GEHITU, the Basque Association of Gays, Lesbians, Transsexuals and Bisexuals, will give the Sebastiane Award 2019 to the production at the San Sebastian Festival which best reflects the realities, liberties and social progress of the LGBTI collective. Said award, to be presented for its 20th edition on September 27, will be chosen from among twelve films included in the Official Selection, New Directors, Horizontes Latinos, Perlak, Zinemira and Made in Spain at the Festival’s 67th edition.

In addition, on September 20 the feature film Temblores (Tremors), by Jayro Bustamante, winner of the Sebastiane Latino Award 2019 for best Latin American film on LGBTI subjects, will screen as part of Horizontes Latinos. Prior to the showing, the award will be presented to the team of this co-production between Guatemala, France and Luxembourg.

On the other hand, the Sebastiane Awards have chosen to link their 20th anniversary to filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s 70th birthday on September 25. GEHITU will therefore bring the exhibition ‘All about Pedro... Almodóvar turns 70’ from Cuba. The initiative started with a competition to which 40 designers submitted their proposals as part of the CartelON project and in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy’s Cultural Offices-AECID, the production company El Deseo and the Cuban Cinematèque. The result is this show including the 20 finalist works and the original posters for Almodóvar’s films. The exhibition can be seen for the first time in Europe thanks to the collaboration between GEHITU and Donostia Kultura, which will provide the Activities Room in the Municipal Library, Calle San Jerónimo, for the occasion. The show will run from September 21-29 and will enjoy the participation of the creator of the original idea, Yumey Besu Payo.

Like every year, San Sebastian will host the Ibero-American LGBTI Film Festival Meeting, with the participation of 16 festivals from eight countries. The gathering, which has the objective of building bridges and serving as a framework for reflection, will run from September 23-25. GEHITU will act as the host in collaboration with the San Sebastian Festival and Spanish Cultural Action (AC/E) through the Programme for the Internationalisation of Spanish Culture (PICE). The fifth edition of this meeting will see the participation of AECID (Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation) and Tabakalera – International Centre for Contemporary Culture, while the Kutxa Foundation will provide the spaces.

Finally, those responsible for the Sebastiane Awards have highlighted the important number of productions on LGBTI subjects presented at the 67th edition of the San Sebastian Festival and its backing of the LGBTI Festival Meeting. “This collaboration between the San Sebastian Festival and the Sebastiane Awards represents yet another culture-based action to prevent a backwards move in areas that make our societies more egalitarian and free”, said GEHITU.

CANDIDATES

OFFICIAL SELECTION
- La trinchera infinita / The Endless Trench. Aitor Arrregi, Jon Garaño, Jose Mari Goenaga (Spain).

- Vendrá la muerte y tendrá tus ojos / Death Will Come and Shall Have Your Eyes. José Luis Torres Leiva (Chile - Argentina - Germany).

- Patrick. Gonçalo Waddington (Portugal - Germany).

NEW DIRECTORS
- Le milieu de l’horizon / Beyond The Horizon. Delphine Lehericey (Switzerland - Belgium).

NEW DIRECTORS
- De nuevo otra vez / Again Once Again. Romina Paula (Argentina).
- El Príncipe / The Prince. Sebastián Muñoz (Chile - Argentina - Belgium).
- Monos. Alejandro Landes (Colombia - Argentina - Netherlands – Germany – Sweden -Uruguay).
- Temblores / Tremors. Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala - France - Luxembourg).

PERLAK
- Portrait de la jeune fille en feu / Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Céline Schiamma (France).

ZINEMIRA
- Glittering Misfits. Iban del Campo (Spain).

MADE IN SPAIN
- Dolor y gloria / Pain and Glory. Pedro Almodóvar (Spain).
- Me llamo Violeta. David Fernández de Castro y Marc Parramon (Spain).

SEBASTIANE AWARD OUT OF COMPETITION
- Blue Boy (Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section’s short film). Manuel Abramovich (Spain).
- Vida perfecta (Velodrome section’s series). Leticia Dolera, Elena Martín, Ginesta Guindal (Spain).