Laura Mora’s film Los reyes del mundo / The Kings of the World, a Colombian co-production with Luxembourg, France, Mexico and Norway, bagged the Golden Shell at San Sebastian Festival’s 70th edition. The official jury also decided to honour Genki Kawamura with the Silver Shell for Best Director for Hyakka / A Hundred Flowers (Japan), while the Best Screenplay Award went to Dong Yun Zhou and Wang Chao for their work on the latter’s movie, Kong Xiu / A Woman (China).

Carla Quílez and Paul Kircher landed the Silver Shell ex-aequo for Best Leading Performance in Pilar Palomero’s La Maternal (Spain), and Christophe Honoré’s Le lycéen / Winter Boy (France), respectively, while Renata Lerman forged ahead to win Best Supporting Performance for Diego Lerman’s El suplente / The Substitute (Argentina-Spain-Italy-Mexico-France). Manuel Abramovich, the director of Pornomelancolía (Argentina-France-Brazil-Mexico), carried off the Best Cinematography Award for his work on this film, while the Special Jury Prize went to Runner, by the first-timer Marian Mathias (USA-Germany-France), “for the ambition of its narrative engagement, for its originality and for the intensity sensed in this first work”.

This is the third year running that a film helmed by a woman has landed the Official Selection’s top prize after Beginning (Dea Kulumbegashvili, 2020) and Crai nou / Blue Moon (Alina Grigore, 2021), and the Golden Shell went to a Colombian production for the first time in the Festival’s seven decades. The movie in question is the second by its director, Laura Mora (Medellín, 1981), whose debut, Matar a Jesús (2017), received a Kutxabank-New Directors Award special mention.

Both the Jury Prize and the Golden Shell for Best Director went to two debut movies, Runner and Hyakka / A Hundred Flowers, respectively. The latter of the two is the work of Genki Kawamura, producer of essential titles in the field of contemporary Japanese animation.

The Official Jury giving these awards was presided over by the producer Matías Mosteirín, who was accompanied by the jury members Antoinette Boulat, Tea Lindeburg, Rosa Montero, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese and Hlynur Pálmason.

OTHER OFFICIAL AWARDS

Tonight the Kursaal hosted the closing gala of the Festival’s 70th edition, at which other official awards were also presented.

Fifi / Spare Keys (France), co-directed by Jeanne Aslan and Paul Saintillan, landed the Kutxabank-New Directors Award, where another debut, Pokhar ke dunu para / On Either Sides of The Pond (India), by Parth Saurabh, earned a special mention. Tengo sueños eléctricos (Belgium-France-Costa Rica), the debut movie from Valentina Maurel, won the Horizontes Award after harvesting Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor at the Locarno Festival. For its part, the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award was for Hlynur Pálmason’s Godland (Denmark-Iceland-France-Sweden), previously a participant in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.

The Nest Award went to the short film Montaña azul / Blue Mountain, by Sofía Salinas and Juan David Bohórquez, from the Universidad Central de Colombia, and the section’s special mention to Anabase (Switzerland), by HEAD-Genève student Benjamin Goubet.

Added to these, the winner of the Irizar Basque Film Award was Suro (Spain), Mikel Gurrea’s debut feature and participant in the Official Selection, while its special mention went to A los libros y a las mujeres canto / To Books and Women I Sing (Spain), the movie by María Elorza selected for New Directors. Suro also was also acclaimed with the FIPRESCI Grand Prix.

On the other hand, the City of Donostia / Sebastian Award, decided by the audience watching films in the Perlak section, went to Argentina, 1985 (Argentina-USA), the film by Santiago Mitre, recipient of the FIPRESCI Award at the Venice Mostra, while the Audience Award for Best European Film was carried off by As bestas / The Beasts (Spain), with which Rodrigo Sorogoyen participated in the Cannes Première section.

The gala was followed by the world premiere of Marlowe, the latest movie by Neil Jordan, who was in San Sebastian together with two of its actors, Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger.

Los reyes del mundo / The Kings of the World Laura Mora (Colombia - Luxembourg - France - Mexico - Norway)

Runner Marian Mathias (USA - Germany - France)

GENKI KAWAMURA Hyakka / A Hundred Flowers Genki Kawamura (Japan)

Ex aequo PAUL KIRCHER Le lycéen / Winter Boy Christophe Honoré (France)

Ex aequo CARLA QUÍLEZ La Maternal Pilar Palomero (Spain)

RENATA LERMAN El suplente / The Substitute Diego Lerman (Argentina - Spain - Italy - Mexico - France)

DONG YUN ZHOU, WANG CHAO Kong Xiu / A Woman Wang Chao (China)

MANUEL ABRAMOVICH Pornomelancolía Manuel Abramovich (Argentina - France - Brazil - Mexico)

