Jaione Camborda Wins Golden Shell for Best Film at San Sebastian Film Festival

Posted on September 30, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a Golden period for Jaione Camborda.

The San Sebastian Film Festival awarded the 40-year-old Spanish filmmaker’s O Corno (The Rye Horn) with the Golden Shell for Best Film.

Set on an island off the coast of Galicia in 1971, the film tells the story of a woman who earns a living harvesting shellfish. She’s also known on the island for helping other women in childbirth but has to flee and try to cross the border into Portugal after an unexpected event.

Camborda, who was born in San Sebastian, is the fourth woman to win the Golden Shell after The Kings Of The World by Colombian director Laura Mora last year, Blue Moon by Alina Grigore from Romania in 2021, and Beginning by Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili in 2020.

Additionally, the Best Screenplay Award went to María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat for Puan (Argentina-Italy-Germany-France-Brazil).

The Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance fell ex aequo upon Marcelo Subiotto and Tatsuya Fuji for their respective roles in Puan, by Alché and Naishtat, and Great Absence (Japan), by Kei Chika-ura, while the Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance went to Hovik Keuchkerian for his character in Un amor (Spain) by Isabel Coixet.

Here’s the full list of winners:

San Sebastian 2023 Award Winners List

Golden Shell For Best Film
O Corno (The Rye Horn)
Jaione Camborda (Spain)
Spain – Portugal – Belgium

Special Jury Prize
Kalak
Isabella Eklöf (Sweden)
Denmark – Sweden – Norway – Finland – Greenland – Netherlands

Silver Shell For Best Director
Tzu-Hui Peng, Ping-Wen Wang (Taiwan)
Chun Xing (A Journey In Spring)
Taiwan

Silver Shell For Best Leading Performance
Marcelo Subiotto (Argentina)
Puan
Argentina – Italy – Germany – France – Brazil

Tatsuya Fujo (Japan)
Great Absence
Japan

Silver Shell For Best Supporting Performance
Hovik Keuchkerian (Lebanon)
Un Amor
Spain

Jury Prize For Best Screenplay
María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat (Argentina)
Puan
Argentina – Italy – Germany – France – Brazil

Jury Prize For Best Cinematography
Nadim Carlsen (Denmark)
Kalak
Denmark – Sweden – Norway – Finland – Greenland – Netherlands

New Directors Award
Bahadur The Brave
Diwah Shah (India)
India

Horizontes Award
El Castillo (The Castle)
Martín Benchimol (Argentina)
Argentina – France – Spain

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award
El Auge del Humano 3 (The Human Surge 3)
Eduardo Williams (Argentina)
Argentina – Portugal – Netherlands – Taiwan – Brazil – Hong Kong – Sri Lanka – Perú

Special Mention: El Juicio (The Trial)
Ulises de la Orden (Argentina)
Argentina – Norway – France – Italy

Nest The Mediapro Nest Awards
Amma Ki Katha
Nehal Vyas (India)

Special Mention: Entre Les Autres
Marie Falys (Belgium)

Culinary Zinema Best Film Award
La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Pot Au Feu)
Tran Anh Hung (Vietnam)

Eusko Label Prize
First Prize: Latxa
Mike Urretabizkaia (Spain)

Second Prize: Soroborda
Paolo Tizón (Perú)

Irizar Basque Film Award
El Sueño De La Sultana / Sultana’s Dream
Isabel Herguera (Spain)

City Of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award
La Sociedad De La Nieve / Society Of The Snow
J.A. Bayona (Spain)

City Of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award For Best European Film
Io Capitano / I’m Captain
Matteo Garrone (Italy)

TCM Youth Award
La Estrella Azul / The Blue Star
Javier Macipe (Spain)

WIP Latam Industry Award
Los Domingos Mueren Más Personas / Most People Die On Sundays
Iair Said (Argentina)

Egeda Platino Industria Award For The Best WIP Latam
Los Domingos Mueren Más Personas / Most People Die On Sundays
Iair Said (Argentina)

WIP Latam Industry Award
Mannequins (Wt)
Michael Fetter Nathansky (Germany)

WIP Europa Awards
Mannequins (Wt)
Michael Fetter Nathansky (Germany)

XII Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum Best Project Award
Todo Esto Eran Mangas / These Were All Fields
Daniela Abad Lombana (Italy)

Dale! Award (Development Latin America-Europe)
Little War
Barbara Sarasola-Day (Argentina)

Artekino International Prize
Los Días Libres / The Days Off
Lucila Mariani (Argentina)

Elamedia Euskadi Post-Production Award
After The Night, The Night
Naomi Pacifique (Switzerland – Netherlands)

