# 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival

The 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival ran 22–30 September 2023 in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The awards were announced on 30 September 2023, with The Rye Horn winning the Golden Shell, being the first film directed by a female Spanish director to win said award.

## Background

In May 2023, actor Javier Bardem was announced as a recipient of a Donostia Award as well as the main feature of the 71st edition's official poster. An early subset of the official selection film slate was announced on 7 July 2023. New official selection titles were announced on 14 July 2023. In August 2023, The Boy and the Heron was announced as the out-of-competition opening film. Later that month, Spanish director Víctor Erice was announced to be the recipient of a Donostia Award. The entire official selection line-up was announced on 25 August. On 8 September, it was announced that Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki would receive a Donostia Award, presented to him virtually, while the award for Bardem would be postponed to next year's festival due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which forbids the US-unionised actor to attend to the media or to record thank-you videos.

## Juries
### Main Competition

* Claire Denis, French filmmaker – Jury president
* Fan Bingbing, Chinese actress
* Cristina Gallego, Colombian producer, writer and director
* Brigitte Lacombe, French photographer
* Robert Lantos, Hungarian-Canadian producer
* Vicky Luengo, Spanish actress
* Christian Petzold, German director

### Kutxabank-New Directors Award

* Emily Morgan, British producer – Jury president
* Christian Jeune, French director of the Film Department and Deputy of the General Delegate of the Cannes Film Festival
* Ricardo Aldarondo, Spanish journalist and film critic
* Juanita Onzaga, Colombian director and artist
* Elisa Fernanda Pirir, Norwegian-Guatemalan producer

### Latin Horizons

* David Hurst, French producer – Jury president
* Manuela Martelli, Chilean director, screenwriter and actress
* Elisa McCausland [es], Spanish journalist, critic and researcher

### Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award

* Fiorella Moretti, Mexican producer and president of Luxbox – Jury president
* Cecilia Barrionuevo, Argentine film curator

### Irizar Award

* Telmo Irureta [es], Spanish actor – Jury president
* Mikele Landa, Spanish director
* Kristina Zorita, Spanish journalist, screenwriter and director

## Sections
### Official selection

The lineup of the official selection includes:

#### In competition

    Highlighted title indicates award winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt | All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt | Raven Jackson | United States |
| A Journey in Spring | 春行 | Tzu-Hui Peng, Ping-Wen Wang | Taiwan |
| Un amor | Un amor | Isabel Coixet | Spain |
| Ex-Husbands | Ex-Husbands | Noah Pritzker | United States |
| Fingernails | Fingernails | Christos Nikou | United States |
| Great Absence | Great Absence | Kei Chika-Ura | Japan |
| Kalak | Kalak | Isabella Eklöf | Denmark |
| MMXX | MMXX | Cristi Puiu | RomaniaMoldovaFrance |
| Puan | Puan | María Alché [es], Benjamín Naishtat | ArgentinaItalyGermanyFranceBrazil |
| The Practice [es] | La práctica | Martín Rejtman | ArgentinaChilePortugal |
| Red Island | L'île rouge | Robin Campillo | FranceBelgium |
| The Royal Hotel | The Royal Hotel | Kitty Green | Australia |
| The Rye Horn | O corno | Jaione Camborda | SpainPortugalBelgium |
| A Silence | Un silence | Joachim Lafosse | BelgiumFranceLuxembourg |
| The Successor | Le Successeur | Xavier Legrand | France |
| Sultana's Dream | El sueño de la Sultana | Isabel Herguera | SpainGermany |

#### Out of Competition

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Boy and the Heron | 君たちはどう生きるか | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan |
| La Mesías (TV series) | La Mesías (TV series) | Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo | Spain |
| Dance First | Dance First | James Marsh | United KingdomHungaryBelgium |
| Special Screenings ||||
| They Shot the Piano Player | Dispararon al pianista | Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal | SpainFranceNetherlandsPortugal |
| A Real Job | Un métier sérieux | Thomas Lilti | France |

