The Gipuzkoa Provincial Council Department of Culture and its Crossover Festival, in collaboration with Donostia Kultura and the San Sebastian Festival, together with of Disney+, organise the launch and screening of the first three episodes of Cristóbal Balenciaga. The original series, to premiere exclusively on Disney+ on 19 January, recreates the life and legacy of the Getaria-born creator, one of the most iconic fashion designers of all times. The presentation in San Sebastian on Monday, 22 January, at 19:00 in the Victoria Eugenia Theatre.

The event will be attended by the award-winning directors and screenwriters Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga, actors Alberto San Juan (Cristóbal Balenciaga), Josean Bengoetxea (San Sebastian businessman Nicolás Bizkarrondo) and Cecilia Solaguren (his wife, Virgilia Mendizabal), as well as the composer Alberto Iglesias, winner of 11 Goyas (for which he was nominated 19 times), with four Academy Award, three Bafta and two Golden Globe nominations to his name.

Sofía Fábregas, Vice President of Original Production in Spain for Disney+; Lourdes Iglesias, co-writer and co-creator; Bina Daigeler, costume designer, makeup artist Karmele Soler and the executive producer Xabier Berzosa will also attend the presentation.

In the words of the Deputy of Culture for Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, Goizane Álvarez, “we are never mere spectators of films and series. They always change the way we perceive things; they have the magical ability to connect us with what we see and what the characters are feeling. We are treated to the gift of different takes on a same reality. Films and series offer us new perspectives and empathy, enriching us intellectually. Gipuzkoa enjoys very close ties with the audiovisual sector, not only because it represents an excellent physical opportunity of unique filming spaces, but also because it offers an ecosystem of high-quality professionals in the sector. Furthermore, we at the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council Department of Culture lend great importance and support to learning at the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola and to production through the SS-Gipuzkoa Film Commission, in a commitment to the today and tomorrow of an important economic sector for our territory.”

Cristóbal Balenciaga is an ambitious production from Disney+ backed by meticulous work in the fields of research and recreation. The pledge to Gipuzkoa as the engine of the Irusoin and Moriarti productions is long-standing and dates back more than 20 years. The quality of the local artistic and technical talent is reflected in the productions released over these years. Cristóbal Balenciaga involved more than 90 sets, a team of more than 100 professionals, 4,000 extras and 18 weeks of filming, thereby enabling the local audiovisual sector to gain in strength and, at the end of the day, to be more competitive at international level. Both the origin of Cristóbal Balenciaga himself and the technical and artistic team involved make Gipuzkoa the natural place to launch this ambitious project.

The Disney+ series, shot in numerous locations in France and Spain, tells the tale of a man who, through his natural talent, perseverance and flair for business, dared to defy his social status as the son of a seamstress and a fisherman to become one of the most important designers of all time.

Cristóbal Balenciaga is the portrait of a search for identity in the face of adversity and his defiance of social conventions over the years. The audience will witness the constant deconstruction and reconstruction of the maestro’s great losses: his lifelong partner, his mother and his country, obsessed with finding his own style among the voices who judged his work and with the loneliness of being an artist.

The Victoria Eugenia Theatre will open its doors at 18:15 for the photocall. The event will start at 19:00. Invitations can be collected starting Tuesday 16 January at 11:30 from the ticket desk of the Victoria Eugenia Theatre and the Donostia Kultura website.