Zinemaldia Startup Challenge Award
Best European Project
Hyperate.Io
Germany

Best Spanish Project
Witscript
Spain

Ibaia-Bilibin Circular Award
Yo Terrateniente
Rodrigo Demirjian
Produced By: Tourmalet Films, Ah! Cine
(Spain – Argentina)

Dogwoof Award
December
Grzegorz Paprzycki
Produced By: Telemark, Just A Moment
(Poland Lithuania)

Ibaia-Elkargi Award
Pulso
Victoria Alvares, Quentin Delaroche
Produced By: Revoada Produçoes
(Brazil)

RTVE – Another Look Award
The Royal Hotel
Kitty Green (Australia)

Special Mention: All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt
Raven Jackson (Usa)

Cooperación Española Award
La Estrella Azul / The Blue Star
Javier Macipe (Spain)

Euskadi Basque Country 2030 Agenda Award
Bâtiment 5 / Les Indésirables
Ladj Ly (France)

Dunia Ayaso Award
Creatura
Elena Martín Gimeno (Spain)

Special Mention: Mientras Seas Tú / Mentre Siguis Tu / While You’re Still You
Claudia Pinto Emperador (Venezuela)

Donostia Awards
Hayao Miyazaki
Javier Bardem
Víctor Erice

Zinemira Award
Paco Sagarzazu

Fipresci Award
Fingernails
Christos Nikou (Greece)

Feroz Zinemaldia 2023 Award
Un Amor
Isabel Coixet (Spain)

Euskal Gidoigileen Elkartea Award
Isabel Herguera (Spain), Gianmarco Serra (Italy)
“El Sueño De La Sultana / Sultana’s Dream” (Spain – Germany)

Sebastiane 2023 Award
20.000 Especies De Abejas / 20,000 Species Of Bees
Estibaliz Urresola (Spain)

Special Mention: Gabi, 8 Urtetik 13 Urtera / Gabi: Between Ages 8 And 13
Engeli Broberg (Sweden)

Lurra – Greenpeace Award
Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai / Evil Does Not Exist
Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan)

Signis Award
All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt
Raven Jackson (Usa)

Ateneo Guipuzcoano Award
Great Absence
Kei Chika-Ura (Japan)

Laura Mora’s “The Kings of the World” Named Best Feature at Zurich Film Festival

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Laura Mora is celebrating a golden moment…

The Colombian director’s drama The Kings of the World has won the Golden Eye for best feature film at the Zurich Film Festival.

The award follows hot on the heels of the film’s triumph at the San Sebastian Film Festival exactly a week ago, where it world premiered and then won the Golden Shell for best film.

The drama follows five street kids from Medellin who set off on a dangerous trip into the Colombian hinterland, after one of them is granted the right to a piece of land taken from his family by paramilitaries, during the country’s 52-year conflict which displaced more than five million people.

The Kings of the World was produced by producer and director Cristina Gallego, whose credits include Birds of Passage and the Oscar-nominated The Embrace Of The Serpent.

The film also previously screened to professionals as part of the TIFF Industry Select line-up and heads to the Chicago Film Festival in October.

Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi headed up the Feature Film Competition jury, which also included Swiss director Petra Volpe, producer Daniel Dreifuss, Swedish producer Peter Gustafsson and U.K. director Clio Barnard.

“The movie was one of the first films we saw and it left us with unforgettable images and scenes,” read their jury statement.

“The Kings of the World is meticulously crafted and brings us close to the young protagonists who fight for freedom and dignity. The lyrical film language infuses the harsh reality with a metaphysical dimension. It’s an important and powerful story about the marginalized in society.”

Rondón’s “Pelo Malo” Chosen as Part of the Global Lens Films Series

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Mariana Rondón is having a good (bad) hair day…

The Venezuelan cinema director, screenwriter and producer’s latest film.

Pelo Malo (Bad Hair) has been chosen as one of the Global Film Initiative’s 10 films from around the world for its 2014 Global Lens Films Series, which is distributed by the New York-based FilmRise.

Rondón’s Pelo Malo, which she wrote and directed, is one of 10 titles being added to the 96-title GFI library, whose exclusive distribution rights FilmRise, headed by CEO Danny Fisher, acquired last year.

The dramatic film, which won the Golden Shell award at the 61st San Sebastian Film Festival, centers on a nine-year-old boy’s preening obsession with straightening his hair, eliciting a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother.

In addition to Pelo Malo, the lineup that includes Turkey’s 11’e 10 kala (10 to 11) and Babamin sesi (Voice of My Father), India’s Chitra Sutram (The Image Threads), Armenia’s Yerku ashkharhic i hishatak (From Two Worlds as a Keepsake), Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Halimin put (Halima’s Path), Rwanda’s Imbabazi (The Pardon), Morocco’s Wadaan Carmen (Adios Carmen), Cameroon’s Ninah’s Dowry and Egypt’s La Moakhza (Excuse My French).

