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San Sebastian Film Festival · 2012

San Sebastian Film Festival 2012

Zabaltegi-Specials

Programme

16 films · 3 reviews

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7 Days In Havana (7 dias en La Habana)

Review preview for 7 Days In Havana

The seven stories knit together well, and provide an engrossing and alternative view of a city whose image has long been absorbed into popular culture

Emma Slawinski · 3.5 out of 5
Seven short films show unseen sides to Havana through the eyes of locals and visitors.

(Country: France, Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Gaspar Noé, Juan Carlos Tabío, Laurent Cantet; Writer: Laurent Cantet, Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Julio Medem, Santiago Mitre, Gaspar Noé, Leonardo Padura, Elia Suleiman, Pablo Trapero; Stars: Daniel Brühl, Vladimir Cruz, Josh Hutcheson, Mirta Ibarra, Emir Kusturica, Jorge Perugorria, Elia Suleiman)

Full review

Asura

An anime starring a savage, enraged orphan boy abandoned in the barren Kyoto wasteland who does whatever it takes to survive in the wild. When he crosses paths with civilization, he must learn to master the beast within.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2012; Director: Kei'ichi Sato; Writer: Ikuko Takahashi; Stars: Megumi Hayashibara, Yoshihiro Ike, Kinya Kitaohgi, Masako Nozawa)

The Bay

Review preview for The Bay

There's some fun to be had among the commotion of the outbreak, but it all seems too stretched to really bite deep as either satire or schlock.

David Graham · 3 out of 5
Chaos breaks out in a small town in the wake of an ecological disaster.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Barry Levinson; Writer: Michael Wallach; Stars: Kristen Connolly, Anthony Reynolds, Jane McNeill, Michael Beasley, Christopher Denham, Kether Donohue, Stacy Rabon, Andy Stahl, Stephen Kunken, Alisa Harris, Andrew R. Kaplan, Frank Deal, Lauren Cohn, Jody Thompson, Jack Landry)

Full review See: Article about real life parasitic monsters to rival those in Prometheus

Bypass

A young man tries to "cheer up" the last few hours in the life of his terminally ill friend Maria by saying he loves her - but Maria's miraculous recovery forces Xabi to keep up the pretence.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Patxo Telleria, Aitor Mazo)

Clip (Klipp, Klip)

A young girl goes on a spree of sex, drugs and partying, constantly filming with her mobile phone.

(Country: Serbia; Year: 2012; Director: Maja Milos; Writer: Maja Milos; Stars: Isidora Simijonovic, Vukasin Jasnic, Dimitrije Arandjelovic, Nikola Dragutinovic, Vladimir Gvojic, Sonja Janicic, Jovo Maksic, Zoran Maksimovic, Sanja Mikitisin, Katarina Pesic, Mihajlo Pleskonjic, Monja Savic, Jovana Stojiljkovic, Dobrila Stojnic, David Tasic)

Kern

Documentary about the controversial film director and irascible actor Peter Kern.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2012; Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz; Writer: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz; Stars: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz, Traute Furthner, Peter Kern, Susanne Wuest)

King of Comics (König des Comics)

Humour, irony and razor sharp observation are his liberating weapons against bigoted prejudice in a documentary which pays tribute to Ralf König, Gemany’s best-known comic illustrator and an artist at the height of is creativity.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Rosa von Praunheim; Writer: Rosa von Praunheim; Stars: Ralf König, Joachim Król, Hella von Sinnen, Ralph Morgenstern)

Lines Of Wellington (As Linhas De Torres)

TV mini-series by the filmmaker Valeria Sarmiento. A reconstruction of Napoleon's attempts to invade Portugal.

(Country: Portugal, France; Year: 2012; Director: Valeria Sarmiento; Writer: Carlos Saboga; Stars: Nuno Lopes, Soraia Chaves, Marisa Paredes, John Malkovich, Carloto Cotta, Victória Guerra, Marcello Urgeghe, Jemima West, José Afonso Pimentel, Miguel Borges, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud, Filipe Vargas, Adriano Luz, João Arrais)

Magic Words (Breaking A Spell) (Palabras Mágicas (Para Romper Un Encantamiento))

Documentary examination of the Nicaraguan Revolution

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2012; Director: Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez)

Operacion E

Inspired by the true story of Clara Rojas, kidnapped by the FARC in Colombia together with Ingrid Betancourt in 2002, who after six years in captivity had a child with one of the guerrillas...

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2012; Director: Miguel Courtois; Writer: Miguel Courtois; Stars: Luis Tosar)

Penance (Shokuzai)

TV mini-series focuses on the mysterious murder of a young girl kidnapped at her own school while playing with four classmates. None of the girls can remember the abductor's face, and the victim's mother condemns them to: “Do whatever you have to to find the killer. Otherwise, you can pay a penance that I approve.”

(Country: Japan; Year: 2012; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kanae Minato; Stars: Yû Aoi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Asumi Kikuchi, Hazuki Kimura, Manatsu Kimura, Kyôko Koizumi, Erika Komata, Seika Kuze, Marika Matsumoto, Mirai Moriyama, Kyôka Shibata, Shôko Takada)

The Search For Emak Bakia (Emak Bakia baita)

Review preview for The Search For Emak Bakia

It soon becomes clear that it isn’t the destination, and the discovery of Emak Bakia, that is the most interesting thing about the film, but the journey itself.

Robert Munro · 5 out of 5
In 1926, Man Ray filmed a cinepoem in the southeast of France, and called it Emak Bakia, which is a Basque expression meaning 'Leave me alone' - now Filmmaker Oskar Alegria embarks upon an exploration of the film and its title.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Oskar Alegria)

Full review

Tropicalia

Documentary looking at the Tropicalia cultural movement in Brazil.

(Country: Brazil, US, UK; Year: 2012; Director: Marcelo Machado; Writer: Vaughn Glover, Marcelo Machado, Di Moretti; Stars: Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso)

The Valley (Baztan)

Documentary follows a film crew visiting the Baztan valley to make a film about events dating back to the 17th century: the story of the discrimination suffered by the so-called “agotes”, people who were forced to live in isolation practically up to the present day.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Iñaki Elizalde; Writer: Iñaki Elizalde, Michel Gaztambide; Stars: Unax Ugalde, Carmelo Gómez, Joseba Apaolaza, Txema Blasco, Ramón Agirre, Kandido Uranga, Mirentxu Goienetxe, Patxi Bengoetxea, Jone Lizartza, Juainas Paul)

Xingu

Three brothers stumble upon the Xingu tribe during an exploration of central Brazil and subsequently devote their lives to protecting and preserving the Xingu culture in the face of encroachment from the contemporary world.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2011; Director: Cao Hamburger; Writer: Cao Hamburger, Anna Muylaert, Helena Soarez; Stars: João Miguel, Felipe Camargo, Caio Blat, Maria Flor)

Zuloak (Holes)

Musician Fermin Muguruza follows the career of the all-female rock band, Zuloak, to advocate the contribution made by other important musical artists in the Basque Country.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Fermin Muguruza)