San Sebastian Film Festival 2023

View other San Sebastian Film Festival Films by strand: Classics, Culinary Zinema, Donostia Award Screenings, Horizontes Latinos, Made In Spain, New Directors, Pearls, Retrospective: Hiroshi Teshigahara, Velodrome, XI Sebastiane Latino Award, Zabaltegi-Tabakalera

Fingernails Fingernails
Fingernails and Kalak
All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt (Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Raven Jackson; Writer: Raven Jackson; Stars: Charleen McClure, Moses Ingram, Kaylee Nicole Johnson, Reginald Helms Jr., Sheila Atim, Chris Chalk)
A decades-spanning exploration of a woman’s life in Mississippi and an ode to the generations of people, places, and ineffable moments that shape us.
The Boy And The Heron (Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Hayao Miyazaki; Writer: Hayao Miyazaki, Genzaburô Yoshino; Stars: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Takuya Kimura, Aimyon, Kô Shibasaki, Yoshino Kimura, Shôhei Hino, Jun Kunimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, Keiko Takeshita, Jun Fubuki, Sawako Agawa, Karen Takizawa, Shinobu Ôtake)
A teenager, haunted by his mother’s tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, who bears a striking resemblance to his mum. His strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who dubs him the “long-awaited one.”
Out of competition. Opening gala
Dance First (Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: James Marsh; Writer: Neil Forsyth; Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Fionn O'Shea, Sandrine Bonnaire, Léonie Lojkine, Aidan Gillen, Bronagh Gallagher, Maxine Peake, Barry O'Connor, Lisa Dwyer Hogg, Caroline Boulton, Rebecka Johnston, Gráinne Good, Caleb Johnston-Miller, Andrew Hefler, Patrik Piró,)
Biopic of author and playwright Samuel Beckett.
Out of competition. Closing gala
Ex-Husbands (Men Of Divorce) (Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Noah Pritzker; Writer: Noah Pritzker; Stars: James Norton, Rosanna Arquette, Griffin Dunne, Natalie Gold, Lou Taylor Pucci, Miles Heizer, Richard Benjamin, John Ventimiglia, Echo Kellum, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Eisa Davis, Rosa Gilmore, Nate Mann, Rachel Zeiger-Haag, Ian Owens)
Peter’s parents divorced after 65 years, his wife left him after 35, and his sons, Nick and Mickey, are off leading their own lives. When Peter flies to Tulum, crashing Nick's bachelor party hosted by Mickey, he realises he's not the only one in crisis.
Fingernails (Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Christos Nikou; Writer: Christos Nikou, Stavros Raptis, Sam Steiner; Stars: Jeremy Allen White, Annie Murphy, Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Luke Wilson, Katy Breier)
A woman who is increasingly unsure about her relationship secretly embarks on a new assignment working at a mysterious institute designed to incite and test the presence of romantic love in increasingly desperate couples.
Ex-Husbands Ex-Husbands
Ex-Husbands and The Practice
Great Absence (Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Kei Chika-ura; Writer: Kei Chika-ura, Keita Kumano; Stars: Mirai Moriyama, Tatsuya Fuji, Yôko Maki, Hideko Hara)
Actor Takashi has been estranged from his father Yohji, a retired university professor, ever since the tumultuous divorce with his mother ripped the family apart 20 years ago. They remain barely in contact until one day, a call from the police prompts Takashi to visit Yohji, who is struggling with dementia.
A Journey in Spring (Country: Taiwan; Year: 2023; Director: Peng Tzu-Hui, Ping-Wen Wang; Stars: Kuei-Mei Yang, Jieh-Wen King)
An old man has depended on his wife over the years, when she suddenly passes away, he puts her into an old freezer and goes on living a seemingly peaceful life. But the arrival of his son and daughter-in-law brings change.
