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Festival coverage

San Sebastian Film Festival

18 September – 26 September 2015

The 63rd edition of the festival will run from September 18 to 26.

The Thematic Retrospective will be dedicated to New Japanese independent cinema 2000-2015 and the Classic Retrospective will focus on work by Merian C Cooper (1893-1973) and Ernest B Schoedsack (1893-1979), including the original King Kong.

The festival opened with Regression and closed with London Road. The Golden Shell was won by Sparrows - read more about the winners here.

Other years (17)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Passion
    Review preview for Passion

    A melancholy look at love and the various ways in which people understand their connections to others.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Unfaithfulness dogs a couple on the verge of marriage.
  • Birdboy: The Forgotten Children
    Review preview for Birdboy: The Forgotten Children

    With imagery that shifts seamlessly from the kawaii to the diabolical, not least in a darkly psychedelic sequence near the end, this is a film that really makes its mark.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Three children decide to leave their homes looking a better life.
  • Family Film
    Review preview for Family Film

    Omerzu's observational, unsentimental style and the cool, stripped back lensing from Lukas Milota means that increasingly outlandish unfortunate events unfold with an acidic humour rather than melodrama.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    A family starts to disintegrate after the mother and father leave the children home alone.
  • The Clan
    Review preview for The Clan

    The film is briskly paced, infused with energy and the backdrop remains interesting.

    Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
    The true story of the Puccio Clan. A family who kidnapped and killed people in the 80s.
  • Our Little Sister
    Review preview for Our Little Sister

    It is in the women's emotions that the heart of the matter lies and Kore-eda, as always, handles them with an elegant lightness of touch.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Three sisters take their 15-year-old half sister into their home and hearts.
  • Ixcanul
    Review preview for Ixcanul

    A sensitively handled female coming-of-age tale.

    Rebecca Naughten · 3 out of 5
    Story of a teenage girl living in the foothills of a volcano, who faces an arranged marriage but is won over by the charms of a plantation worker.
  • Embrace Of The Serpent
    Review preview for Embrace Of The Serpent

    Structurally illustrates how the indigenous people don't see time as being a chronological straight line but as multiple realities existing simultaneously.

    Rebecca Naughten · 3.5 out of 5
    The story of the relationship between an Amazonian shaman and two scientists who, decades apart, search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.
  • High-Rise
    Review preview for High-Rise

    In the literal act of performance there is room to talk about self as performance, and that is where High-Rise is strongest.

    Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
    Class war breaks out in a tower block.
  • Mountains May Depart
    Review preview for Mountains May Depart

    A bold study of what it means to be Chinese in the modern age.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A young woman chooses between two men as China is torn between its traditional values and a capitalist future.
  • Paulina
    Review preview for Paulina

    Fonzi's performance is perfectly judged.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A young woman survives a rape and her response confounds everyone around her.

A–Z of San Sebastian Film Festival 2015 reviews

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