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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).
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The opening and closing galas of the 71st San Sebastian Festival, and the Víctor Erice Donostia Award presentation gala will be directed by the actress, director and screenwriter Mireia Gabilondo with scripts by the writer and critic Bob Pop. Actors Eva Hache and Gorka Otxoa will present the opening gala and Hache will join the actress Loreto Mauleón for the closing gala. The band Audience will provide the soundtrack for all of the galas.
The “astonishing power of the cinema to bring us myriad, unusual and multifaceted points of view”, will provide the storyline for the Festival opening gala, in which animation will play a hugely important role. In the words of Mireia Gabilondo and Bob Pop, “yet another edition, we will once again talk about the cinema, that ruthless, friendly, cruel, melancholy, kind-hearted, brutal and moving surgery that we use to cut into the bowels of humanity…”.
The ceremony will take place on Friday 22 at 20:30 in the Kursaal Auditorium and will broadcast live on TVE’s La 2, RTVE Play, ETB1, eitb.eus and the Festival website. The closing gala, which will be broadcast on the same channels, will begin on Saturday 30 at 21:00. The Basque Film Gala can be seen on ETB4 and eitb.eus (Tuesday 26th, at 19:30) and the Donostia Award to Víctor Erice, on ETB4, eitb.eus, La 2 and RTVE Play (Friday 29th at 22:00).
As well as numerous surprises, the opening gala, taking place prior to the European premiere of Hayao Miyazaki’s Kimitachi wa dô iki ruka / The Boy and the Heron, will include presentation of the FIPRESCI Grand Prix to the film Kuolleet ledhet / Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismäki as well as introduction of the Official Jury members.
Regarding the staging of the galas, the designer, Cesc Calafell, explains that this year will see an approach to the Art Deco movement “to dress the stage with elegance, using a style that has so often accompanied the world of cinema and a multitude of movie events”. LED light boxes and arches with RGB lighting will feature in a contemporary space that “flirts with the classic”, says Calafell.
Tickets for the opening (Friday 22 September, 20:30) and closing (Saturday 30 September, 21:00) galas will go on sale today, 4 September, at 10:00, on the sansebastianfestival.janto.es and kutxabank-zinemaldi.janto.es websites at the price of 80 euros per gala. Tickets can also be purchased for the Víctor Erice Donostia Award presentation gala (Friday 29 September, 22:00), at a price of 20 euros.
Monday to Thursday: 09:00h - 15:00h
Friday: 10:00h - 14:00h