Z365" or "Festival all year round" is the new strategic point of the Festival in which converge investigation, accompaniment and development of new talents (Ikusmira Berriak, Nest); training and cinematic knowledge transfer (Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, Zinemaldia + Plus, Filmmakers' dialogue); and investigation, disclosure and cinematic thought (Z70 project, Thought and Discussion and Research and publications).
The 65th San Sebastian film festival was officially declared open last night at a ceremony in the Kursaal hosted by Anne Igarteburu and Leticia Dolera, who announced, “a peaceful invasion of 219 stories to dive into over the next nine days.”
As is usually the case, the traditional runthrough of the various sections that make up the Festival was preceded by the presentation of the FIPRESCI award for best film of the year. The president of FIPRESCI, Alin Taşçiyan, handed over the award to Aki Kaurismäki for The Other Side of Hope and stressed how this was the second time that the Finnish director had received this honour for yet another masterpiece; a director she described as “an excellent filmmaker, a passionate cinephile and a wonderful personality.” Kaurismäki said he was honoured to receive this prize and earned the applause of the audience when, in a reference to the subject of the refugee crisis, he affirmed that, “if we turn our backs on human beings from Africa or elsewhere, we are not human beings anymore.”
The general review of all the sections in the Festival then followed, including the retrospective to Joseph Losey, a director forced into exile in Britain by the Black List, and described as a “celluloid survivor, who deserves to be rediscovered.” The gala came to a close when the members of the Official Jury, headed by John Malkovich, who received a Donostia Award here in 1998, came out on stage. He was followed by Wim Wenders, the director of Submergence, the film that was opening the Festival this year, accompanied by two of his actors, Alicia Vikander and Celyn Jones. The German filmmaker said that it was a great pleasure and a huge honour to be back in San Sebastián and promised that, “we’ll take you to places you’ve never been. Thanks for having us!”.