RTVE comes to San Sebastian with two of the major premieres to take place at the event: Carlos Saura’s eagerly-awaited documentary on the art world, Las paredes hablan / The Walls Can Talk, and Cesc Gray’s latest comedy, Historias para no contar / Stories Not to be Told. In addition, cinema with the backing of RTVE will have important presence at this 70th edition of the San Sebastian Festival , with four titles in the Official Selection, all Spanish films competing for the Golden Shell: Girasoles silvestres / Wild Flowers, by Jaime Rosales; La consagración de la primavera / The Rite of Spring, by Fernando Franco; La maternal, by Pilar Palomero, and Suro, by Mikel Gurrea.

Carlos Saura and Cesc Gay, at the RTVE Galas

On Wednesday, September 21, RTVE will host a special screening at the Kursaal 2, Las paredes hablan, the eagerly-awaited new documentary by Carlos Saura on the origin of art and its relationship with the most avant-garde tendencies. Seen from the Aragonese moviemaker’s personal and peculiar point of view, the movie portrays the evolution and relationship of art with the wall as a creative canvas, from the first graphic revolutions of the prehistoric caves to the most cutting-edge expressions of urban art.

The RTVE Gala on Thursday, September 22, at the Victoria Eugenia Theatre, will bring the premiere in Spain of Cesc Gay’s Historias para no contar. A riotous ensemble comedy starring Jose Coronado, Nora Navas, Javier Rey, Verónica Echegui, Chino Darín, Anna Castillo, Antonio de la Torre, Maribel Verdú, Quim Gutiérrez and Alexandra Jiménez, amongst others. The movie takes a fun look at the situations in which we can recognise ourselves and that we would rather not explain, or would even prefer to forget. The film will also run in the Special Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival, running from September 8-18.

RTVE: four titles in the Official Section

Four films, all Spanish contenders for the Golden Shell, have the backing of RTVE: Girasoles silvestres, by Jaime Rosales, a tale of love and inspiration starring Anna Castillo and Oriol Pla telling the story of Julia, a young 22-year-old mother of two who falls for Óscar and embarks on a complicated affair with him. The film will be released in cinemas on October 21.

La consagración de la primavera / The Rite of Spring, by Fernando Franco, stars Emma Suarez, Valeria Sorolla and Telmo Irureta. Having recently arrived in Madrid to take up her university studies, young Laura tries to settle in while struggling with her insecurities. The film can be seen in cinemas from September 30.

Also to screen in San Sebastian is La maternal, the latest movie from Pilar Palomero (Las niñas / Schoolgirls). Carla, a young girl at risk of exclusion, falls pregnant and is taken to La Maternal, a centre for young mothers. There she has to learn to live with her teen peers as she prepares for motherhood. The film will have its cinema release on November 18.

Rounding off the Spanish movies in the Official Selection is Suro, the debut feature film from Mikel Gurrea. About to have their first child, Elena and Iván decide to leave the city and move to the forest to breathe new life into the cork tree plantation she has inherited. Taking a worker in irregular situation into their home will sorely test the couple’s solidarity and tolerance.

Movies with the backing of RTVE in other sections

Cerdita / Piggy, screening in Zabaltegi-Tabakalera, follows the everyday life of Sara in an Extremaduran town. As if being overweight wasn’t enough, Sara has to put up with being called “piggy”. The first feature from Carlota Pereda, winner of the Goya with the short film of the same name, also participated in the prestigious Sundance independent film festival. The movie will have its cinema release on October 14.

Similarly showing in the same section is El agua / The Water, the feature debut from the multi-awardwinning short filmmaker Elena López Riera, fresh from screening at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes. Starring Bárbara Lennie, Nieve de Medina and the young Luna Pamies, the tale is set in summer, in a small town in south-east Spain. A storm threatens to cause the river to break its banks yet again. According to popular belief, a number of women are predestined to disappear with every new flood.

And Perlak will include the screening of the latest film from Rodrigo Sorogoyen, As bestas / The Beasts, previously also shown this year at the Festival de Cannes. A thriller set in rural Galicia following a French couple who move into a small village to sell fruit and vegetables with the idea of renovating abandoned houses and using them for rural tourism. Particularly worthy of note in the cast are French actors Marina Foïs and Denis Menochet, alongside Luis Zahera and Diego Anido. The film will have its cinema release on November 11.

Also screening in this section is Un año, una noche / One Year, One Night, by Isaki Lacuesta, a contender at the Berlinale. A tender tale of love and inspiration starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Noémie Merlant, Quim Gutiérrez and Alba Guilera. Through these characters, we will discover the ethical uncertainties, personal relations and traumas facing them a year after the tragic attack on the Bataclan nightclub. Completing the cast are Natalia de Molina, Enric Auquer and the singer C. Tangana in his debut as an actor. The film will have its cinema release on October 21.

Also to screen in Perlak is En los márgenes / On the Fringe (to show in the Orizzonti section of the Venice International Film Festival) is Juan Diego Botto’s directorial debut starring Penélope Cruz and Luis Tosar, bringing the crossed stories of three characters at crucial moments of their lives. The film will release in cinemas on September 30.