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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).
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The new feature films from Nicole Garcia, Pablo Larraín, Mike Leigh, Hans Petter Moland, Benjamín Naishtat and Yeşim Ustaoğlu, plus the debut from Maha Harada, will compete in the Official Selection at the San Sebastián Festival’s 74th edition, to run from September 18-26.
Marion Cotillard, winner of an Oscar and a Donostia Award, and Théodore Pellerin star in 7:40 ce matin-là / Milo, the latest feature film from Nicole Garcia (Oran, 1946), with whom she joins forces once again following Mal de pierres / From the Land of the Moon (2016). In San Sebastián, the French filmmaker, screenwriter and actress will premiere the tale of a woman fresh out of jail as she takes on a waitress job in a café to get closer to a young boy who works in the area. Garcia presented in San Sebastian Un week-end sur deux / Every Other Weekend (New Directors, 1990) while some of her other films, such as Place Vendôme (1998) and L’adversaire / The Adversary (2002), or Amants (2020) have participated in Venice and Cannes, among other festivals.
With several bestsellers inspired in the world of art, such as Canvas of Paradise and Guernica Cover up, Maha Harada (Tokyo, 1962) makes her directorial debut and will compete for the Golden Shell with Muyou no Hito / In My Father’s Room. With a screenplay written by her and based on her novel An Unnecessary Man, the Japanese director tells the story of a museum worker who receives a mysterious key that unlocks the room once used by her late father.
Pablo Larraín (Santiago, 1976) returns to San Sebastian with Mis muertos tristes / My Sad Dead, a series that will be screened at the Festival in its feature-length format. Starring Mercedes Morán, Dolores Fonzi and Carolina Álvarez, it is based on four short stories by Mariana Enríquez, and tells the story of Ema, a woman with the ability to see and hear the dead. A regular at Festivals such as Venice, Cannes and Berlin, the Chilean director, screenwriter and producer presented Spencer, the surprise film of 2021, going on to show works in Horizontes Latinos including Tony Manero (2008), Post Mortem (2010) and El club / The Club (2015). In Perlak, he screened No (2012), Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, in addition to Neruda (2016) and Ema (2019).
After being selected for the first time in the Official Selection with Hard Truths (2024), Mike Leigh (Brocket Hall, 1943) returns to the competition with Tender Loving Care, a feature film starring Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Kate O’Flynn, and Alice Bailey Johnson. In this film, the British filmmaker continues his insightful exploration of the contemporary world. Leigh, a multiple Academy Award nominee, brought several films to Perlak, including the Cannes Palme d’Or winner Secrets and Lies (1996), as well as Naked (1993), which won the Best Director award at the French festival; All or Nothing (2002); Vera Drake (2004), winner of the Golden Lion in Venice; and Happy-Go-Lucky (2008).
Norwegian filmmaker Hans Petter Moland (Oslo, 1955) will return to the Official Selection with Markens Grode / Growth of the Soil, a story set in northern Norway about a couple who must put their love to the test when faced with looming challenges. The film is based on the Nobel Prize winning novel by Knut Hamsung, written in 1917. In 1995 Moland competed in the Official Selection with his second feature film, Kjærlighetens kjøtere / Zero Kelvin, earning him the Special Jury Prize and which was shown again in 2007, as part of the retrospective Cold Fever. The director has participated on several occasions in the Berlinale, where he presented Beautiful Country (2004), En ganske snill mann / A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010), Kraftidioten / In Order of Disappearance (2014) and Ut og stjæle hester / Out Stealing Horses (2019).
Benjamín Naishtat (Buenos Aires, 1986) won with Rojo in 2018 the Silver Shell for Best Director and Best Actor for Darío Grandinetti, as well as the Best Cinematography Award. Puan (2023) bagged him the Best Screenplay Award, which he co-wrote with María Alché, and Silver Shell ex aequo for Best Leading Performance going to Marcelo Subiotto. This time round, the filmmaker competes for the Golden Shell with Glaxo, written by the director and based on the novel of the same name by Hernán Ronsino. The film stars, amongst others, Lali Espósito, Marcelo Subiotto and Esteban Bigliardi. Set in 1957 in a quiet Argentinian town, the arrival of a sinister former police inspector and his seductive wife shatters the bond between four inseparable young friends. Naishtat competed in Berlin with his debut film Historia del miedo / History of Fear (2014), which was later programmed in Horizontes Latinos. His second feature film, El movimiento / The Movement, was presented in Locarno’s Cineasti del Presente in 2015. Besides, he won in 2020 the IX Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum with his project Pobres Pibes.
