Gael Garcia Bernal is taking a special lead role in Italy…
The 44-year-old Mexican actor and producer will preside over the jury of the upcoming Rome Film Festival.
Garcia Bernal, who currently stars in the Amazon Prime film Cassandro, will be judging entries and bestowing prizes in the rebooted fest’s main section, which is now known as Progressive Cinema.
Films competing for Rome prizes include Spanish director Isabel Coixet’s Un Amor, about a young woman socially and sexually exploited by a rural patriarchy; Iranian director Farhad Delaram’s Achilles, in which a former filmmaker turned medic decides to help a female political prisoner escape from a psych ward; and French director Mehdi Fikri’s After The Fire, which turns on a French woman of North African descent who seeks justice after her younger brother dies suspiciously after being stopped by the police.
The Eternal City event’s upcoming 18th edition – which will run October 18-29 – will be the second since the appointment of RAI Cinema executive Paola Malanga as the fest’s artistic director and Gian Luca Farinelli, who heads the Bologna film archives, as president.
They have reshaped the Rome fest – which over the years has had it’s ups and downs – as a competitive event that has at its core a mix of mostly auteur titles, many with political themes, plus a panoply of more crowd pleasing films of different types screening out-of-competition.
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 Worldby Colombian director Laura Mora last year, Blue Moonby Alina Grigore from Romania in 2021, and Beginningby Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashviliin 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)
Garcia Bernal, who currently stars in the Amazon Prime film Cassandro, will be judging entries and bestowing prizes in the rebooted fest’s main section, which is now known as Progressive Cinema.