Introducing the winners of the San Sebastian Festival 2023

According to afsanehezendegimedia, citing Variety, at the closing ceremony of the 71st San Sebastian Film Festival, the film “The Catcher in the Rye”, the second film by Spanish director Jaioni Camborda, won the Golden Shell Award, the festival’s top award. Now, the fourth

According to afsanehezendegimedia, citing Variety, at the closing ceremony of the 71st San Sebastian Film Festival, the film “The Catcher in the Rye,” the second film by Spanish director Jaioni Camborda, won the Golden Shell, the festival’s top award. This is the fourth consecutive year that the festival’s most prestigious award has gone to a female director

The international jury, made up of French director Claire Denis, alongside Chinese actress and producer Fan Bingbing, Colombian producer and director Cristina Gallego, French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, Spanish actress Vicky Longo, Canadian producer and distributor Robert Lantos and German director Christiane Petzold, chose not only a Spanish film, but also the work of a female director born precisely in San Sebastian as the best film

A gritty tale of the ordeal of motherhood in 1970s Galicia, The Catcher in the Rye follows the emotional journey of a woman who flees her small community to Portugal along the smugglers’ trail. A beautiful drama, it was one of the more classic films in this year’s competition section, which unusually welcomed more comedies among its 16 titles

Meanwhile, the Argentine comedy “Puan,” directed and co-written by Maria Aleche and Benjamin Neistat, won two awards. “Puan” won the award for Best Screenplay and the Silver Shell for Best Actor for Marcelo Subioto, who plays a lovable and unfortunate philosophy professor whose adventures diminish his dignity

“Kallag,” a drama by Swedish director Isabella Eklof that received a lukewarm reception from critics, took home two awards, including the Special Jury Prize and Best Cinematography

Two oddly complementary Asian films also made the competition shortlist; the intimate, moving but painful Taiwanese drama “Journey in Spring,” about an elderly man struggling to cope with the sudden death of his wife, won Best Director for Peng Tzu-hui and Wang Ping-wen, and the Silver Shell for Best Actor (shared with Marcello Subioto) went to Tatsuya Fujii for Japan’s “The Great Absence,” directed by Ki Chika-ora

The Silver Shell for Best Supporting Actress went to Hovik Kochkarian for “One Love” by Isabel Cochet from Spain, and “Bahadur Shuja” by Diva Shah from India took home the title of Best Film by a New Director

The Audience Award for Best Film went to “The Snow Society” by Juan Antonio Bayona, which was nominated for an Oscar by Spain this year, and the Audience Award for Best European Film was given to “I Captain” by Matteo Garrone, which is Italy’s representative film at the international Oscars this year

The festival honored Hayao Miyazaki, Javier Bardem, and Victor Aris with honorary Donostia awards

This year’s festival was a little more casual than usual, given the absence of many prominent actors due to the Screen Actors Guild strike

The 71st edition of the San Sebastian Festival was held from September 22 to 30