Artakalan / What Remains is the title of the latest feature from Yeşim Ustaoğlu (Çaykara, 1960), winner of the Golden Shell for Best Film with Pandora'nin Kutusu / Pandora’s Box (2008), whose leading actress Tsilla Chelton, garnered the Silver Shell for Best Actress ex aequo. On this occasion, the Turkish filmmaker traces the personal voyage of a female poet as she shakes off the stifling shackles of her life to reconnect with herself while questioning everything around her. With nearly a dozen films to her name, Ustaoğlu has presented films including Güneşe yolculuk / Journey to the Sun (1999) and Araf / Somewhere in Between (2012) at festivals such as the Berlinale and the Venice Mostra, respectively.
These seven titles join the nine films already announced for the Official Selection. The list of competing films includes El mal padre, from Roberto Bueso; Sants / Saints, from Mikel Gurrea and 5 minutos más / 5 more minutes, from Javier Ruiz Caldera. The series El castillo, created and written by Isabel Peña and Eduardo Villanueva and directed by Elena Martín Gimeno and Sandra Romero, will show out of competition. And, for now, the selection completes its programme with the following out-of-competition Special Screenings: Azken Agurra / The Last Goodbye, from Koldo Almandoz; Ruega por nosotras / Pray for Us, from Daniel Monzón, Sacamantecas / The Harvester, from David Pérez Sañudo, and Bajañí, from Fernando Trueba, as well as the series Más allá de la sociedad / Beyond Society, from Carlos Torres.
Alice arrives in a quiet provincial town and takes a job at a local café, blending easily into a life that isn't hers. Her presence is no coincidence. She is there because of Milo, a young mechanic who works at a nearby garage. To him, Alice is a stranger. To her, he is someone tied to a past she has never truly left behind. As buried tensions begin to surface and Milo drifts toward uncertain ground, both are pushed to a crossroads: is it possible to rebuild a bond that shattered decades ago?
A poetess breaks out of her suffocating life order to get back in touch with her inner voice and conscience, questioning accustomed concepts of family and the meaning of life and paving a new path for her family members, as well.
Chivilcoy, 1957. In a quiet Argentinian town, the arrival of an ominous former police commissioner and his seductive wife fractures the bond between four inseparable young men. Decades later, the past resurfaces, forcing them to confront old wounds, guilt, and the possibility of revenge in a country which has lost its innocence.
A stranger appears over the mountain, carrying little more than his determination. Isak, a man without a past, seeks a place to settle and carve life from the earth. High above the tree line, he finds a barren stretch of land, as unforgiving as it is full of promise. The land tests him to his limits, until he meets Inger, a solitary woman shaped by resilience and quiet secrecy. Together, they endure the elements and build a life, cultivating both the soil and a growing family as the seasons turn. Yet as years pass and the world closes in, and time, hardship, and desire reshape them.
Based on the work from Mariana Enriquez and directed by Pablo Larraín, My Sad Dead follows Ema, who can see and hear the dead. After her mother’s death, Ema receives an unexpected visit from her niece Julie, with whom she shares the same unsettling gift. With Julie’s return, family secrets and wounds that never fully healed will resurface —but so will a strange phenomenon from which no one will emerge unscathed. The entire neighborhood will sense presences and hear the distinctive sounds of their own dead.
Satomi works at an art museum until an envelope arrives, containing a mysterious key. It leads to an unknown room once belonging to her late father, who died alone a month earlier. Drawn by this small object, she retraces his final days: a man seemingly left behind by society, yet sustained by a quiet devotion to words, the art of tea, and subtle beauty. Through the traces of his solitude, Satomi slowly discovers the quiet grace of the world he inhabited.
Cannes Festival's Palme d'Or winner and Academy Award nominee Mike Leigh returns with his next feature film, continuing his insightful exploration of the contemporary world.
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