The Basque National Orchestra, the SGAE Foundation and the San Sebastian Festival are pleased to present the film music concert that the Basque National Orchestra is offering for the 66th Festival. This year, once again, the first Saturday of the Festival, the Velodrome will open at noon for music lovers, film buffs and the general public, with a performance blending a symphonic interpretation of soundtracks and a medley of scenes from the films they belong to. An hour and a half of audio-visual delight, Saturday 22 September at twelve noon. Entry is free of cost.

The Basque National Orchestra's film music concert is now a classic at the San Sebastian Festival, one of the must-see shows at the Velodrome, undeniably the most popular stage at the Festival with seating for almost 2,700 spectators. Biscay native composer and orchestra conductor Fernando Velázquez, who promoted the Orchestra's return to the San Sebastian Festival's agenda in 2012 with the world live premier of the soundtrack for The Impossible (J.A. Bayona), will be in charge of conducting the orchestra at this massive convergence of film and soundtracks.

The Concert & Screening this year, entitled "Paseo por el cine (A Walk through Film)," is a collection of music composed for a dozen films. Half of the musical numbers to be performed were composed by Velázquez himself: this includes soundtracks for the films Zip & Zap and the Captain's Island (by Oskar Santos), Gernika (by Koldo Serra) (Marrowbone (by Sergio G. Sánchez), Setback (by Oriol Paulo) —composed with singer-songwriter Zahara— and A Monster Calls (by Juan Antonio Bayona). Indeed, it was the Basque National Orchestra that was commissioned to record the soundtrack for A Monster Calls, whose European premier was at the 2016 San Sebastian Festival. Thanks to its score, Velázquez won the Goya for best original soundtrack. Regarding the upcoming event, in the words of Velázquez:

"I'm so excited about this concert; it's highly varied, and suitable for a mixed audience. The suites for 'Zip and Zap' and 'Gernika' are first-time premiers, and the last one will have a surprise. For 'Setback,' the collaborative composition with singer Zahara was so fun, with its own story, and adding three actors from Go!azen in the last piece is a huge point in its favour. I always enjoy working with the Basque National Orchestra."

The repertoire is rounded off with adaptations of the music composed for another five films: Madness for Love (by Juan de Orduña), Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (by Enrique Gato and David Alonso), The Chosen (by Antonio Chavarrías), All Men are the Same (by Manuel Gómez Pereira) and Go!azen(by Jabier Elortegi and Aitor Aranguren). Juan Quintero, Zacarías M. de la Riva, Arnau Bataller, Bernardo Bonezzi and Álvaro Carmona, respectively, were the composers of these soundtracks.

For this new concert, the Basque National Orchestra invited the Kup Taldea choir, who will participate in “Zip and Zap”, “Gernika,” “Setback," and more. Singer-songwriter Zahara will also be participated in "Setback," and three singers (Iholdi Beristain, Ainhoa Larrañaga and Aritz Mendiola) from the film Go!Azen.

Just like in years past, the concert will have an extra visual element: the music is enhanced by the projection of a montage of scenes from the film on a 400 m2 screen, specifically created for this concert by Carlos Rodríguez, from Morgancrea. What's more, some of the composers will be attending the concert, taking to the Velodrome stage to introduce their work.

Entry is free, and the invitation must be picked up between 15 and 21 September at the San Sebastian Festival information points at Kursaal and Okendo Plaza, from 9:00 to 20:00, or at the Donostia Tourism Office, Monday through Saturday from 9:00 to 20:00, and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00. The last tickets are available at the Velodrome ticket booth at 10 AM.

Fernando Velázquez, Zip & Zap and the Captain's Island (Dir.: Oskar Santos)
Juan Quintero, Madness for Love (Dir.: Juan de Orduña)
Zacarías M. de la Riva, Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (Dir.: Enrique Gato, David Alonso)
Fernando Velázquez, Marrowbone (Dir.: Sergio G. Sánchez)
Fernando Velázquez, Gernika (Dir.: Koldo Serra)
Arnau Bataller,The Chosen (Dir.: Antonio Chavarrías)
Fernando Velázquez, A Monster Calls (Dir.: Juan Antonio Bayona)
Fernando Velázquez / Zahara, Setback (Dir.: Oriol Paulo)
Bernardo Bonezzi, All Men are the Same (Dir.: Manuel Gómez Pereira)
Álvaro Carmona (lyrics: Xabier Zabaleta), Go!azen (Dir.: Jabier Elortegi, Aitor Aranguren)

Fernando Velázquez, conductor
Iholdi Beristain, vocals
Ainhoa Larrañaga, vocals
Aritz Mendiola, vocals
Zahara, vocals
Kup Taldea, choir
Basque National Orchestra

Fernando Velázquez (Biscay, 1976) is a composer, orchestra conductor and violoncello player. His noteworthy works include soundtracks for films by Juan Antonio Bayona, such as The Orphanage, The Impossible and A Monster Calls, as well as Crimson Peak and Julia's Eyes. He has also composed for the saga Zip and Zap, Spanish Affair and Hercules. As an orchestra conductor, he has worked with the Basque National Orchestra, the Orchestra and Choir of the Community of Madrid, the London Metropolitan Orchestra, the Symphonic of Malaga, the Radio Symphonic of Budapest, the Royal Symphonic Orchestra of Seville and the Symphonic Orchestra of Bilbao.

