73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival
2025 film festival
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The 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival took place from 19 to 27 September 2025 in San Sebastián,[1] Gipuzkoa, Spain.
Opening film27 Nights
Closing filmWinter of the Crow
LocationSan Sebastián, Spain
AwardsGolden Shell: Sundays
Official poster featuring Marisa Paredes | |
| Opening film | 27 Nights |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Winter of the Crow |
| Location | San Sebastián, Spain |
| Awards | Golden Shell: Sundays |
| Directors | José Luis Rebordinos |
| Festival date | 19–27 September 2025 |
Alauda Ruiz de Azúa's Sundays went on to win the Golden Shell, while José Luis Guerin's Good Valley Stories landed the Special Jury Prize.
Background
In February 2025, a 4K restoration of Poachers was announced as a double screening at the 28th Málaga Film Festival and the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival ('Klasikoak' section).[2] In June 2025, the Basque medium-length films Hamaseigarrenean aidane, Ehun metro, Zergatik panpox, and Oraingoz izen gabe, restored at L'Immagine Ritrovata restoration lab in Bologna, were announced as additional screenings in the 'Klasikoak' programme.[3]
On 11 July 2025, a line-up of 22 Spanish-produced works to be screened at the festival was announced at the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España.[4][5] Later in the month, producer Esther García was announced as the recipient of a Donostia Award for Career Achievement.[6] In August 2025, the festival announced actress and producer Jennifer Lawrence as an additional Donostia Award recipient as well as a screening of Die My Love.[7]
Sílvia Abril, Toni Acosta, and Itziar Ituño hosted the opening gala, in which Walter Salles was bestowed the 2025 FIPRESCI Grand Prix for I'm Still Here.[8] Daniel Hendler's 27 Nights screened as the opening film.[9] The closing gala was hosted by Itsaso Arana and Óscar Lasarte while the screening of Kasia Adamik's Winter of the Crow closed the festival.[10][11]
Juries
Official Selection jury
- J. A. Bayona, Spanish filmmaker – Jury president
- Laura Carreira, Portuguese filmmaker based in Edinburgh, Scotland
- Gia Coppola, American film director and screenwriter
- Zhou Dongyu, Chinese actress
- Lali Espósito, Argentine singer, actress, dancer, and model
- Mark Strong, British actor
- Anne-Dominique Toussaint, film producer, founder of Les Films des Tournelles
Kutxabank-New Directors Award jury
- Marco Müller, Italian producer and programmer – Jury president
- Isabella Eklöf, Swedish screenwriter and film director
- Charlène Favier, French filmmaker and screenwriter
- Beatriz Arias, Chilean film director, screenwriter and assistant director
- Elsa Fernández Santos, Spanish film critic
Horizontes Make & Mark Award jury
- Pilar Palomero, Spanish director (president)
- Christoph Friedel, German producer
- Tatiana Leite, Brazilian producer
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award jury
- Yaël Fogiel, French producer (president)
- Xabier Arakistain, Spanish art curator
- Line Langebek Knudsen, Danish screenwriter
RTVE – Another Look Award jury
- María Solana, journalist and RTVE managing board member (president)[12]
- Gemma Blasco, filmmaker[12]
- Amaia Ereñaga, journalist[12]
Irizar Basque Film Award jury
- Ane Gabarain, actress (president)[13]
- Aia Kruse, actress
- Urtzi Urkizu, journalist
Sections
Official selection
The official selection slate includes the following pictures:[14][15][16]
In competition
- Highlighted title indicates award winner.[17]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Nights | 27 noches | Daniel Hendler | Argentina |
