Catalonia lands strongly at San Sebastián Film Festival with record-tying 28 productions

Catalonia will again have a strong presence at the San Sebastián Film Festival this year, with 28 Catalan productions set to be screened, matching last year's total. 

Two of the films are in official competition for the festival's top prize, the Golden Shell; 'Sants,' directed by Mikel Gurrea, and '5 minutos más,' directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera.

In out-of-competition sections, the festival will feature Daniel Monzón's 'Ruega por nosotras,' Isaki Lacuesta's documentary 'Jaleos / Flamenco Sketches,' and Meritxell Colell's 'Lejos de los árboles,' which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. 

Also showing will be films already released in theaters including Rodrigo Sorogoyen's 'El ser querido,' Aina Clotet's 'Viva' and Carlo Padial's 'Pizza movies.'

The festival runs from September 18-26. This year's lineup of 28 Catalan titles ties last year's record and reflects a sustained high presence in the years since the pandemic. Counting this year's edition, a full 100 Catalan titles will have screened at the festival since 2020, roughly matching the total from the entire previous decade (2011-2020).

Isaki Lacuesta, king of San Sebastián

Isaki Lacuesta is the most-selected Catalan director in the history of the San Sebastián festival, and this year extends that record with the screening of his documentary 'Jaleos / Flamenco Sketches,' an all-Catalan co-production from Goroka, Lastor Media and La Termita Films. In total, his films have now been selected nine times across the festival's editions.

Isabel Coixet, with six selections including this year's, moves into second place, ahead of Cesc Gay's five. The festival will screen Coixet's 'Tres adioses,' which premiered in February, in the noncompetitive Made in Spain section. 

Coixet is also the subject of a documentary by Borja Zausen, 'El coraje del matiz (Todas las vidas de Isabel Coixet),' and of an exhibition organized by the festival with the San Telmo Museum, 'La disciplina del caos' featuring a selection of collages created by the Catalan director herself. The exhibition runs free of charge from September 11 to November 1.

Tribute to Pere Portabella, and a debut from Júlia Coldwell

The festival's classics section will dedicate a session to veteran Catalan director Pere Portabella, screening his 1989 film 'Pont de Varsòvia.'

Separately, the international film school showcase Nest will screen the ESCAC Films short 'Ningú Borda,' the graduate project from young director Júlia Coldwell Serra, born in Valls in 1998, made for her master's degree in directing. 

Also tied to the festival, though screened as part of separate programming, 3Cat will present the two-episode miniseries 'Gènesi,' directed by David Pujol for Emulsió Films AIE, a fictionalized account of the revolution led by Ferran Adrià at El Bulli.

More Catalan talent at the festival

Beyond the Catalan-produced and co-produced titles, Catalan talent will also be represented through performers and directors in other films at the festival. 

Notably, Eduard Fernández stars in 'El mal padre,' directed by Roberto Bueso, in the festival's official section. Actress and director Elena Martín will also have a prominent role, co-directing the series 'El castillo,' another official-section title.

Separately, J.A. Bayona and Carlos Torres present the documentary series 'Más allá de la sociedad,' also in the official section, exploring life after the plane crash depicted in their film 'La sociedad de la neu.'

Actors Oriol Pla and Marina Salas star in Javier Giner's debut film, 'Esta soledad,' in the festival's New Directors section. And Greta Fernández co-stars in 'Los invitados,' co-directed by Catalan filmmaker Cristina Díz, screening in the Made in Spain section.