Juan Quintero (1903-1980) was a composer and pianist. With his first compositions, paso dobles, tangos and zarzuela are of note. After attaining success as a composer of musical comedy, he took the leap into film. Quintero set the music to over one hundred films, working with the most representative directors of the period: Eusebio Fernández Ardavín, José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, Rafael Gil, Ladislao Vajda, Juan de Orduña, etc. Some of the films for which he composed the soundtrack are: Madness for love, Agustina of Aragon, Dawn of America, Trifles; comedies, such as Ella, él y sus millones, Deliciosamente tontos, Eloísa está debajo de un almendro, and folkloric films such as Currito of the Cross and Sister San Sulpicio.

Zacarías M. de la Riva (Barcelona, 1972) began working in film in 2004, when he wrote the score for the short film Tad, the Lost Explorer (Enrique Gato). Since then, he has embraced everything from horror to comedy and animation. His most recent works of note are: Bent, Man of Faith, Tad, the Lost Explorer, Black Snow, Pet and Autómata. His music has been played in concert by orchestras such as the Orchestra of Spanish Television Radio, the Basque National Orchestra, the Bayerischer RundFunk Orchester and the Orchestra of the City of Granada.

Arnau Bataller (Valencia, 1977) obtained a professional degree as a violinist from the Professional Conservatory Mestre Vert de Carcaixent and a Bachelor’s Degree in composition, majoring in film music, from the University of Southern California of Los Angeles, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He has worked in different cinematographic genres, as well as advertising, short films, theatre plays and concert music. He also orchestrated the soundtrack for films such as The Chosen and Ermessenda.

Zahara (Úbeda, 1983) is an independent singer-songwriter. Her music blends pop, rock and jazz, having shared the stage with musicians such as Joaquín Sabina and Javier Krahe. Her second album, La fabulosa historia de… was a huge hit with the public, launching her forward as one of the up-and-coming promises in Spanish music. However, it was Santa (2015) that firmly set her on the Spanish music stage, a self-produced album that shot directly to number 3 on the Spanish sales list. Currently, she is working on her seventh studio album.

Bernardo Bonezzi (1964-2012) composer of the Zombies' Groenlandia, a hit in the Movida Madrileña, moved toward composition for film and television. A finalist on four occasion for the Goya Awards, he took the prize in 1996 for Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead, by Agustín Díaz Yanes. In 1982, he produced and composed the music for the album that Pedro Almodóvar and Fabio McNamara recorded that same year. He also composed the songs for Labyrinth of Passion, the second film by the filmmaker from the Mancha, and thus the musician's relationship with the world of cinema began. He composed over forty soundtracks including: What have I done to deserve this?, Law of Desire and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Álvaro Carmona (Seville, 1980) is a comedian, scriptwriter and musician. Nominated for the Rose d'Or for the Basque TV film Go!azen, he has written different theatre pieces, including Terrat Pack, published a book of illustrations called El libro de los tiburones, and since 2010, has created six comedy shows, performed in theatres all over Spain. He has composed comedy songs, such as Bad Boy , along with Dafne Fernández, the song for Berto & The Border Boys Me lo tiro, and others including Me he puesto tetas and La capital mundial , which went viral.

In addition to promoting this initiative along with the SGAE Foundation and the Festival, the Basque National Orchestra's is also present at this Festival in the Official Section. Always under Fernando Velázquez, the Orchestra was also commissioned to record the soundtrack for A Monster Calls, directed by J.A. Bayona, whose European premier took place at the Festival in 2016. Thanks to the score, Velázquez won the Goya for best original soundtrack. In 2017, he recorded the music written by the composer from Getxo for Submergence, a feature-length film by Wim Wenders. In 2012, the Orchestra and Fernando Velázquez's prolific collaboration included the world premiere, with a live performance, of the soundtrack for The Impossible (J.A. Bayona), along with its presentation in the Festival's Official Section. This concert heralded the return of the Orchestra to the San Sebastian Festival's schedule. It has now been a part for seven uninterrupted years.

In order to promote Spanish and Latin American cinema, increase visibility for the San Sebastian Festival and bring the initiative to viewers who cannot attend the event in the capital city of Guipuzcoa, the SGAE Foundation holds a series of activities every year that revolves around the competition.

Concert & Screening, a recital with soundtracks performed by the Basque National Orchestra, held 22 September, is part of the ensemble of activities organised by the SGAE Foundation in the San Sebastian Festival's 66th year, held from 21-29 September.

Additionally, 21-29 September, the Sala Berlanga in Madrid (C/Andrés Mellado, 53. Price: 3 euros) will show a sample of the San Sebastian Festival, offering a selection of films that participated in the Made in Spain section over the past few years. This is the sixth consecutive year that the entity has held a film cycle, with some of the titles screened at the Festival.

Lastly, since 2012, the SGAE Foundation has been co-organising the non-competitive section Made in Spain, comprising a selection of films, a sample of the Spanish film panorama of the year, with productions premiered, or not, in our country. The Festival offers these films an excellent platform for international dissemination.