| Ballad of a Small Player | Edward Berger | United Kingdom | |
| Belén | Dolores Fonzi | Argentina | |
| Couture | Alice Winocour |
| |
| The Currents | Las corrientes | Milagros Mumenthaler |
|
| The Fence | Le Cri des Gardes | Claire Denis | France |
| Franz | Agnieszka Holland |
| |
| Good Valley Stories | Historias del buen valle | José Luis Guerin |
|
| Her Heart Beats in Its Cage | 监狱来的妈妈 | Xiaoyu Qin | China |
| Maspalomas | Jose Mari Goenaga, Aitor Arregi | Spain | |
| Nuremberg | James Vanderbilt | United States | |
| SAI: disaster | 災 劇場版 | Kentaro Hirase, Yutaro Seki | Japan |
| Six Days in Spring | Six jours ce printemps-là | Joachim Lafosse |
|
| Sundays | Los domingos | Alauda Ruiz de Azúa |
|
| Los Tigres | Alberto Rodríguez | Spain | |
| Two Pianos | Deux pianos | Arnaud Desplechin | France |
| Ungrateful Beings | Nevděčné bytosti | Olmo Omerzu |
|
Out of Competition
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| She Walks in Darkness | Un fantasma en la batalla | Agustín Díaz Yanes | Spain |
| The Anatomy of a Moment (series) | Anatomía de un instante | Alberto Rodríguez | Spain |
| Winter of the Crow | Kasia Adamik |
| |
| Special Screenings | |||
| Climbing for Life | てっぺんの向こうにあなたがいる | Junji Sakamoto | Japan |
| Fate (series) | La suerte | Paco Plaza, Pablo Guerrero | Spain |
| Flores para Antonio | Elena Molina, Isaki Lacuesta | Spain | |
| In-I In Motion | Juliette Binoche | France | |
| Karmele | Asier Altuna | Spain | |
| Sky Mouths (series) | Zeru ahoak | Koldo Almandoz | Spain |
New Directors
The New Directors slate includes:[18][19]
- Highlighted title indicates award winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aro berria | Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe | Spain | |
| Before the Bright Day | 南方時光 | Tsao Shih-Han | Taiwan |
| As We Breathe | Aldığımız Nefes | Seyhmus Altun |
|
| Bad Apples | Jonatan Etzler | United Kingdom | |
| Foreign Lands | Чужие земли | Anton Yarush, Sergey Borovkov | Russia |
| Dance of the Living | La lucha | José Alayón |
|
| If We Don't Burn, How Do We Light Up the Night | Si no ardemos, cómo iluminar la noche | Kim Torres |
|
| Nighttime Sounds | 你的眼睛比太阳明亮 | Zhang Zhongchen | China |
| Redoubt | Värn | John Skoog |
|
| Shape of Momo | द शेप आप मोमोज | Tribeny Rai |
|
| The Son and the Sea | Stroma Cairns | United Kingdom | |
| Weightless | Vægtløs | Emilie Thalund | Denmark |
| White Flowers and Fruits | Shiro no Kajitsu | Yukari Sakamoto | Japan |
Latin Horizons (Horizontes latinos)
The Latin Horizon slate includes:[20][21]
- Highlighted title indicates award winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | Cobre | Nicolás Pereda |
|
| Cuerpo celeste | Nayra Ilic García |
| |
| Dolores | Maria Clara Escobar, Marcelo Gomes | Brazil | |
| Elder Son | Hijo mayor | Cecilia Kang |
|
| The Ivy | Hiedra | Ana Cristina Barragán |
|
| Landmarks | Nuestra tierra | Lucrecia Martel |
|
| Limpia | Dominga Sotomayor | Chile | |
| A Loose End | Un cabo suelto | Daniel Hendler |
|
| The Message | El mensaje | Iván Fund |
|
| The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo | La misteriosa mirada del flamenco | Diego Céspedes |
|
| Olmo | Fernando Eimbcke |
| |
| A Poet | Un poeta | Simón Mesa Soto |
|
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera
The Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section includes:[22]
- Highlighted title indicates award winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always Night | Siempre es de noche | Luis Ortega | Argentina |
| April Tune | Sol menor | André Silva Santos | Portugal |
| Blue Heron | Sophy Romvari |
| |