Kalak (Country: Sweden, Denmark, Greenland; Year: 2023; Director: Isabella Eklöf; Writer: Isabella Eklöf, Kim Leine, Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen; Stars: Asta Kamma August, Anders Mossling, Emil Johnsen, Soren Hellerup, Nino Fencker, Allie Maggie Kvist, Hans Jukku Noahsen, Berda Larsen, Nathan Kreutzmann, Bertram Krassel, Connie Kristoffersen, Emilie Steen, Lisbeth Vængtoft Noahsen, Vigga Tukula, Varste Mathæussen)
A nurse who was abused by his father finds his trauma is increasingly damaging to himself and those around him.
La Mesías (Country: Spain; Year: 2023; Director: Javier Calvo; Writer: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Carmen Jiménez; Stars: Rossy de Palma, Macarena García, Lola Dueñas, Carla Díaz, Cecilia Roth, Carmen Machi, Ana Rujas, Aixa Villagrán, Nora Navas, Gracia Olayo, Roger Casamajor, Mari Paz Sayago, Betsy Túrnez, Amaia Romero, Biel Rossell)
The viral video of a Christian pop group made up of several sisters has an enormous effect on the life of Enric, a man tormented by a childhood marked by religious fanaticism and the yoke of a mother with messianic delirium.
Out of competition
MMXX (Country: Romania; Year: 2023; Director: Cristi Puiu; Writer: Cristi Puiu; Stars: Igor Babiac, Dorian Boguta, Laur Bondarenco, Dragos Bucur, Bianca Cuculici, Roxana Ogrendil, Otilia Panaite, Adelaida Perjoiu, Florin Tibre)
Oana Pfifer, a young therapist, gradually slips into the net of the questionnaire she submits to her patient. Mihai, Oana’s brother, worrying about his birthday, is stuck in a story far bigger than he can handle. Septimiu, Oana’s husband, concerned about his health, vaguely listens to a strange story his colleague was caught up in a while ago. Narcis Patranescu, an organided crime detective, deals with an unsettling dark story while interrogating a young woman at a funeral.
The Royal Hotel The Royal Hotel
The Royal Hotel and Red Island
The Practice (La Practica) (Country: Argentina, Chile, Portugal; Year: 2015; Director: Martin Retjman; Writer: Martín Rejtman; Stars: Esteban Bigliardi, Mirta Busnelli, Manuela Oyarzún, Camila Hirane, Gabriel Cañas)
A yoga teacher finds himself grappling with life and bad luck after his splits from his wife.
Puan (Country: Argentina, Italy, Germany, France, Brazil; Year: 2023; Director: María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat; Writer: María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat; Stars: Marcelo Subiotto, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Julieta Zylberberg, Mara Bestelli, Alejandra Flechner, Cristina Banegas, Héctor Bidonde, Damián Dreizik, Andrea Frigerio, Camila Peralta)
Marcelo has devoted his life to teaching philosophy at the Public University of Buenos Aires. When his mentor Professor Caselli dies unexpectedly, Marcelo expects to become the new head of Department. However, his plans turn upside down with the unexpected arrival of Rafael Sujarchuk. Charismatic and seductive, Rafael returns from his pedestal in European universities to claim the vacant position for himself. Marcelo's clumsy efforts to prove he is the right candidate will trigger a philosophical duel, while his life - and the country - enter a spiral of chaos.
A Real Job (Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Thomas Lilti; Writer: Thomas Lilti; Stars: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Louise Bourgoin, François Cluzet, Vincent Lacoste, Jérémy Gillet, Bouli Lanners, William Lebghil, Lucie Zhang, Léo Chalié, Théo Navarro-Mussy, Hubert Myon)
Benjamin is a PhD student without scholarship support. Under the pressure of his parents, and in need of money, he becomes a substitute teacher in a middle school.
Red Island (L'ile Rouge) (Country: France, Belgium, Madagascar; Year: 2023; Director: Robin Campillo; Writer: Robin Campillo, Gilles Marchand, Jean-Luc Raharimanana; Stars: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Quim Gutiérrez, Charlie Vauselle, Amely Rakotoarimalala, Hugues Delamarlière, Sophie Guillemin, David Serero, Luna Carpiaux, Mitia Ralaivita, Cathy Pham, Mathis Piberne, Sacha Cosar-Accaoui, Lucille Bernier, Mathilde de Sampaio, Franck Mercadal)
Set in Madagascar in the early 1970s, on one of the last air bases of the French army, where military families live the last throes of colonialism. Influenced by his reading of the intrepid comic book heroine Fantômette, ten-year-old Thomas sweeps with a curious glance what surrounds him, while the world gradually opens up to a different reality.
