Presentation of the Donostia Award to Javier Bardem captured attention at the opening gala of a San Sebastian Festival set to offer a "binge" of more than 200 movies and a long list of attendees from the global world of film. Comedians Andreu Buenafuente and Berto Romero took to the stage with actress Bárbara Goenaga for their shared mission of presenting a humour-packed ceremony taking a satirical look at mass tourism, the situation of Argentine cinema and the awards.  

Bardem was unable to collect his Donostia Award last year due to the Hollywood writers and actors strike. He had however promised to return this year to receive the highest honorary tribute of a festival with which he is linked by "a great friendship". "I accept this award with all the love and affection of this festival, which has given me so much, both personally and professionally", he began, remembering directors such as Bigas Luna, his mother and his siblings Mónica and Carlos, who were present on stage.

He also thanked his drama teacher, Juan Carlos Corazza, who presented him with the award and taught him that the work of an actor "has to do with truth and honesty", since it "must be the opposite of manipulation and must be carried out from a place of transparency and nakedness". Finally, he emotionally dedicated the award to his late mother Pilar Bardem ('she is here, happy, I feel her joy'), his wife (the actress Penélope Cruz, who was in the stalls of the Kursaal) and their children Leonardo and Luna.

Corazza highlighted his "vocation and commitment", while recalling that "art is a celebration of life, an invitation to take care of ourselves and to care for ourselves, to build instead of destroying". "Thank you, Javier, for your dedication to the fragile and mysterious current of art, with the faith that art is essential for the health of society", Corazza said.

The gala recalled the main achievements of Javier Bardem, who boasts Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Goya awards, among others; however, attention above all concentrated on the awards received in the early days of his successful career. It was precisely at the San Sebastian Festival in 1994 that he won the Silver Shell for Best Actor twofold, for his work in Días contados / Running Out of Time, by Imanol Uribe, and El detective y la muerte / The Detective and Death, by Gonzalo Suárez.Bardem, who featured last year on the poster for the Festival's 71st edition, is the seventh Spanish personality to receive the event's most important honorary award, following Fernando Fernán Gómez (1999), Paco Rabal (2001), Antonio Banderas (2008), Carmen Maura (2013), Penélope Cruz (2019) and Víctor Erice (2023).

While the Donostia Award going to Bardem corresponds to those presented last year, this edition of the Festival comes with another two honorary awards: one going to the actress Cate Blanchett, who will accept the accolade tomorrow at 19:15, and the other going to the filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar on Thursday at 18:00. Both of these galas will also be directed from El Terrat (The Mediapro Studio).

FIPRESCI Award, the Offical Jury and 'Emmanuelle'

The ceremony also saw presentation of the FIPRESCI Grand Prix 2024, going to Poor Things, by Yorgos Lanthimos, chosen as Best Film of the Year by the International Federation of Film Critics. The Brazilian critic Ela Bittencourt handed the award to Manuel Muro, Director General of Walt Disney Studios in Spain.

Also participating in the evening was the president of the Official Selection Jury, the director Jaione Camborda, who won last year's Golden Shell with O Corno / The Rye Horn. "It is particularly moving for me to be here today, in my homeland, accompanied on the jury by great filmmakers and professionals, at this important film festival whose quality and freedom of speech resonate around the world", she said.

"As this year's jury, we take on this responsibility out of respect, commitment and love for cinema and the life that passes through it, as a compass in our decisions. Exciting days lie ahead, days of immersion through the big screen in all that unites us and shapes us as human beings, as inhabitants of this strange and fascinating world in which we live", concluded the filmmaker from San Sebastian in the company of the other jury members: the Argentine writer and journalist Leila Guerriero, the North American actor and director Fran Kranz, the Greek moviemaker Christos Nikou, the Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl and the French producer Carole Scotta.

The gala was followed by the world premiere of Emmanuelle, the latest movie from Audrey Diwan competing in the Official Selection. The French moviemaker was accompanied in presentation of the film by several members of its team: actors Noémie Merlant, Will Sharpe, Chacha Huang and Jamie Campbell Bower.

The 72nd edition of the San Sebastian Festival is dedicated to Alberto Arizaga, head of technical production at the event for more than two decades who died in December of last year. This edition will host a total of 254 titles from 53 countries and 694 screenings which, as referred to in the gala, promise "a great year of cinema".