| Brand New Landscape | Miharashi sedai | Yuiga Danzuka | Japan |
| Fiume o morte! | Igor Bezinović |
| |
| God is Shy | Dieu est timide | Jocelyn Charles | France |
| The Good Sister | Schwesterherz | Sarah Miro Fischer |
|
| Happiness | La felicidad | Paz Encina | Paraguay |
| Hen | Kota | György Pálfi |
|
| The Ice Tower | La tour de glace | Lucile Hadzihalilovic |
|
| Joan of Arc | Jóhanna af Örk | Hlynur Pálmason |
|
| The Last Rapture | El último arrebato | Marta Medina, Enrique López Lavigne | Spain |
| Lurker | Alex Russell | United States | |
| No One Knows I Disappeared | Bo Hanxiong | China | |
| A Scary Movie | Una película de miedo | Sergio Oksman |
|
| The Spectacle | Bálint Kenyeres |
| |
| Strange River | Estrany riu | Jaume Claret Muxart |
|
| The Strike | La grève | Gabrielle Stemmer | France |
| Two Seasons, Two Strangers | 旅と日々 | Sho Miyake | Japan |
| Two Times João Liberada | Duas vezes João Liberada | Paula Tomás Marques | Portugal |
| Under the Flags, the Sun | Bajo las banderas, el sol | Juanjo Pereira |
|
| Urchin | Harris Dickinson | United Kingdom | |
| Variations | Bariazioak | Lur Olaizola Lizarralde | Spain |
Perlak
The Perlak slate includes:[23]
- Highlighted title indicates City of Donostia / San Sebastián Audience Award winner.
- Highlighted title indicates City of Donostia / San Sebastián Audience Award for Best European Film winner.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nouvelle Vague | Richard Linklater | France | |
| A Private Life | Vie privée | Rebecca Zlotowski | France |
| Sentimental Value | Affeksjonsverdi | Joachim Trier |
|
| Little Amélie or the Character of Rain | Amélie et la Métaphysique des tubes | Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han | France |
| The Love That Remains | Ástin Sem Eftir Er | Hlynur Pálmason |
|
| Bugonia | Yorgos Lanthimos | United Kingdom | |
| Sleepless City | Ciudad sin sueño | Guillermo Galoe |
|
| Jay Kelly | Noah Baumbach |
| |
| The Stranger | L'Étranger | François Ozon | France |
| La grazia | Paolo Sorrentino | Italy | |
| The Wizard of the Kremlin | Le Mage du Kremlin | Olivier Assayas | France |
| The President's Cake | مملكة القصب | Hasan Hadi |
|
| The Secret Agent | O Agente Secreto | Kleber Mendonça Filho |
|
| Orwell: 2+2=5 | Raoul Peck |
| |
| The Voice of Hind Rajab | صوت هند رجب | Kaouther Ben Hania |
|
| It Was Just an Accident | یک تصادف ساده | Jafar Panahi |
|
Velodrome (Velódromo)
The following pictures will be screened at the Velodrome:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hasta que me quede sin voz | Mario Forniés, Lucas Nolla | Spain | |
| Band Together | Rondallas | Daniel Sánchez Arévalo | Spain |
Made in Spain
The films in the 'Made in Spain' programming include:[24]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abril, It's Not Winter Today | Abril, hoy no es invierno | Mabel Lozano | Spain |
| The Delights of the Garden | Las delicias del jardín | Fernando Colomo | Spain |
| The Designer Is Dead | Gonzalo Hergueta |
| |
| 8 | Julio Medem | Spain | |
| The Writer: Almudena Grandes | Almudena | Azucena Rodríguez | Spain |
| Samana Sunrise | Amanece en Samaná | Rafa Cortés |
|
| White Roses, Fall! | ¡Caigan las rosas blancas! | Albertina Carri |
|
| Close to the Sultan | En la alcoba del sultán | Javier Rebollo |
|
| Silent Struggle | En silencio | Sara Sálamo | Spain |
| Fragments | Fragmentos | Horacio Alcalá | Spain |
| The Imminent Age | L'edat imminent | Col·lectiu Vigília | Spain |
| The Good Manners | La buena letra | Celia Rico Clavellino | Spain |
| Fury | La furia | Gemma Blasco | Spain |
| Undercover | La infiltrada | Arantxa Echevarría | Spain |
