Festival de San Sebastián 2021: Actors, Directors, Commerce, and More: Anticipated Highlights
The 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival, scheduled for September 19-27, is gearing up to be an unforgettable event in the European film calendar. The festival will feature a diverse selection of films from established auteurs and new discoveries in competition, as well as several exciting sidebars.
One of the most anticipated sidebars is Horizontes Latinos, which will feature Chilean Dominga Sotomayor's Netflix title "Limpia." Another intriguing sidebar is the New Directors, which will bring fresh winds to the festival with the inclusion of Jose Alayón's "Dance of the Living," Dolores Fonzi's "Belén," Jonathan Etzler with "Bad Apples," Tribeni Ray's "The Shape of Momo," and Yukari Sakamoto's "White Flowers and Fruits."
The festival will open with an Argentine Netflix film titled "27 Nights," and Milagros Mumenthaler's "The Currents," one of the three Argentine features in the official selection, is lead-produced out of Switzerland. The festival will also feature three Basque productions in its Spanish Golden Shell contenders: "Sundays," "Los Tigres," and "Maspalomas."
Jennifer Lawrence will receive the Donostia Award, San Sebastian's highest honor, on September 26. The actress's presence at the festival will be further highlighted with the screening of Lynne Ramsay's film "Die My Love," in which she stars. Angelina Jolie is also confirmed to attend the screening of the Golden Shell contender "Couture."
The festival will host the CAA Media Finance-backed Creative Investors' Conference, a significant event that will bring together industry professionals to discuss and explore new opportunities in film financing. The directors competing at San Sebastián in 2025 alongside international stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Angelina Jolie have not been specified in the available search results. However, three titles at the festival may prove conversation-drivers: "Sundays," "She Walks in Darkness," and "Anatomy of a Moment," a buzzy semi-fictionalized chronicle of how democracy was won and then saved in Spain.
Spain's top pay/SVOD operator Movistar Plus+ accounts for 50% of Spanish Golden Shell contenders at the 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival. Many of Spain's finest films of 2025 will be showcased at the festival, making it a must-attend event for film enthusiasts.
In addition, the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum will be a part of the festival, providing a platform for collaboration and networking between European and Latin American filmmakers. San Sebastián's De Facto Market works as a fertile Spain-France axis, with much of France's arthouse sector discussing sales slates with Spanish distributors.
For the first time in 15 years, there is no Argentinian movie in San Sebastián's Work in Progress. Despite this, the 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival promises to be a vibrant and exciting event, showcasing the best in international and Spanish cinema.
