San Sebastián International Film Festival

San Sebastián International Film Festival

Location Donostia-San Sebastián,
Basque Country, Spain
Awards Golden Shell
Hosted by Festival Internacional de Cine de Donostia-San Sebastián, Sociedad Anónima
Number of films 200-250
Language International
Website sansebastianfestival.com

The San Sebastián International Film Festival (Spanish: Festival de San Sebastián; Basque: Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country.

Since its creation in 1953 it has established itself as one of the most important cinema festivals in the world, being one of the 14 "A" category competitive festivals accredited by the FIAPF. It has hosted several important events of the history of cinema, such as the international premiers of Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock (who attended the Festival) or Melinda and Melinda by Woody Allen and the European premier of Star Wars. Actors and directors such as Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson, Gregory Peck, Glenn Ford, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Charlton Heston, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Richard Gere, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mel Gibson, Demi Moore, Naomi Watts and Brad Pitt have attended the festival since its inception. It was the first festival attended by Roman Polanski and has helped advance the professional careers of Francis Ford Coppola or Pedro Almodóvar, for instance.

In the current competitive context of international festivals, San Sebastián, which has one of the lowest budgets, has established itself as the most important in Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries.

History

The festival was founded in 1952. Although it was originally intended to honour Spanish language films, films of other languages became eligible for consideration in 1955, when the festival was specialized in color films. It has been acknowledged by the FIAPF as an A category festival since 1957, with the exception of the 1980–1984 period, when no major awards were given.

Sections

Victoria Eugenia Theatre
María Cristina Hotel during the San Sebastián International Film Festival

These are the main sections of the festival:

Awards

An international jury evaluates the films in the Official Section and awards the following prizes:

The following are the main awards for films in the pararell sections:

Movie actors since 1953

           
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