend!

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Austrian director Ulrich Seidl has cancelled his visit to San Sebastian for the Sept. 18 world premiere of “Sparta,” amid allegations of impropriety and child exploitation made against the director. The world premiere will still go ahead at San Sebastian with the film playing in main competition contending for San Sebastian’s Gold Shell. Seidl’s decision comes after the Toronto Film Festival pulled “Sparta” and on Sept. 14, FilmFest Hamburg announced that it would no longer be giving Seidl its Douglas Sirk Award, though it would be screening “Sparta.”

Penelope Cruz is taken by surprise as she sees so many fans at the premiere of her new movie, On The Fringe, during the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival held at Victoria Eugenia Theatre on Friday (September 16) in San Sebastian, Spain.