The San Sebastian Film Festival was founded in 1952 as the International Film Week. Although it originally focuses on Spanish language films, its program expanded to include films in other languages in 1955. Two years later, the FIAPF accredited the San Sebastian International Film Festival as an A list festival. Today, the SSIFF is one of the most important cultural events in the Basque Country, as well as in the entire Spain.
Since the very first years of its existence, the San Sebastian Film Festival has become one of the world’s most important and prestigious film festivals. It was the first film festival attended by Roman Polanski. The SSIFF has helped to boost the careers of now-famous filmmakers, including Pedro Almodovar, Francis Ford Coppola, and others. It has hosted the international premieres of films such as Melinda and Melinda by Woody Allen and Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock, as well as the European premiere of Star Wars.
As we’ve already mentioned above, the SSIFF is a competitive film festival. The highest prize given to the best film in the Official Selection is the Golden Shell. It is presented to the producer or producers of the film. Other prizes awarded by the festival jury include the Silver Shell for Best Director, the Silver Shell for Best Actress, the Silver Shell for Best Actor, the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, and the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography.
Besides, there are special awards presented to films screened in parallel sections, including the New Directors Award, the Horizontes Award, the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award, the Irizar Basque Film Award, the Youth Award, and more. Honorary awards given out at the San Sebastian International Film Festival include the Donostia Award for outstanding contributions to the film industry, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Latin Cinema Award, and the Zinemira Award.
Alongside the Official Selection, the festival features a number of sections that focus on different kinds of films, for example, first or second movies by young filmmakers, Latin American cinema, Basque cinema, new Spanish movies, student films, etc. Besides, the program of the festival includes industry events for film industry professionals from around the world.
Photo: greeningfilm.com
