Festival In Focus: How San Sebastian Has Become A Breeding Ground For New Talent

Days before Sophie Turner filed a lawsuit against estranged husband Joe Jonas, the pair was spotted out for dinner with their children in New York City.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Spain’s 71st San Sebastian Film Festival is tracking to welcome an even larger industry presence than 2022, currently up 10% in attendance on 2022’s already bullish figures, its status as the biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world remaining undiminished. Here are 10 key takes on potential highlights and trends which look likely to shape this year’s edition, running Sept.

Santa Claus has an arrival date. Disney+ revealed today that The Santa Clauses will debut with a two-episode premiere on Wednesday, November 8, followed by new episodes weekly. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor European pay TV platform Sky has released the trailer for Sky Original film “Dance First,” ahead of its world premiere at San Sebastian Film Festival on Sept. 30. The film is directed by BAFTA and Academy Award winner James Marsh (“The Theory of Everything”) and written by BAFTA winner Neil Forsyth (“Guilt”).

EXCLUSIVE: Broadway producer Dale A. Mott (A Strange Loop, The Piano Lesson, Thoughts of a Colored Man) and real estate investor/philanthropist Charles D. Urstadt have formed Edgewood Entertainment, a new multimedia production company focused on supporting works by historically marginalized people, including the BIPOC and LBGTQIA+ communities and female artists.

Callum McLennan A San Sebastian competition contender, Isabel Herguera’s awaited debut feature film, animated feature “Sultana’s Dream,” (“El sueño de la sultana”), has a first trailer, which Variety can share exclusively. Seen at Annecy as a work in progress, the feminist film will world premiere at Spain’s 71st San Sebastian, becoming the first animation feature directed by a woman to garner selection. Producers of “Unicorn Wars” Abano Producións and UniKo, join El Gatoverde Producciones, Sultana Films and Fabian & Fred, to bring this three-part animated feature, recounting the modern-day vicissitudes of a Spanish artist in India; the travails of real-life feminist thinker Rokeya Hossain; and the story she published remarkably as early as 1905 about Ladyland, where women hold the dominant power.

Spanish cinema has undoubtedly been making a strong imprint on the international film festival circuit throughout the last few years and, crucially, there’s a new wave of female filmmakers that are driving this charge. 

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Pete Doherty documentary Stranger In My Own Skin have been revealed. Watch full trailer for the film above.Previously announced as debuting at Zurich Film Festival, Peter Doherty — Stranger In My Own Skin is directed by the Libertines and Babyshambles singer’s wife Katia deVidas, who also plays in his other solo outfit band The Puta Madres.Now, it has been announced that the film will hit cinemas from November 9, 2023 – with screenings taking place in the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Canada, Ireland and Austria.A synopsis describes the feature-length documentary as “following English punk singer-songwriter and Libertines’ legendary frontman, Peter Doherty, as he plunges into the depths of addiction at the very height of his popularity.“Over a period of 10 years, the artist was intimately filmed by director-musician Katia deVidas who shot more than 200 hours of exclusive footage.

Naman Ramachandran The 31st edition of London’s Raindance Film Festival will open with the U.K. premiere of British actor Jack Huston’s directorial debut “Day of the Fight.” The film comes to Raindance fresh off its Venice debut, where Huston was honored by Variety as a breakthrough director. The story of a once-renowned boxer who takes a redemptive journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he left prison stars Michael Pitt alongside a cast including Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci, and a cameo from Steve Buscemi.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Organizers of the San Sebastian Film Festival said on Wednesday that they would proceed with scheduled screenings of the film “No Me Ilame Ternera,” despite calls for it to be withdrawn. According to objectors the film has connections to terrorism. Festival organizers said that they were aware of – but had not received – a letter supposedly signed by 514 people, asking for the previously selected film to be withdrawn from the festival. “We do not share their opinion that the film ‘No me llame Ternera’ should be withdrawn from the program of this coming edition of the festival for having Josu Urrutikoetxea as its protagonist and the fact that he held a very high position within the terrorist group, ETA,” the festival said.

The passing pleasures of watching the fine young actors Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed and Jeremy Allen White can’t make up for the increasing distaste that develops from contact with Fingernails, an irritating and, finally, ridiculous examination of relationship matchmaking carried far too far. Greek director Christos Nikou won unanimous critical plaudits for his compellingly eerie debut feature Apples, which dealt with amnesia patients, and here again he appears drawn to troubled and mysterious states of mind that develop in the quest for love, commitment and some sense of security in modern life. The film debuted at the Telluride Film Festival and screened at the Toronto Film Festival.

The San Sebastian Film Festival has issued a statement standing by its decision to screen a film about Josu Urrutikoetxea, the former leader of the Basque separatist militant group ETA.

Jadon Sancho reported at Manchester United's training ground at 12.30pm on Monday amid uncertainty over his future.

Spanish Screenings on Tour, which unspools at Rome’s MIA forum, taking place Oct. 9-13. A platform of market premieres, projects, pics in post and potential remake titles, the Spanish Screenings also underscore the ever stronger emergence in Spain of open arthouse titles – Isaki Lacuesta’s “Saturn Return,” Arantxa Echeverría “Chinas,” Benito Zambrano’s “Jumping the Fence” and Gerardo Herrero’s “Under Therapy,” which was one of the best-selling titles at March’s Malaga Spanish Screenings.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Javier Bardem, winner of a San Sebastian 2023 Donostia Award for career achievement, is putting back his on-stage acceptance of the distinction until the 2024 San Sebastian Film Festival. The postponement is due to the “limits imposed under the strike called by the U.S. Actors Union (SAG-AFTRA),” the San Sebastian Festival announced Friday.

French filmmaker Claire Denis has been announced as the jury president for the Official Section of the 71st San Sebastian Film Festival, running from September 22-30.

Lil Nas X, Ava Phillippe, Chase Sui Wonders and Lori Harvey were just a few of the stars on hand to celebrate the launch of Chanel CHANCE EAU FRAÎCHE Eau de Parfum‘s at Lucky Chance Diner on Wednesday (September 6) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Actor Sandra Hüller could be the critical darling of awards season with two acclaimed performances in two high-profile international feature contenders, France’s “Anatomy of a Fall” from Justine Triet and United Kingdom’s “The Zone of Interest” from Jonathan Glazer. The German performer has opted to campaign her work in Glazer’s Holocaust-era drama for best supporting actress, Variety can reveal exclusively, greatly increasing her chances for possible double acting recognition this year. Her work in Triet’s French Oscar hopeful will be submitted for lead actress consideration.

EXCLUSIVE: It’s not a given that talent will attend premieres if their movie gets an interim agreement but we can confirm that Oscar winner Jessica Chastain and Emmy nominee Peter Sarsgaard will be on hand to spice up the premieres of new movie Memory both tomorrow in Venice and next week in Toronto.