The Royal Hotel (Country: Australia, UK; Year: 2023; Director: Kitty Green; Writer: Kitty Green, Oscar Redding; Stars: Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Toby Wallace, Daniel Henshall, Herbert Nordrum, Ursula Yovich)
US backpackers Hanna and Liv take a job in a remote Australian pub for some extra cash and are confronted with a bunch of unruly locals and a situation that grows rapidly out of their control.
Dance First Dance First
Dance First and The Boy And The Heron
The Rye Horn (O Corno) (Country: Spain, Portugal, Belgium; Year: 2023; Director: Jaione Camborda; Writer: Jaione Camborda; Stars: Janet Novás, Siobhan Fernandes, Carla Rivas, Daniela Hernán Marchán, María Lado, Julia Gómez, José Navarro, Nuria Lestegás, Darío Fernández Raposo, Diego Anido, Filomena Gigante, Pamela Vidal, Belén Merino, Nuno Preto, Nuno Sá)
Illa de Arousa, 1971. Maria is a woman who earns a living harvesting shellfish. She is also known on the island for helping other women in childbirth. After an unexpected event, she is forced to flee and sets out on a dangerous journey that will make her fight for her survival.
A Silence (Un Silence) (Country: Belgium, Luxembourg, France; Year: 2023; Director: Joachim Lafosse; Writer: Chloé Duponchelle, Paul Ismael, Joachim Lafosse, Thomas van Zuylen; Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Devos, Salomé Dewaels, Larisa Faber, Denis Simonetta, Elsa Rauchs, Béatrice Paquet, Laurent Bozzi, Matthieu Galoux)
Astrid is the wife of an acclaimed lawyer. Silenced for 25 years, her family balance suddenly collapses when her children initiate their search for justice.
The Successor (Country: Canada, Belgium, France; Year: 2023; Director: Xavier Legrand; Stars: Marc-André Grondin)
Ellias Barnès, 30, is the newly-announced artistic director of a famous Parisian fashion house. But as expectations are high, he starts experiencing chest pain. Out of the blue he is called back to Montreal to organise his estranged father's funeral and discovers that he may have inherited much worse than his father's weak heart.
Sultana's Dream (El Sueno De La Sultana) (Country: Germany, Spain; Year: 2023; Director: Isabel Herguera; Writer: Isabel Herguera, Gianmarco Serra; Stars: Mary Beard, Paul B. Preciado, Roberto Bessi, Miren Arrieta, Nausheen Javeed, Ranjitha Rajeevan, Miren Gabilondo, Debjani Mukherjee)
Taking her inspiration from a feminist sci-fi short story written in Bengal in 1905, Inés sets out on a voyage of discovery around India in search of Ladyland, the Utopian land of women.
They Shot The Piano Player (Country: Spain, France, Netherlands; Year: 2023; Director: Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba; Writer: Fernando Trueba; Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, João Gilberto, Vinicius de Moraes, Paulo Moura)
A music journalist from New York sets out on a frantic investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Brazilian pianist Tenorio Jr, regular accompanist of Vinicius de Moraes, among others.
Special Screening
A Silence A Silence
A Silence and Sultana's Dream
Un Amor (Country: Spain; Year: 2023; Director: Isabel Coixet; Writer: Isabel Coixet, Laura Ferrero, Sara Mesa; Stars: Ingrid García Jonsson, Laia Costa, Hovik Keuchkerian, Hugo Silva, Luis Bermejo, Francesco Carril)
Having escaped from her stressful life in the city, 30-year-old Nat holes up in the small village of La Escapa, in deepest rural Spain. Having dealt with her landlord’s hostility and the mistrust of the village locals, Nat finds herself accepting a disturbing sexual proposal made by her neighbour Andreas.
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