### New Directors

The New Directors slate includes:
    Highlighted title indicates award winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Achilles | Ashil | Farhad Delaram | GermanyIranFrance |
| Bahadur The Brave | Bahadur The Brave | Diva Shah | India |
| Bauryna Salu | Bauryna Salu | Askhat Kuchinhirekov | Kazakhstan |
| Beyond The Fog | Kiri No Fuchi | Daichi Murase | Japan |
| The Blue Star | La estrella azul | Javier Macipe | SpainArgentina |
| Carefree Days | Xiao Yao You | Jiang Ming | China |
| Hi Mom | Hi Mom | Ilia Malakhova | Russia |
| Last Shadow At First Light | Last Shadow At First Light | Nicole Midori Woodford | SingaporeJapanSloveniaPhilippinesIndonesia |
| The Other Son | El otro hijo | Juan Sebastián Quebrada | ColombiaFranceArgentina |
| Gamma Rays | Les Rayons Gamma | Henry Bernadet | Canada |
| Mother, Couch | Mother, Couch | Niclas Larsson | United StatesDenmarkSweden |

### Latin Horizons (Horizontes Latinos)

The Latin Horizons slate includes the following films:
    Highlighted title indicates award winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Alemania [es] | Alemania [es] | María Zanetti | ArgentinaSpain |
| Blondi | Blondi | Dolores Fonzi | ArgentinaSpainUnited States |
| The Castle [es] | El castillo | Martín Benchimol [es] | ArgentinaFranceSpain |
| Clara Gets Lost in the Woods [es] | Clara se pierde en el bosque | Camila Fabbri | Argentina |
| The Echo | El eco | Tatiana Huezo | MexicoGermany |
| Heroic | Heroico | David Zonana | Mexico |
| Los impactados [es] | Los impactados [es] | Lucía Puenzo | Argentina |
| A Ravaging Wind [es] (opening film) | El viento que arrasa | Paula Hernández | ArgentinaUruguay |
| The Settlers | Los colonos | Felipe Gálvez Haberle | ChileArgentinaUnited KingdomTaiwanFranceDenmarkSweden |
| A Strange Path [pt] | Estranho caminho | Guto Parente | Brazil |
| Toll (closing film) | Pedágio | Carolina Markowicz | BrazilPortugal |
| Totem | Tótem | Lila Avilés | Mexico |

### Zabaltegi-Tabakalera

    Highlighted title indicates award winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Absence | Xue Yun | Wu Lang | China |
| Camping du Lac | Camping du Lac | Éléonore Saintagnan | BelgiumFrance |
| Contadores | Contadores | Irati Gorostidi | Spain |
| The Delinquents | Los delinquentes | Rodrigo Moreno | ArgentinaBrazilChileLuxembourg |
| Even Though It's Night | Aunque es de noche | Guillermo García López | SpainFrance |
| Grace | Blazh | Ilya Povolotsky | Russia |
| Here | Here | Bas Devos | Belgium |
| The Human Surge 3 | El auge del humano 3 | Eduardo Williams | ArgentinaPortugalNetherlandsTaiwanBrazilHong KongSri LankaPeru |
| The Island | L'île | Damien Manivel | France |
| Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell | Bên trong vỏ kén vàng | Pham Thien An | SingaporeVietnamFranceSpain |
| Mamántula | Mamántula | Ion de Sosa | GermanySpain |
| Mixtape La Pampa | Mixtape La Pampa | Andres Di Tella | ArgentinaChile |
| Nights Gone By | Nights Gone By | Alberto Martín Menacho | SwitzerlandSpain |
| Orlando, My Political Biography | Orlando, ma biographie politique | Paul B. Preciado | France |
| Oyu | Oyu | Atsushi Hirai | France |
| La Palisiada | La Palisiada | Philip Sotnuchenko | Ukraine |
| Remembering Every Night (opening film) | Subete No Yoru Wo Omoidasu | Yui Kiyohara | Japan |
| Through the Night | Quitter la nuit | Delphine Girard | BelgiumFranceCanada |
| The Trial | El juicio | Ulises de la Orden | ArgentinaNorwayFranceItaly |
| Two of Us | Suigyo no Mayawari | Kohei Igarashi | JapanFrance |
| Sīlan | Sīlan | Ashmita Guha Neogi | France |
| Single Light | Or panas yachid | Shaylee Atary | Israel |
| Short Story | Duan pian gu shi | Wu Lang | China |
| We Are the Hollow Men | Gamopitulo khalkhi | Rati Oneli | Georgia |