KUTXABANK-NEW DIRECTORS AWARD Fifi / Spare Keys Jeanne Aslan, Paul Saintillan (France)

SPECIAL MENTION Pokhar ke dunu paar / On Either Sides of the Pond Parth Saurabh (India)

Tengo sueños eléctricos Valentina Maurel (Belgium - France - Costa Rica)

ZABALTEGI-TABAKALERA AWARD Godland Hlynur Pálmason (Denmark - Iceland - France - Sweden)

NEST AWARD Montaña azul / Blue Mountain Short film Sofía Salinas, Juan David Bohórquez (Colombia)

SPECIAL MENTION Anabase Short film Benjamin Goubet (Switzerland)

CITY OF DONOSTIA / SAN SEBASTIAN AUDIENCE AWARD Argentina, 1985 Santiago Mitre (Argentina - USA)

CITY OF DONOSTIA / SAN SEBASTIAN AUDIENCE AWARD AWARD FOR BEST EUROPEAN FILM As bestas / The Beasts Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain - France)

IRIZAR BASQUE FILM AWARD Suro Mikel Gurrea (Spain)

SPECIAL MENTION A los libros y a las mujeres canto / To Books and Women I Sing Maria Elorza (Spain)

A los libros y a las mujeres canto / To Books and Women I Sing Maria Elorza (Spain)

WIP LATAM INDUSTRY AWARD El castillo / The Castle Martín Benchimol (Argentina - France)

EGEDA PLATINO INDUSTRIA AWARD FOR THE BEST WIP LATAM El castillo / The Castle Martín Benchimol (Argentina - France)

PROJETO PARADISO FIRST PRIZE Estranho caminho / A Strange Path Guto Parente (Brazil - Portugal)

PROJETO PARADISO SECOND PRIZE Casa no campo / A House in the Country Davi Pretto (Brazil - France - Argentina)

WIP EUROPA INDUSTRY AWARD Tereddüt çizgisi / Hesitation Wound Selman Nacar (Turkey - France - Romania)

WIP EUROPA AWARD Tereddüt çizgisi / Hesitation Wound Selman Nacar (Turkey - France - Romania)

XI EUROPE-LATIN AMERICA CO-PRODUCTION FORUM BEST PROJECT AWARD Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul / Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building Bruno Santamaría Razo (Mexico)

DALE! AWARD (DEVELOPMENT LATIN AMERICA-EUROPE) Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul / Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building Bruno Santamaría Razo (Mexico)

ARTEKINO INTERNATIONAL PRIZE Madre pájaro Sofía Quirós Ubeda (Costa Rica - Argentina)

FILM CENTER SERBIA AWARD La muñeca de fuego / The Fire Doll Niles Atallah (Chile - France)

IRUSOIN POST-PRODUCTION AWARD Bandeira João Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil - France)

BEST SPANISH PROJECT Motmo.Pro (Spain)

BEST EUROPEAN PROJECT Mine S (Italy)

BEST ENTREPRENEURIAL PROJECT kino_GreenToken (Spain)

IBAIA – BILIBIN CIRCULAR AWARD CARAPIRÚ: EL SUPERVIVIENTE     Aner Etxebarria, Pablo Vidal Produced by: Federation Spain (Spain - France)

DISTRIBUTION AND FESTIVAL CONSULTANCY TREELINE AWARD EL SILENCIO DE LAS HORMIGAS     Francisco Montoro Produced by: Apnea Films (Spain)

IBAIA - ELKARGI AWARD EL SILENCIO DE LAS HORMIGAS     Francisco Montoro Produced by: Apnea Films (Spain)

RTVE - ANOTHER LOOK AWARD El sostre groc Isabel Coixet (Spain)

SPECIAL MENTION Corsage Marie Kreutzer (Austria - France - Germany - Luxembourg)

Ruido / Noise Natalia Beristain (Mexico)

Tori et Lokita / Tori and Lokita Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne (Belgium - France)

DUNIA AYASO AWARD Secaderos / Tobacco Barns Rocío Mesa (Spain - USA)

SPECIAL MENTION El sostre groc Isabel Coixet (Spain)

JULIETTE BINOCHE

DAVID CRONENBERG

Txema Areizaga

Suro Mikel Gurrea (Spain)

Los reyes del mundo / The Kings of the World Laura Mora (Colombia - Luxembourg - France - Mexico - Norway)

Mikel Gurrea, Francisco Kosterlitz Suro Mikel Gurrea (Spain)

Something You Said Last Night Luis De Filippis (Canada - Switzerland)

Alcarràs Carla Simón (Spain - Italy)

SIGNIS Award Los reyes del mundo / The Kings of the World Laura Mora (Colombia - Luxembourg - France - Mexico - Norway)

SPECIAL MENTION Runner Marian Mathias (USA - Germany - France)