The San Sebastián Festival recognizes the work of SADE Cines with an honorary Silver Shell

The San Sebastián Festival has awarded an honorary Silver Shell to the company SADE Cinemas for their collaboration with the Festival throughout history.

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

The mayor of San Sebastián and president of the Board of Directors of the San Sebastián Festival, My Highness, has presented this September 14th the honorary Silver Shell to José Ramón Aramendi, president of SADE Cines, in the presence of the former head of SADE, Leopoldo Arsuaga; veteran cinema workers Juan Luque, Javier Iturbe y Aranxi Aldama; and representatives of the film industry, the media and the Festival team.

Currently owner of the rooms of the Príncipe, Trueba and Antiguo Berri cinemas (20 theaters in total), the company SADE Cines is not only essential for the Festival during the nine days of September, but for its work throughout the year, allied in the transmission of the cinematographic experience and the generation of new moviegoers.

"Throughout these 70 years of history, SADE's human team has demonstrated its enormous capacity to successfully respond to the demands of a world-class festival. The company's most veterans highlight the pride that comes with being part of the history of Zinemaldia, and there is no shortage of unforgettable memories, such as personal meetings with world-renowned stars in the projection booth. The special bond established with the young filmmakers, visibly nervous before the premiere of their first work, stands out. With the passing "Over time, some of them have ended up becoming established directors, as has been the case of Pedro Almodóvar," said the director of the SADE Film Unit, Iñaki Elorza.

During these seven decades, SADE's capabilities to host Zinemaldia screenings have multiplied, as happened in 1984, with the arrival of the first multiplex cinema, the now defunct Little Casino. Another turning point took place in 1989, with the incorporation of the seven theaters of the Astoria, which “was a superlative organizational challenge for the technicians of that cinema who, however, were able to solve it with flying colors,” he emphasized.

An anecdote tells of the technical means that the SADE rooms have, when a very young Juanma Bajo Ulloa asked permission to see from the cabin of the Astoria, “through its monumental window into the room, the projection of butterfly wings (Concha de Oro, 1991), totally enthralled by the sight of the enormous screen and the stalls. And the same did Elías Querejeta, who asked to follow a screening from the Prince's control cabin, in what would be one of his last visits to Zinemaldia," Iñaki Elorza recalled.