Today, September 14, the San Sebastian Festival presented an honorary Silver Shell to the company SADE Cines in recognition of its collaboration with the Festival down through the years.

The Sociedad Anónima de Deportes y Espectáculos, popularly known by its acronym, the SADE, was born on 28 December 1925, result of the merger between the companies Vicente Mendizábal e hijos and Príncipe Films. In 1953, when the Festival held its first edition, the SADE was already there, and it has continued to accompany the event during its 70 editions.

The mayor of San Sebastián and president of the Festival's Board of Directors, Eneko Goia, presented the honorary Silver Shell to Jose Ramon Aramendi, President of SADE Cinemas, with the presence of the former manager of SADE, Leopoldo Arsuaga; veteran workers of the cinema Juan Luque, Javier Iturbe and Arantxi Aldama; and representatives of the film industry, media and Festival crew.

The current owner of the Príncipe, Trueba and Antiguo Berri cinemas (a total of 20 theatres), SADE Cines is not only essential for the Festival over the nine days in September, but also for its work throughout the year as an ally in conveying the experience of watching films and creating new moviegoers.

“Over these 70 years of history, the team at SADE has shown its enormous capacity to perfectly meet the demands of a leading global festival. The oldest members of the company state their pride at belonging to the history of the Zinemaldia, and they have no lack of unforgettable memories, such as the personal meetings with world-famous stars in the projection booth. Particularly worthy of note is the special bond with young filmmakers, visibly nervous at the premiere of their first work. With the passing of time, some of them have become time-honoured directors, like Pedro Almodóvar”, says the director of the SADE Film Unit, Iñaki Elorza.

During these seven decades, SADE’s capacity for hosting the Zinemaldia screenings has multiplied, like in 1984, with the arrival of the first multiplex cinema, in what was then the Pequeño Casino. Another turning point was the addition of the Astoria’s seven theatres, something which “represented a tremendous organisational challenge for the technicians working at the cinema, although they did it with top marks”, he stressed.

One anecdote on the technical facilities at the SADE cinemas refers to the time that a very young Juanma Bajo Ulloa requested permission to watch the screening of Alas de Mariposa (Butterfly Wings, Golden Shell, 1991) from the projection booth, completely spellbound at the sight of the enormous screen and the stalls. Elías Querejeta also made the same request, asking to watch a screening from the control booth at the Principe, in what would be one of his last visits to the Zinemaldia”, recalled Iñaki Elorza.