Christine Vachon And John Sloss Talk Streamers & The Future Of Theatrical Distribution — San Sebastian

The indie film confab Zurich Summit took place Saturday as the marquee industry event alongside the Zurich Film Festival. More than 100 film pros took part in the all-day session that drilled down into the state of the industry.

Colombian filmmaker Laura Mora has clinched the Golden Shell in the main competition of the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival with her latest feature The Kings of the World (Los reyes del mundo).

Guy Lodge Film Critic Colombian director Laura Mora’s coming-of-age drama “Kings of the World” has taken the Golden Shell for Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival, marking the third consecutive year that a female filmmaker has taken the top prize at the Spanish fest. Longer report to follow; full list of winners below. OFFICIAL SELECTION PRIZES Golden Shell for Best Film: “Kings of the World,” Laura Mora Special Jury Prize: “Runner,” Marian Mathias Silver Shell for Best Director: “A Hundred Flowers,” Genki Kawamura

Liza Foreman Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger turned out at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Saturday to support the world premiere of Neil Jordan’s “Marlowe,” which closes the festival tonight. Jordan and William Monahan’s adaptation of John Banville’s novel “The Black-Eyed Blonde” centers Raymond Chandler’s famous detective Philip Marlowe, and – like Chandler’s books – is set in 1930s Los Angeles. Jordan said it was confusing to call it a film noir. “First of all, it’s shot in color,” he said. Even though it is set in the past, it’s a futuristic film that provided his reference point for the look of this one.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The dream child of 10 Basque businessmen who hoped to prolong San Sebastián’s summer season into late September, the San Sebastian Film Festival was born on Sept. 21, 1953.  Presented by bullfighter Mario Cabré, who romanced Ava Gardner, and comprising just 19 films, won by “La guerra de Dios,” directed by Rafael Gil., rescued from a potential Republican firing squad by Luis Buñuel not so many years before. Fireworks, bullfights and quayside parties regaled the film week. From that first edition remain the beauty and gastronomy of San Sebastian, a Belle Epoque resort boasting the spectacular white-sand Concha Bay, steep-backed hills, an old quarter of higgeldy-piggeldy streets and a trio of three-star Michelin restaurants. 70 years later, San Sebastián still stuns.     

Former Lionsgate film chief Patrick Wachsberger, Carol producer Christine Vachon, Neon CEO Tom Quinn and SPC bosses Michael Barker and Tom Bernard will be among industry executives taking part in the Zurich Summit tomorrow [Saturday 24] in Switzerland.

Jake Lockett is the hot new star of Chicago Fire and the longtime series’ showrunners are opening up about the mystery surrounding his character Sam Carver.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Mexico’s Bruno Santamaría, Argentina’s Martín Benchimol and Turkey’s Selman Nacar proved three of the big winners among San Sebastian Industry Awards, announced Wednesday. João Paulo Miranda, already a young star on Brazil’s film scene after “Memory House,” meanwhile won the Ikusmira Berriak Award. A Chicago Golden Hugo winner for doc feature “Things We Dare Not Do,” Santamaría swept two awards at the fest’s Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, a Mecca for Latin America auteurs and their producers seeking vital co-production partners as state funding prospects have plunged across the region.

David Cronenberg described his next film, The Shrouds, as a personal and partly autobiographical project, during a press conference at the San Sebastian film festival Wednesday.

Europe’s Big Hope: Platforms Really Embracing Cinema In the U.S., the platforms already buy big when it comes to movies. Think Sundance. Europe is another land: Platforms have largely held back much more, thwarted in France, for instance, by regulated windows.

Miguel Herran had a big premiere this past weekend at the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival!

Anna Marie de la Fuente Vying for the top Gold Shell at the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival, Basque native Mikel Gurrea’s debut feature “Suro” stems from Gurrea’s experience working in the cork forests north of Catalonia. He had just finished his studies and was at a loss when his then girlfriend’s parents suggested he work in the forests where they stripped cork from the trees. “I discovered a fascinating world that stayed with me; the work is tough but you’re in the middle of nature,” he said. “It was also a good workout!” he added. “Suro” revolves around a young couple, Helena and Ivan, who decide to leave Barcelona and start anew on the land that Helena has inherited. Ivan takes it upon himself to join the workers and learn how to strip the bark from the cork trees that now belong to them. But their contrasting viewpoints will jeopardize their future as a couple, the film broadening its sweep to examine modern-day capitalism and the rights to private property.

Anna Marie de la Fuente San Sebastian’s pix-in-post showcases, which have launched notable movies – Sebastian Lelio’s “Gloria” – and notable directors – Jayro Bustamante, introducing his debut “Ixcanul” – unspools in 2022, with the screenings of six WIP Latam titles taking place over Sept. 19 – 21. WIP Europe, with four titles, runs on Sept. 19 and 20.  In the mix is an awaited title from Chile, “Penal Cordillera,” directed by Felipe Carmona, produced by Dominga Sotomayor and Omar Zuñiga and sold by Luxbox, and “A Strange Path,” from Brazil’s Guto Parente, whose “The Cannibal Club,” acquired by Uncork’d Entertainment, made a stir by portraying a Brazil in which the rich literally eat the poor. 

Anna Marie de la Fuente Ecuador’s Ana Cristina Barragán, an alum of San Sebastian’s post-graduate film school Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE), has come full circle with her second feature “La Piel Pulpo” (“Octopus Skin”) as it competes at the San Sebastian Festival’s Horizontes Latinos, a year after it participated in the festival’s Work in Progress strand (WIP Latam). A coming-of-age family drama “La Piel Pulpo” turns on twins Iris and Ariel who live with their mother and younger sister on a remote island. Having grown up in this rarified environment with only the mollusks, birds and reptiles for company, the teens are inseparable and have formed a near transcendental connection with nature. Curious about the world beyond their island, Iris hitches a boat ride with a rare visitor to explore the mainland and search for their estranged father. The act of physically separating from her twin brother puts a strain on their relationship.

Juliette Binoche spoke about what she described as the challenging process of working with Jean-Luc Godard during a press conference at the San Sebastian film festival.

Olivia Wilde is looking stunning on the red carpet!

Liza Foreman Playing in the prestigious New Directors’ section at San Sebastián, “Woman at Sea” (“Grand Marin”), a beautifully shot adaptation of the best-selling book of the same name, marks the feature directing debut of Russian actor Dinara Drukarova, who also stars in the film.  Sold by Loco Films, “Woman at Sea” is produced by Marianne Slot and Carine LeBlanc at Paris-based Slot Machine (“Melancholia”). Lensed in Iceland, the film captures the struggle for integration, and the search for self, all set in the film’s stunning but cold seascapes.  Drukarova’s character Lili follows in the footsteps of the book’s author, Catherine Poulain, who spent 10 years working on fishing boats in Alaska, as documented in the book. 

Penelope Cruz received a special honor at the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival this weekend!

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Austrian director Ulrich Seidl has cancelled his visit to San Sebastian for the Sept. 18 world premiere of “Sparta,” amid allegations of impropriety and child exploitation made against the director. The world premiere will still go ahead at San Sebastian with the film playing in main competition contending for San Sebastian’s Gold Shell. Seidl’s decision comes after the Toronto Film Festival pulled “Sparta” and on Sept. 14, FilmFest Hamburg announced that it would no longer be giving Seidl its Douglas Sirk Award, though it would be screening “Sparta.”

Penelope Cruz is taken by surprise as she sees so many fans at the premiere of her new movie, On The Fringe, during the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival held at Victoria Eugenia Theatre on Friday (September 16) in San Sebastian, Spain.