| The Black Land | La terra negra | Alberto Morais |
|
| The Exiles | Los Tortuga | Belén Funes |
|
| My Friend Eva | Mi amiga Eva | Cesc Gay | Spain |
| Queen of Coal | Miss Carbón | Agustina Macri |
|
| Away | Molt lluny | Gerard Oms |
|
| The Story of Us | Nosotros | Helena Taberna | Spain |
| Romería | Carla Simón | Spain | |
| San Simón | Miguel Ángel Delgado |
| |
| Sirāt | Oliver Laxe |
| |
| Deaf | Sorda | Eva Libertad | Spain |
| The Sleeper. The Lost Caravaggio | The Sleeper. El Caravaggio Perdido | Álvaro Longoria |
|
| Everything I Don't Know | Todo lo que no sé | Ana Lambarri Tellaeche | Spain |
| A Free Man | Un hombre libre | Laura Hojman | Spain |
| The Portuguese House | Una quinta portuguesa | Avelina Prat |
|
RTVE Galas
RTVE will hold presentation galas for the following films:[25][26]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dinner | La cena | Manuel Gómez Pereira |
|
| The Gentleman | Ya no quedan junglas | Luis Gabriel Beristáin |
|
| Hidden Murder | Parecido a un asesinato | Antonio Hernández |
|
| The Truce | La tregua | Miguel Ángel Vivas |
|
Klasikoak
The 'Klasikoak' section includes the following films:[27]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poachers (1975) | Furtivos | José Luis Borau | Spain |
| Midaq Alley (1994) | El callejón de los milagros | Jorge Fons | Mexico |
| Aniki-Bóbó (1942) | Manoel de Oliveira | Portugal | |
| Un revenant (1946) | Christian-Jaque | France | |
| Barry Lyndon (1975) | Stanley Kubrick | United Kingdom | |
| The Family Game (1983) | 家族ゲーム | Yoshimitsu Morita | Japan |
| Dressed in Blue (1983) | Vestida de azul | Antonio Giménez-Rico | Spain |
| Ehun metro (1985) | Alfonso Ungría | Spain | |
| Hamaseigarrenean aidanez (1985) | Anjel Lertxundi | Spain | |
| Zergatik panpox (1985) | Xabier Elorriaga | Spain | |
| Oraingoz izen gabe (1986) | José Julián Bakedano | Spain | |
Surprise film
The following title was programmed as a surprise film:[28]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankenstein | Guillermo del Toro | United States | |
Awards
Official selection jury awards
The official selection jury awards are listed as follows:[29]
- Golden Shell: Sundays
- Special Jury Prize: Good Valley Stories
- Silver Shell for Best Director: Joachim Lafosse (Six Days in Spring)
- Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance: Zhao Xiaohong (Her Heart Beats in Its Cage) & Jose Ramon Soroiz (Maspalomas)
- Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance: Camila Pláate (Belén)
- Jury Prize for Best Cinematography: Pau Esteve Birba (Los Tigres)
- Jury Prize for Best Screenplay: Joachim Lafosse, Chloé Duponchelle, and Paul Ismael (Six Days in Spring)
Other official awards
- Kutxabank-New Directors Award: Weightless
- Special Mention: Aro berria
- Horizontes Make & Mark Award: A Poet
- Special Mention: The Ivy & A Loose End
- Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award: The Ice Tower
- Special Mentions: Two Times João Liberada & Blue Heron
- City of Donostia / San Sebastián Audience Award: The Voice of Hind Rajab
- City of Donostia / San Sebastián Audience Award for Best European Film: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
- Nest Award: How to Listen to Fountains
- Special Mention: The Old Bull Knows, Or Once Knew
- Irizar Basque Film Award: Sundays
- Special Mention: The Last Rapture
- Dama Youth Award: The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo
- RTVE – Another Look Award: The Currents
Donostia honorific awards
Non-official awards
- FIPRESCI Grand Prix: I'm Still Here (Walter Salles)[31]
- FIPRESCI Award: Sundays[32]
- Feroz Zinemaldia Award: Sundays[32]
- SIGNIS Award: Sundays[32]
- Sebastiane Award: Maspalomas[33]