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Festival coverage

San Sebastian Film Festival

16 September – 24 July 2016

Lady Macbeth won the FIPRESCI award
Lady Macbeth won the FIPRESCI award

The 64th edition of the festival ran from September 16 to 24 and partially celebrated San Sebastian being the European Capital of Culture.

The Thematic Retrospective was dedicated to The Act Of Killing: Cinema and Global Violence. The Classic Retrospective focused on work by French post-war director Jacques Becker (1906-1960), including Golden Helmet.

Sigourney Weaver - whose A Monster Calls screened out of competition - and Ethan Hawke (The Magnificent Seven) received Donostia Awards.

Other years (17)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Falbalas
    Review preview for Falbalas

    The detailing, including the flamboyant naming of dresses and the rush to be finished, feels as right as a perfect necklace, so that it sets off the wider fabric of the story without detracting from it.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A fashion designer woos his best friend's fiancee and finds himself in too deep.
  • After Love
    Review preview for After Love

    The script takes an adult approach to emotions, even as it shows how childish a situation can become.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    After they split, a couple continue to share a house because of financial constraints.
  • The Red Turtle
    Review preview for The Red Turtle

    Some of the art is truly breathtaking, especially the star-filled skies, and the movement of the various animals we meet is beautifully observed.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    The life of a castaway on a desert island.
  • In Between
    Review preview for In Between

    An astonishingly mature feature debut from Hamoud.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Three Palestinian women share a flat in Tel Aviv.
  • Le Trou
    Review preview for Le Trou

    The most compelling aspect of the film is it's sheer physicality.

    Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
    Four inmates try to tunnel out of a prison.
  • Touchez Pas Au Grisbi
    Review preview for Touchez Pas Au Grisbi

    There will be plot developments involving kidnap, the loot as ransom and a gunfight but those are really just the action icing on the cake of what is, at heart, a character study and a dissection of friendship.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    After a bullion heist, two gangsters face a test of friendship when one of them is kidnapped.
  • Edward And Caroline
    Review preview for Edward And Caroline

    The plot is as floaty as Caroline's evening gown but the joy is in the minutiae.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Trouble brews for a couple from different classes when the husband is asked to perform for the friends of his wife's rich uncle.
  • My Life As A Courgette
    Review preview for My Life As A Courgette

    The script has a heartfelt carefulness but it is never preachy, with 'naughty' conversations about the home's teacher's willy exploding likely to have pre-adolescents (and adults who well remember these sorts of conversations) hooting with laughter.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Stop-motion story of a boy, who is sent to a group home for orphans after the death of his mum.
  • 489 Years
    Review preview for 489 Years

    The film makes good use of computer generated recreations of landscape to evoke wonder at nature and capture moments of genuine terror.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    A soldier's memories play over this animated tale of Korea's demilitarised zone.
  • The Olive Tree
    Review preview for The Olive Tree

    What the film lacks in allegorical subtlety it makes up for in depth of emotion.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    A woman sets out to recover her grandfather's tree from the company who bought it.

A–Z of San Sebastian Film Festival 2016 reviews

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