San Sebastian started two days ago. It's probably the fourth most important film festival in Europe and one of the most important competitive festivals in the world.
The lineup - these films are in competition for the Golden Seashell and other prizes:
"10 to 11" - - Pelin Esmer "Blessed" - - Ana Kokkinos "Chloe" - - Atom Egoyan "City of Life and Death" - - Lu Chuan "El Secreto De Sus Ojos" - - Juan Jose Campanella "Get Low" - - Robert Duvall "Hadewijch" - - Bruno Dumont "I Came From Busan" - - Jeon Soo-il "La Mujer Sin Piano" - - Javier Rebollo "Le Refuge" - - Francois Ozon "Los Condenados" - - Isaki Lacuesta "Making Plans for Lena" - - Christophe Honore "The White Meadows" - - Mohammad Rasoulof "This Is Love" - - Matthias Glasner "Yo, Tambien" - - Alvaro Pastor & Antonio Naharro
These two films are, according to the site, in the "official competition", but I'm not sure if they are going to be eligible for the seashell/best actor/actress/director/etc prizes: "Mother and Child" - Rodrigo Garcia "El Baile de la Victoria" - Fernando Trueba
This message has been edited. Last edited by: puxzkkx,
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
Judging from the plot synopses and the reviews for the films that have already premiered O-O-C at Venice and at Toronto (Blessed, Chloe, City of Life and Death, Get Low, Hadewijch, Le Refuge, Making Plans for Lena) there's going to be a really heavy competition for the Best Actress prize. On a hunch I'm going to predict that it'll go to either Carmen Machi in La Mujer Sin Piano or Julie Sokolowski in Hadewijch, but Blessed, Chloe, El Secreto De Sus Ojos, City of Life and Death, Blessed, I Came From Busan, Le Refuge, Making Plans for Lena, This Is Love and Yo, Tambien all have major female characters that could pose awards threats for their actresses.
Spain's Foreign-Language contender usually comes out of San Sebastian, so watch this space.
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
Turns out Spain has sent El Secreto De Sus Ojos to the Oscars. I wonder if this will forecast a Seashell win.
San Sebastian often has good prizewinners but it has a really annoying tendency to give its biggest prizes to Spanish-language films year in and year out when there are definitely better in-competition international films. It plays to the home crowd more than even Venice does. I kind of hope that the Seashell goes to a non-Spanish-language film this year, seeing as:
3 Seashell winners this decade have been Spanish-language 4 Special Jury Prize winners this decade have been Spanish-language 5 Best Actor winners and 5 Best Actress winners this decade have been Spanish-language.
Certainly quite a few of these wins were deserved, but some, I think, were definitely cases of voting blindly for homegrown films.
Jose, you live in Valladolid, right? Do you attend the festival every year?
Personally I'm quite surprised that Valladolid isn't yet considered an 'A' festival, seeing as Karlovy Vary, Shanghai, Locarno, Cairo and Mar del Plata are.
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
Originally posted by puxzkkx: Turns out Spain has sent El Secreto De Sus Ojos to the Oscars. I wonder if this will forecast a Seashell win.
San Sebastian often has good prizewinners but it has a really annoying tendency to give its biggest prizes to Spanish-language films year in and year out when there are definitely better in-competition international films. It plays to the home crowd more than even Venice does. I kind of hope that the Seashell goes to a non-Spanish-language film this year, seeing as:
3 Seashell winners this decade have been Spanish-language 4 Special Jury Prize winners this decade have been Spanish-language 5 Best Actor winners and 5 Best Actress winners this decade have been Spanish-language.
Certainly quite a few of these wins were deserved, but some, I think, were definitely cases of voting blindly for homegrown films.
Jose, you live in Valladolid, right? Do you attend the festival every year?
Personally I'm quite surprised that Valladolid isn't yet considered an 'A' festival, seeing as Karlovy Vary, Shanghai, Locarno, Cairo and Mar del Plata are.
Yes I live in Valladolid. But in the last years i was not in Valladolid. 3 years living in Austria, last one living in other town... but i will do this year.
Valladolid has some problems, they dont pay a big star to come here, and it is a small festival but people who comes here, they return as a member of the jury or bring more movies.
Another problem is that many films come from other festivals, Venice or Cannes... And we have San Sebastian too closed. But in my opinion is much better than Sebastian... it is known that San Sebastians has the glamour, Valladolid the quality.
I think in all his story only once a film from spain got the biggest award.
La violencia jamás justificará ninguna causa.
Teaching is cool, evaluating not so
Posts: 10165 | Location: Pucela city -> centro de desentoxicacion de Matematicas | Registered: January 15, 2005
El Secreto was made in Argentina by an Argentine director/writer with Argentine actors and mainly Argentine technical people. Some of the financing came from Spain.
I see no possibility that this would be accepted by the Academy as a Spanish film based on their rules on a clear-cut case like this.
The film received great reviews in its Argentine release last month, and played in Toronto (the Variety review was an out and out rave). It sounds like (assuming the proper country submits it) a strong contender. Up until recent times, it sounds like the kind of film that many distributors would be fighting over, but doesn't yet seem to have a US one.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: seanflynn,
Sorry, I got my info from Nat Rogers' FLF coverage, which is usually accurate.
Now I remember the strong review. However, I still hope that, if films from other countries are as good or better than it, it doesn't get the Seashell over a non-Spanish-language film.
I hope El Baile de la Victoria doesn't get the Spanish nomination... it looks awful
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
It didn't seem like a mistake you'd have made on your own. Thanks for clearing it up.
Sony Classics has acquired Lebanon. They already have White Ribbon and A Prophet. They look to be trying to really control this category this year. (They also have Broken Embraces, but that looks like it is going nowhere in this category).
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Lebanon is unlikely to be the Israeli submission, because (as has been noted in the FL Submissions thread) the voting in Israel had ended before the Venice awards were announced.
Spain almost never picks Almodovar, and this year is no exception. I'd say Broken Embraces' best hopes ride with Art Direction and Costumes and perhaps a long shot Best Actress possibility.
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
Of the films in this competition so far reviewed, here's a tentative ranking:
VERY GOOD 1. "City of Life and Death" 2. "The Secret of Their Eyes" 3. "Hadewijch"
GOOD 4. "The White Meadows" 5. "Mother and Child"* 6. "Blessed" 7. "Making Plans for Lena" 8. "This is Love" 9. "The Refuge"
DECENT/SO-SO 10. "Get Low" 11. "Chloe"
POOR 12. "The Dancer and the Thief"*
AWFUL
*possibly Out-of-Competition
These films haven't been reviewed/shown yet: "10 to 11" "I Came from Busan" "La Mujer Sin Piano" "Los Condenados" "Yo, Tambien"
I'm predicting this: Golden Seashell - "The Secret of Their Eyes" Special Jury Prize - "The White Meadows" Best Director - Lu Chuan for "The City of Life and Death" Best Actor - Jens Albinus in "This is Love" Best Actress - Julie Sokolowski in "Hadewijch"
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
The Golden Seashell for Best Film goes to LU Chuan's CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH.
The Special Jury Prize goes to Francois Ozon's LE REFUGE
Best Director goes to Javier Rebollo for LA MUJER SIN PIANO
Best Actor and Actress go to PABLO PINEDA and LOLA DUENAS in YO, TAMBIEN ("ME, TOO"). No offense - they might be fantastic in the film - but I have a hunch that the jury was awarding the subject matter and the true-to-life casting instead of the performances.
Best photography goes to CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH.
Best screenplay goes to ANNA KOKKINOS for BLESSED.
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
Have you seen it? Could you tell me what you thought of the film on the whole?
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
