Rye Horn takes top award in San Sebastian

Janet Novás in The Rye Horn Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival

Jaione Camborda's The Rye Horn took the top award of the Golden Shell as San Sebastian Film Festival drew to a close last night. The San Sebastian-born director's second film is set in 1970s Galicia and relates the struggles of a woman who finds herself forced to flee on a smugglers' route between Spain and Portugal.

The Best Director Silver Shell went to to Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang for Taiwanese film A Journey In Spring and the Silver Shell for Best Screenplay went to María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat for Argentinian comedy Puan. Its star Marcelo Subiotto also won a Silver Shell for his portrayal of the hapless philosophy professor at the film's heart, which he shared, ex-aequo, with Tatsuya Fuji for his role in Japanese dementia drama Great Absence.

Jaione Camborda with her Golden Shell for Rye Horn Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival

In an unusual move in festival terms these days all of the gender neutral acting awards went to male performances with the jury, led by French director Claire Denis, giving the Best Supporting gong to Hovik Keuchkerian for his bear-like performance in Isabel Coixet's Un Amor. Certainly there was no shortage of great female performances, including Laia Costa, who plays a woman who has retreated to the countryside in the same film and Emmanuelle Devos's wife-in-denial in A Silence.

It was also a good night for Greenland-set Kalak, which took home awards a Special Jury Prize for Isabella Eklöf and the cinematography prize for Nadim Carlsen.

The full list of awards is below:

• Golden Shell for Best Film: The Rye Horn, dir, Jaione Camborda
• Special Jury Prize: Kalak, dir, Isabella Eklöf
• Silver Shell for Best Director: A Journey in Spring, dir, Peng Tzu-Hui, Wang Ping-Wen
• Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance (ex-aequo): Marcelo Subiotto for Puan and Tatsuya Fuji for “-Great Absence
• Silver Shell For Best Supporting Performance: Hovik Keuchkerian for Un Amor
• Jury Prize For Best Screenplay: María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat for Puan
• Jury Prize For Best Cinematography: Nadim Carlsen for Kalak
• Kutxabank-New Directors Award - Bahadur The Brave, dir, Diwa Shah
• Horizontes Award: The Castle, dir, Martin Benchimol
• Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award: The Human Surge 3, dir, Eduardo Williams
• Nest Award: Amma Ki Katha, dir, Nehal Vyas
• Special mention: Entre les autres, dir, Marie Falys
Culinary Zinema Best Film Award: The Taste Of Things (The Pot-au-Feu), dir, Dir: Tran Anh Hung
• San Sebastián Audience Award: Society Of The Snow, dir JA Bayona
• San Sebastián Audience Award for European Films: Io Capitano, dir, Matteo Garrone
• Irizar Basque Film Award: Sultana’s Dream, dir, Isabel Herguera
• TCM Youth Award: The Blue Star, dir, Javier Macipe
• Fipresci Award: Fingernails, dir, Christos Nikou
• Agenda 2030 Euskadi Basque Country Award: The Undesirables, dir, Ladj Li
• Dunia Ayaso Award: Creatura, dir, Elena Martin Gimeno
• Special Mention: While You’re Still You (The Yellow Ceiling), dir, Claudia Pinto
• Eusko Label First Prize: Latxa, dir, Mikel Urretabizkaia
• Eusko Label Second Prize: Soroborda, dir, Paolo Tizón
• DALE! Award: Little War, dir Barbara Sarasola-Day
• Artekino International Prize: The Days Off, dir, Lucila Mariani
• XII Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum Best Project Award: These Were All Fields, dir Daniela Abad Lombana
• WIP Latam Industry Award: Most People Die on Sunday, dir Iair Said
• Egeda Platino Industria Award For The Best WIP Latam: Most People Die on Sunday, dir Iair Said
• WIP Europa Industry Award: Mannequins, dir, Michael Fetter Nathansky
• WIP Europa Award: Mannequins, dir, Michael Fetter Nathansky
• Ikusmira Berriak Award: After the Night, the Night, d.ir Naomi Pacifique
• Zinemaldia Startup Challenge Best Spanish Project: WitScript
• Zinemaldia Startup Challenge Best European Project: Hyperate.io
• RTVE Another Look Award: The Royal Hotel, dir Kitty Green
• RTVE Another Look Award (Special Mention): All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, dir, Raven Jackson

Honorary Awards

Donostia Awards: Hayao Miyazaki, Javier Bardem, Víctor Erice

Zinemira Award: Paco Sagarzazu