Between Two Waters Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival |
It was also a good night for Benjamin Nashiat, whose scathing and stylish look at corruption in Argentina on the brink of the 1975 coup won best director, best actor for Dario Gardinetti and best cinematography for Pedro Sotero. Pia Tjelta won the best actress award for her fully committed performance as a mother in shock and hysterics for almost the entire runtime of Norwegian drama Blind Spot, which is a particularly impressive performance as the film is shot in a single take.
The special jury prize went to Brilliante Mendoza's gritty drug thriller Alpha, The Right To Kill. Best screenplay was jointly awarded to Paul Laverty's script for Iciar Bollain's Carlos Acosta biopic Yuli and Louis Garrel's sprightly romcom A Faithful Man.
María Alche won the Horizontes Latinos award for her study of grief A Family Submerged (Familia Submergida). Hiroshi Okuyama's fantasy drama Jesus, won the New Directors accolade, with a special mention also going to gentle mum and daughter drama Journey To A Mother's Room (Viaje Al Cuarto Del Una Madre) receiving a special mention It also won the festival's Youth Award.
The Audience Awards in the Pearls section - which showcases top films that have featured at other festivals - went to Raúl de la Fuent and Damian Nenow's Angolan War drama Another Day Of Life.
Claire Denis's space drama High Life won the FIPRESCI critics prize, while debut director Ash Mayfair took home the TVE Another Look award - given to films with a strong female focus - for The Third Wife, which focuses on a young bride in Vietnamese patriarchal society. Koldo Almandoz won the Zinemira best Basque film award for Deer (Oreina).