Coixet, Trueba and Los Javis will premiere their latest titles at the 71st San Sebastián Festival

The headquarters of the Film Academy has hosted the presentation of the 14 Spanish production titles that can be seen in the different sections of the 71st San Sebastian Festival, among whom are filmmakers such as Isabel Coixet, Jaione Camborda and Los Javis.

In total, nine feature films, one medium-length film, one short and three television series can be seen between September 22 and 30 both in the Official Section (competition and out of competition), as well as in the New Directors, Horizontes Latinos, Zabaltegi-Tabakalera and Velodromo sections.

After debuting in the feature film with Arima (2020), which was selected in Made in Spain after being awarded in Seville and Gijón, Jaione Camborda (San Sebastián, 1983) will compete for the Golden Shell with his second work, The Rye Horn. The film, which is shot in Galician and in its project phase participated in the Ikusmira Berriak residency program, tells the story of María (Janet Novás), a woman who assists in births and who, after a horrible event, is forced to flee the island where she lives.

For its part, Isabel Coixet (Sant Adrià de Besòs, 1960) will opt for the Golden Shell for the first time with one love, based on the novel of the same name by Sara Mesa and starring Laia Costa, who leads a cast that also includes Hovik Keuchkerian, Hugo Silva, Luis Bermejo, Ingrid García-Jonsson and Francesco Carril. Besides, Isabel Herguera (San Sebastián, 1961), visual artist, producer and animation director, will bring to San Sebastián The sultana's dream / Sultana's Dream, his first feature film. In this film, Herguera presents us with a story based on the story written in 1905 by Rokeya Hossain where she tells her personal story and the history of Ladyland, a utopian world ruled by women.

The Javis, Trueba and Mariscal, in the Official Section

Javier Ambrossi (Madrid, 1984) and Javier Calvo (Murcia, 1991), who form the artistic couple popularly known as Los Javis, will debut in the Official Section with the seven-episode series The Messiah, defined as a family thriller that will be screened out of competition

The Official Section will also have a special screening of Spanish production: They Shot the Piano Player (They shot the pianist), directed by Fernando Trueba (Madrid, 1955) y Javier Mariscal (Valencia, 1950), who form a team again after having obtained the Oscar nomination for best animated film for Chico & Rita (2011). In this new animated collaboration they claim the figure of the Brazilian musician Tenório Jr., in a portrait of the beginnings of the musical movement known as bossa nova. In the film, narrated by the voice of Jeff Goldblum, music by Caetano Veloso, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Donato, Toquinho, Bill Evans and Vinicius de Moraes, among other artists, plays.

New Directors and Latino Horizons

The New Directors section, dedicated to first and second films, will host the premiere of the second feature film by Javier Macipe (Zaragoza, 1987), The blue star / The Blue Star, a fictional approach to the story of the Zaragoza musician Mauricio Aznar, founder of bands like Más Birras or Almagato.

On the other hand, in Horizontes Latinos, a section focused on Latin American cinema, will feature the participation of the first solo documentary by Martin Benchimol (Buenos Aires, 1985), the castle / The Castle, which will compete for the Horizontes Award after winning the WIP Latam and Egeda Platino Industria Awards for the best WIP Latam in the last edition of the San Sebastián Festival and being chosen by the Panorama section of the Berlinale.

The actress Dolores Fonzi (Buenos Aires, 1978) will also return to San Sebastián as a debut director with Blonde, the story of the special relationship that a mother has with her son starring Fonzi herself along with Carla Peterson, Rita Cortese, Toto Rovito and Leonardo Sbaraglia.

Alberto Martín Menacho, An Pham Thien, Irati Gorostidi and Ion de Sosa, in Zabaltegi-Tabakalera

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera, the most open competitive section of the Festival, will host the first film by Alberto Martin Menacho (Madrid, 1986), Antier noche / Nights Gone By, which she developed in the Ikusmira Berriak residency and project development program and was premiered at Visions du Réel. The film portrays a certain rural youth in southern Europe who lives between a world that is disappearing and a modern one that continues to advance.

After winning the Camera d'Or, an award given to the best debut at the Cannes Festival, An Pham Thien (Vietnam, 1989) will also compete for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Prize with Bén Trong Vo Ken Vang / Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell. This international co-production tells the story of Thien, a man who, after a family tragedy, must take care of his nephew and undertakes the search for his brother, who disappeared years ago.

Soda ion (Urnieta, 1981), author of titles such as True Love (2011) y Androids dream (2014), returns alone to this section with the medium-length film Mamantula, which is also the name of a giant spider disguised as a human. Finally, the short film will be part of the section Accountants, of Irati Gorostidi (Eguesibar, 1988), which participated in the Cannes Critics' Week and was part of last year's Kimuak catalogue.

Two Spanish series, at the Velodrome.

The Velodrome, equipped for almost 3,000 spectators, is the room with the largest capacity at the Festival, and in this edition it will host the premiere of two series. Directed by Santos Cool (Madrid, 1991), Cris Trenas (Madrid, 1987) and Rogelio Gonzalez (Madrid, 1991), This excessive ambition / This Excessive Ambition It consists of three parts that take advantage of the creation and implementation of the musical tour Without Singing or Tuning to explore the creative process of artist C. Tangana.

It will also be presented at the Velodrome The other side / The Other Side, a new six-episode Movistar Plus+ original series directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera (Viladecans, 1976) y Alberto de Toro (Barcelona, 1972), and created, co-written and starring Berto Romero (Cardona, 1974). The popular television comedian, author of series such as Look what you've done, delves into the horror genre for the first time with the story of Nacho, a journalist specialized in the paranormal who is going through a bad professional and personal moment.