San Sebastian Festival: women in the spotlight
Clap of the 69th edition of the San Sebastian festival with the grand prize, the Concha d'or, awarded to Romanian director Alina Grigore (L), here with her producer Gabi Suciu (R).
September 25, 2021. REUTERS - VINCENT WEST
Text by: Isabelle Le Gonidec
4 min
After a week of screenings to which a large and loyal audience has thronged, the curtain has fallen on the 69th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival with the announcement of the winners.
Each year brings its share of surprises with rewards for unexpected films.
This is still the case for this new edition which puts women in the spotlight since they win most of the main prizes.
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As in Berlin, the festival managers had decided not to award a prize for male interpretation or a prize for female interpretation for the main roles, but a degenerate prize and it was two actresses who won this prize ex-aequo: the Danish Flora Ofelia Hofmann LIndahl for
As in Heaven
and the American producer and actress Jessica Chastain for
The eyes of Tammy Faye, a
film in which she plays - breathtakingly - the role of a televangelist. Double blow for the Danish film since its director, Tea Lindeburg, was greeted with the award for best director for this story of a young 14-year-old girl, at the end of the 19th century, whose life is turned upside down while her mother gives birth to a new child.
What an honor!
Thank you San Sebastián, @searchlightpics, Michael, Andrew and our Tammy Faye fam ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JbEzfoEUQf
- Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) September 25, 2021
The grand prize of the festival, the
Concha
d'or, was awarded to the film
Crai Nou (Blue Moon
) by young Romanian director Alina Grigore. As a passing of the torch for the president of the jury of the festival, the Georgian director
Dea Kulumbegashvili
whose film
Beginning
had caused the surprise last year by winning several prizes. An award that reinforces the vitality of Romanian cinema, moreover Alina Grigore has worked with several of its leaders including
Christi Puiu
, as an actress, or also Adrian Sitaru. This is the third time that the first prize of the festival has been awarded to a first work since before
Beginning
, which was a first film, in 2019 the festival awarded
Pacificado
sur une favela in Rio, by the American Paxton Winters.
San Sebastian International Film Festival: French director Lucile Hadzihalilovic won the Special Jury Prize for Earwig.
September 25, 2021 © FFISS Montse Castillo
Other directors crowned this year, the French Lucile Hadzihalilovic for
Earwig
who won the special jury prize, and the Russian Lena Lanskih - whose first feature film - that of the section "New directors / rices" with
Unwanted
, who tells the strong and moving story of a 14 year old girl, mother of an unwanted baby. For Lucile Hadzihalilovic, each San Sebastian festival is an opportunity for a reward since it is his third participation and the first two, for
Innocence
and
Evolution
, had each been awarded a prize.
We can also mention the photography prize awarded to the Frenchwoman Claire Mathon (already noticed for many films such as
Portrait of the young girl on fire
or
Spencer
, the last film by Pablo Larrain), the audience prize - and the praise of reviews- awarded to Céline Sciamma, another regular at the San Sebastian awards, for her film
Petite Maman
, presented in the Perlak section, a selection of the year's “favorite” films. A story that questions mother-child relationships, motherhood through the eyes of little Nelly, eight years old, who like Alice, ventures into the other side of the looking glass.
San Sebastian International Film Festival: some of the winners of this 69th edition, September 25, 2021: the Danes Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl and Tea Lindeburg, Jessica Chastain and the Romanians Gabi Suciu and Alina Grigore. REUTERS - VINCENT WEST
Films that question the family, filiation and mother-daughter relationships (this is also the case for
Noche de fuego
who won the
Latino Horizontes
prize
) were preferred to others that were given great favorites, more political, like
Maixabel
by Icair Bollain on forgiveness against the backdrop of terrorism in the Basque country or
Arthur Rambo
by Laurent Cantet. Although, as Alina Grigore, winner of the
Concha
d'or award, the family stories also tell a country and through its tale of a dysfunctional, confused and violent family from which the two sisters try to escape, c It is also Romania that she stages.
The main prices:
Concha d'or for
Crai Nou (Blue Moon)
, by Alina Grigore.
Special Prize of the
Earwig
Jury
, by Lucile Hadzihalilovic.
Silver Concha for Best Director: Tea Lindeburg, for
As in Heaven
Best performance in a leading role: tied for Flora Ofelia Hofmann LIndahl for
As in Heaven
and Jessica Chastain for
The eyes of Tammy Faye
.
Best Supporting Actor: All the actors in the film
Quién lo impide
by Jonás Trueba.
Best screenplay: Terence Davies, for
Benediction
.
Best Cinematography: Claire Mathon, for
Investigation into a State Scandal by
Thierry de Peretti.
FIPRESCI Prize:
Quién lo impide
, by Jonás Trueba.
Audience Award:
Petite Maman
, by Céline Sciamma.
Horizontes Prize:
Noche de fuego
, by Tatiana Huezo.
New Directors Award:
Nich'ya
, by Lena Lanskih.
Zabaltegi / Tabakalera Prize:
Vortex
, by Gaspar Noé.
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