Over the past 10 years, the Global Film Initiative has provided grants and distribution support for the Global Lens series, which supports filmmakers in the developing world by providing programming for festivals, libraries, cultural institutions, schools and art house cinemas throughout North America.

“We are excited to leverage our partnership with FilmRise as we continue our work to present the very best of world cinema as a means of promoting cross-cultural understanding,” Susan Weeks Coulter, founder and board chair of the Global Film Initiative, said

Bovaira Heading the Seven-Person Jury at This Year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Fernando Bovaira is the head of the class at one of Spain’s biggest film festivals…

The Spanish producer will head the seven-person jury that will select the winner of the top prize, the Golden Shell, at this year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival, which runs September 19-27.

One of Spain’s most international names, Bovaira has produced all of director Alejandro Amenabar’s films including The Others, The Sea Inside and the upcoming Regression — starring Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson — as well as Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful, Julio Medem’s Sex and Lucia and Javier Fesser’s Mortadelo and Filemon, The Big Adventure.

Bovaira is joined by Venezuelan writer/director/producer Mariana Rondon, who returns to San Sebastian after winning last year’s Golden Shell with her acclaimed film Bad Hair, while Iranian born writer and director Marjane Satrapi will come to the seaside resort town in Spain’s northern Basque region after premiering her latest work, The Voices, starring Ryan Reynolds, at the Toronto Film Festival.

Singaporean director Eric Khoo, who heads Zhao Wei Films/Gorylah Pictures, will also join the panel. He has been credited with putting Singapore on the international film map with films like My Magic and animated Tatsumi.

Berlin-born actress Natassja Kinski, Germany director of photography Reinhold Vorschneider and Romanian character actor Vlad Ivanov, who won the L.A. Critics Award for his portrayal of an illegal abortion doctor in 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, round out the jury.

In addition to the seven official jurors, named Thursday, jailed Ukraine filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is an honorary jury member. The Federal Security State of the Russian Federation (FSB) arrested Sentsov on May 10 for backing the protests in Kiev and for his opposition to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The festival said it took the step of officially naming Sentsov to the jury to defend freedom of expression and in response to an request by the European Film Academy.

Arvelo’s “The Liberator,” Starring Edgar Ramirez, Selected as Venezuela’s Oscar Submission for Foreign Language Film

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Alberto Arvelo is one step closer to a possible Oscar nomination…

The Venezuelan filmmaker’s latest project The Liberator has been selected to be the country’s submission to the Foreign Language Film category for the next Academy Awards, according to the Venezuelan paper Ultimas Noticias.

The paper reports that a selection of Venezuelan film industry professionals voted on Arvelo’s film earlier this week.

The voting was reportedly divided between The Liberator and Mariana Rondon’s indie drama Bad Hair, winner of the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Film Festival last year.

An absolute rarity for local standards in terms of production value, The Liberator is a $50 million co-production between Spain and Venezuela about military and political leader Simon Bolivar, who commanded an army that freed a great part of the region from Spanish colonialism back in the 19th century, and is regarded as a forefather of South America, together with Argentine Jose de San Martin.

The epic period piece stars Venezuela’s most high profile international actor Edgar Ramírez (Carlos, Zero Dark Thirty) as Bolivar, with a score by the L. A. Philharmonic’s music director Gustavo Dudamel, and a script by Timothy J. Sexton, who co-wrote Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men.

The film’s unusually international crew also features Spanish cinematographer Xavi Gimenez (The Machinist, Agora), production designer Paul D. Austerberry (Twilight Saga: Eclipse), costume designer Sonia Grande (Midnight in Paris) and editor Tariq Anwar (American Beauty, The King’s Speech).

The Liberator opened in Venezuela on July 24, selling more than 500,000 tickets to date.

The film is scheduled for US release on October 3.

Autómata, Starring Banderas, to Compete at the San Sebastian International Film Festival

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Antonio Banderas is heading to Northern Spain…

Gabe Ibanez‘s latest project Autómata, starringthe 54-year-old Spanish actor, will compete at the 62nd San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Banderas portrays Jacq Vaucan in Ibanez’s sci-fi thriller that’s being hailed as a cross between a western and a detective movie. It was co-written by Igor Legarreta and Javier Sánchez Donate.

Autómata also stars Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Melanie Griffith, Dylan McDermott, Robert Forster and Tim McInnerny.

Other films added to the competition lineup include Oscar-winning director Susanne Bier’s latest drama, A Second Chance, Anahi Berneri’s Aire Libre, Maxime Giroux’s Felix and Meira, Cristian Jimenez‘s La Voz en Offand Cedric Kahn’s Wild Life.

The six films will all vie for the Golden Shell against others announced earlier this month.

San Sebastian, Spain’s A-level festival, runs Sept. 19- Sept. 27 in the northern Basque region.

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