72nd San Sebastian Festival - 20/28 September 2023
71SSIFF - 22/30 September 2023
Official
Sponsor
Sponsor
Media
Partner
Partner
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).
Calls for entries Log-in to MY FESTIVAL
Complete this form with your details for accessing the contents reserved for registered users.
Enter your email and press send. You will receive a link through which you can reset your password
Complete this form with your details for accessing the contents reserved for registered users.
Agenda
...
Programme and tickets 
Search 
New Directors
New Directors
New Directors
Films
Films
Suzanne Lindon
France
74 min.
Suzanne is 16. People her own age bore her. Every day on her way to high school, she passes a theatre. There, she meets an older man, who becomes obsessed with her. Despite their age difference, they find in each other an answer to their ennui and fall in love. But Suzanne is afraid she's missing out on life, that life of a 16-year-old which she had struggled so much to enjoy in the same way as her peers.
David Pérez Sañudo
Spain
100 min.
The Basque Country, 2009. Lide is a security guard for the high-speed train works, a project that generates social protests in the streets. Coming home after work and partying all night, she makes breakfast for two, but her teenage daughter, Ane, is nowhere to be found. The next day, she’s still not back. Lide isn’t particularly worried, believing that her disappearance is probably connected to their huge argument of the previous day. Looking through Ane’s things, she gradually realises that her daughter is a stranger to her. Debut film.
João Paulo Miranda Maria
Brazil - France
93 min.
Modern day Brazil, but lost in time. Cristovam, a native black man from the rural north, moves to a former Austrian colony in the south to work in a milk factory. Confronted with xenophobic conservative people, he feels isolated and estranged from the white world. He discovers an abandoned house, filled with objects and memorabilia reminding him of his origins. He settles in, reconnecting with his roots. As if this memory house were alive, more objects start to appear. Slowly, Cristovam begins a metamorphosis.
Films in Progress 37
Grigory Kolomytsev
Russia
75 min.
Nine year-old Andrey lives on the outskirts of a small village near the sea. His mother wants to put him into an orphanage. Andrey is scared by the perspective and understands that his life will drastically change. One stormy day he finds a dog on the beach and decides that it is the mystical beast known as Chupacabra, a goat vampire which will work a miracle. Debut film developed at the Ikusmira Berriak residencies programme.
Ikusmira Berriak 2018
Kim Mi-jo
South Korea
75 min.
O-bok, a 61-year-old woman, has been running a seafood store in a fish market for decades. One day she has her first meeting with her daughter In-ae's future parents-in-law. That night, she is raped by Gi-taek. At first, O-bok pretends that nothing has happened and tries to go about her life as usual. A while later, she tells In-ae about the rape. The police calls in Gi-taek to investigate, and the story of the incident begins to spread around the market. Debut film.
Dong Xingyi
China
107 min.
Junsheng returns to his hometown soon after his release from prison only to feel estranged from his place of birth. Although he hasn't been back for years, he still believes that he is the toughest young man in the village. After various painful experiences, he realises that what felt like a short absence is in fact an unbridgeable gap. Debut film.
Imanol Rayo
Spain
95 min.
Human bones are found at the Garizmendi farmhouse. Farmers Fermín and Karmen call their son Néstor, who reports the matter to the authorities. But, when the agents turn up, the bones are gone. Suddenly, the bell on the nearby chapel begins to peal. This bad omen announces the coming of tragic events and reopens old wounds within the family and those around it. Second feature film by its director.
Piotr Domalewski
Poland - Ireland
97 min.
Ola sets off to Ireland to bring her father's body back to Poland after he dies in a building site accident. But never mind her dad, Ola wants to know if he had saved money for the car he had promised her. Dealing with foreign bureaucracy in her own streetwise way, Ola will get to know her father. Second feature film by its director.
Borja de Miguel (IJswater Films & Tourmalet Films)
© Borja de Miguel (IJswater Films & Tourmalet Films)
Isabel Lamberti
Netherlands - Spain
77 min.
The Gabarre-Mendoza family is celebrating their grandson’s birthday when a police inspection interrupts the party. In La Cañada Real, a shanty town outside Madrid, tensions are running high between the officials and the inhabitants given that the land has been sold and the families must leave the homes they put up with their own hands. The mother, Augustina, once full of laughter, is now tormented by fear; the father, David, a hardworking scrap merchant, tries to find a solution but is let down by the bureaucratic system. Meanwhile, the younger members of the family—David Jr, the adolescent mother and daughter-in-law Maria and the young Alejandro—struggle in their own way with their lives in transition. Debut film.
Ben Sharrock
UK
103 min.
Omar is a promising young musician. Separated from his Syrian family, he is stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request. Due to the plaster-cast on his arm, he cannot play his oud and instead wanders the epic landscapes searching for answers to a complex past and daunting future. He may be stuck, but he is not alone. Omar and his new flatmates attend outrageously misjudged cultural awareness classes, binge the Friends boxset, debating whether Ross and Rachel were on a break and Freddie Mercury-obsessed Farhad tries to convince Omar to participate in the local open mic night. Second feature film by its director.
Christian Johannes Koch
Switzerland
110 min.
Winter in a rural region of Switzerland. Marina, a teacher in her mid-forties, leads a quiet life with her husband and daughter. But appearances are deceptive; she is having a secret affair with Artem, the father of one of her students, Ulyana. Although both Artem and his daughter have lived on the edge of this small town for years, neither has a residence permit. Their secret is exposed one day when Ulyana is arrested for stealing. The relatively minor incident has far-reaching consequences; not only are the lives of Artem and Ulyana brought crashing down, but Marina’s involvement in the whole situation is also revealed. Torn between lies, loyalty and passion, the teacher decides she must take a radical step. Debut film.
Akio Fujimoto
Japan - Vietnam
88 min.
Phuong, An, and Nhu are Vietnamese women in their early 20s. The three become illegal residents in Japan after escaping from their workplace as technical trainees. An contacts a broker to help them find work. The broker takes them to a fisherman's ice-covered hut where they can stay in exchange for labour. They are happy because, as well as finding a job, they have also doubled their salary. As they start their work, Phuong suddenly falls to the ground, stricken with severe pain. Worried, An and Nhu take Phuong to a hospital, but they are refused admission for not having an ID card. Second feature film by its director.
Official Sponsor 
Media Partner 
Official Collaborators: 
Associated Institutions:
Opening hours
Monday to Thursday: 09:00h - 15:00h
Friday: 10:00h - 14:00h
Monday to Thursday: 09:00h - 15:00h
Friday: 10:00h - 14:00h
Suscribe to our newsletter
We inform you that the personal data you provide to us on completing this form will be processed by the San Sebastian Festival as the body responsible for this website. The personal data we request will be processed for the purpose of sending you our newsletter. Authorisation to do so is given through the consent of the interested party. Only the San Sebastian Festival will send you messages and we will not disclose your data to third parties. We inform you that the data you provide to us will be stored in the Mailrelay (email marketing providers) servers, located within the EU. See the Mailrelay privacy policy. If you do not enter the data appearing as mandatory on the form, we may be unable to fulfil your request. You can exercise your rights of access, rectification, limitation and deletion of data at privacidad@sansebastianfestival.com. You can consult additional and detailed information on Data Production in our privacy policy.