### Perlak

The 'Perlak' lineup includes:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Afire | Roter Himmel | Christian Petzold | Germany |
| Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute | Justine Triet | France |
| Dumb Money | Dumb Money | Craig Gillespie | United States |
| The Eternal Memory | La memoria infinita | Maite Alberdi | Chile |
| Evil Does Not Exist | 悪は存在しない | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan |
| Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet | Aki Kaurismäki | FinlandGermany |
| Les Indésirables | Bâtiment 5 | Ladj Ly | France |
| I'm Captain | Io capitano | Matteo Garrone | Italy |
| May December | May December | Todd Haynes | United States |
| Memory | Memory | Michel Franco | MexicoUnited States |
| Monster | 怪物 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| The New Boy | The New Boy | Warwick Thornton | Australia |
| Past Lives | Past Lives | Celine Song | United States |
| Perfect Days | Perfect Days | Wim Wenders | JapanGermany |
| The Promised Land | Bastarden | Nikolaj Arcel | Denmark |
| Rosalie | Rosalie | Stéphanie Di Giusto | France |
| Society of the Snow | La sociedad de la nieve | J.A. Bayona | SpainUruguayChile |
| The Zone of Interest | The Zone of Interest | Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom |

### Surprise film

The following film was programmed as a surprise:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Killer | The Killer | David Fincher | United States |

## Awards
### Main Competition

* Golden Shell: The Rye Horn by Jaione Camborda
* Special Jury Prize: Kalak by Isabella Eklöf
* Silver Shell for Best Director: Tzu-Hui Peng & Ping-Wen Wang for A Journey in Spring
* Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance: Marcelo Subiotto for Puan & Tatsuya Fuji for Great Absence
* Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance: Hovik Keuchkerian for Un amor
* Jury Prize for Best Screenplay: María Alché & Benjamín Naishtat for Puan
* Jury Prize Best Cinematography: Nadim Carlsen for Kalak

### Other official awards

* Kutxabank-New Directors Award: Bahadur The Brave by Diva Shah
* Horizontes Award: The Castle by Martín Benchimol
* Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award: The Human Surge 3 by Eduardo Williams
** Special Mention: The Trial by Ulises de la Orden
* Nest Award: Amma Ki Katha by Nehal Vyas
** Special Mention: Entre les autres by Marie Falys
* Culinary Zinema Award: The Pot-au-Feu by Trần Anh Hùng
* Eusko Label Award: Latxa by Mikel Urretabizkaia
** Eusko Label Second Prize: Soroborda by Paolo Tizón
* Irizar Basque Film Award: Sultana's Dream by Isabel Herguera
* San Sebastian Audience Award: Society of the Snow by J. A. Bayona
* San Sebastian Audience Award for Best European Film: I'm Captain by Matteo Garrone
* TCM Youth Award: The Blue Star by Javier Macipe

### Industry awards

* WIP LATAM Industry Award: Most People Die on Sundays by Iair Said
* EGEDA PLATINO Industria Award for the Best WIP LATAM: Most People Die on Sundays by Iair Said
* WIP Europa Industry Award: Mannequins by Michael Fetter Nathansky
* WIP Europa Award: Mannequins by Michael Fetter Nathansky
* XII Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum Best Project Award: These Were All Fields by Daniela Abad Lombana
* DALE! Award: Little War by Barbara Sarasola-Day
* Artekino International Prize: The Days Off by Lucila Mariani
* ELAMEDIA - Euskadi Post-Production Award: After the Night, the Night by Naomi Pacifique

### Other awards

* RTVE-Another Look Award: The Royal Green by Kitty Green
** Special Mention: All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt by Raven Jackson
* Spanish Cooperation Award: The Blue Star by Javier Macipe
* Euskadi Basque Country 2030 Agenda Award: Les Indésirables by Ladj Ly
* Dunia Ayaso Award: Creatura by Elena Martín Gimeno
** Special Mention: While You're Still You by Claudia Pinto Emperador

### Parallel awards

* FIPRESCI Award: Fingernails by Christos Nikou
* Feroz Zinemaldia Award: Un amor by Isabel Coixet
* Euskal Gidoigileen Elkartea Award: Sultana's Dream by Isabel Herguera
* Sebastiane Award: 20,000 Species of Bees by Estibaliz Urresola
** Special Mention: Gabi: Between Ages 8 and 13 by Engeli Broberg
* Lurra - Greenpeace Award: Evil Does Not Exist by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
* SIGNIS Award: All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt by Raven Jackson
* Ateneo Guipuzcoano Award: Great Absence by Kei Chika-Ura

### Donostia awards

* Donostia Award for Lifetime Achievements: Javier Bardem, Victor Erice and Hayao Miyazaki.
* Zinemira Award: Paco Sagarzazu