The 59th edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival took place between the 16th and the 24th of September 2011. As every year, this traditional and prestigious Spanish Film Festival supported Spanish, Latin American and Basque Cinema sections in it's program, in addition to the international Official Selection.
Glenn Close with the Donosti Award
This year the festival decided to honour the American actress Glenn Close by asigning her the Donostia lifetime achievement award. The actress came to collect the award as well as she presented her newest film "Albert Nobbs" that was opened in Europe in this year's San Sebastian Festival.
Los Pasos Dobles crew with Isaki Lacuesta
The winner of the Golden Shell this year in the Official Section was the Spanish film "Los Pasos Dobles" (The Double Steps) by Isaki Lacuesta, where as the Special Jury Prize went to the French film "Skylab" by Julie Delpy. The Jury of the official selection presided by Frances McNormand decided to asign the Silver Shell for Best Director to the greek Filippos Tsitos, and the actors' awards went to Antonis Kafetzopoulos and María León for Benito Zambrano's "The Sleeping Voice". The Prize for the Best Cinematography was won by Ulf Brantas and the Best Screenplay by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The rest of the Spanish presentation in the Official Selection "No Rest for the Wicked" by Enrique Urbizu or "The Intruders" by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo didn't receive prizes, although, according to the audience's reactions it seems the two movies are really good.
Enrique Urbizu
As far as the Spanish and Basque film selections are concerned I would distinguish Mateo Gil's "Blackthorn", starring Sam Shepard, Eduardo Noriega, Stephen Rea, Magaly Solier and Nicolak Coster-Waldau and Daniel Sánchez Arévalo's "Primos"(Cousinhood) starring Quim Gutiérrez, Raúl Arévalo, Adrián Lastra, Inma Cuesta, Antonio de la Torre in the Made in Spain- section. From the basque Zinemira- section we liked Alberto Gorritiberea's "The Stone" (Arriya, la Piedra) starring Iban Garate, Begoña Maestre, Sara Casanovas and Ramón Agirre.
As every year the San Sebastian Festival had a friendly and festive atmosphere. According to the new festival director José Luis Rebordinos, the intention of the Festival this year was to magnify the presence of the international film industry and press. In fact the festival seeks an interactive approach between the filmmakers and the audience.
After every showing actors and directors answer the questions asked by the spectators.
In the photo the Finnish actress Emilia Uutinen speaking with Esteban & J. Miguel Ibarretxe.
We look forward to participating again next year in this traditional and cosy festival which, together with the Cannes Festival, has become a sort of a rundown of the Spanish film tendencies of the year.
The Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe awarded actress for "Working Girl", Melanie Griffith will soon shoot in Spain. Apparently she has joined the cast of "At 2:15" together with Nick Nolte, Angela Molina, Adrien Paul, Miguel Ángel Tobías and Fernando Guillén Cuervo. The film will be the debut feature of the young director María De Kannon Clé, who is also the scriptwriter of this piece that seems to be a small art-house type film with a good script. The film is supported by the Madrid Film Commission and will be shot entirely in the Spanish capital on October 2011.
Griffith will play the character of a multimilloinaire woman who is Nick Nolte's wife in a script that tells the story of various strangers meeting each other in the traffic lights of Madrid.
The budget of this movie will be around 3 millions of euros producing Maria De Kannon Clé, Miguel Ángel Tobías and Adrien Paul together with Accamedia, Filmblips UK an Hungarian Forma Films.
Melanie Griffith has also participated in two animation productions that are currently in production; her voice can be heard in Ben Stassen’s animation film "Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage" and in Manuel Sicilia’s "The Scales And The Sword".
We look forward to following the career of this beautiful actress who is lenting her talent to the Spanish film industry. As we have always been huge fans of hers, it's a real pleasure to hear she will be working in Spain.
Nick Nolte (Cape Fear, 48 Hours) is visiting the European film industry by shooting at least two movies in Spain.
This summer the veteran actor completed in Seville the shooting of "A Puerta Fría" by the young Spanish writer and cinematographer Xavi Puebla and together with actors such as Antonio Dechent, José Luis García Pérez or María Valverde.
Nolte plays in this movie the role of a rich American business man running a multinational company who comes on a business trip to Spain. An unemployed Spanish itinerant seller played by Antonio Dechent tries to get in contact with him in order to get a job, but none of the two men speaks the language of the other.
In the press conference of the film produced by the Spanish production company Maestranza Films Nolte expressed his will to work in Spain: "It's a real pleasure to work in an independent movie in Spain". He says he found the script great, the kind of a European indie film everybody would like to work in. The budget of "A Puerta Fría" is one million euros.
The other project Nick Nolte has in Spain will be shot during 2011 in the Spanish capital of Madrid. The project supported by the Madrid Film Commission is called "At 2:15" and will be directed by María de Kannon Clè. According to Screendaily.com alongside Nick Nolte will be starring Melanie Griffith, Ángela Molina and Fernando Guillén Cuervo in a film that tells the story of a number of people who's paths cross in the city of Madrid. The project is produced by Clo D'Art Productions, Accamedia, Filmblips UK ans the Hungarian Forma Films.
The Finnish born actress Emilia Uutinen works in Spain and is known for her roles in Spanish television and film industry.
She was introduced in theatre, music and dance already in her home country, Finland, from where she moved to Spain at the age of twenty in order to course the prestigious Royal Academy of Performing Arts of Madrid (RESAD). She tells us the theater education in Spain was conscientious and thorough, but well preparing. She spent four years studying from nine to nine and got to work in two movies at the same time.
In her beginnings she worked as dancer in Ramón Salazar’s “20 Centimeters” in 2004 and appeared as the beautiful hostess in Isidro Ortiz’s science fiction action movie “Somne” in 2005.
At that time she was dedicated also to the theater, acting in plays by Tennessee Williams, August Strindberg, William Shakespeare, Calderón or Lope de Vega and in fact she declares herself to be a great fan of Classical Spanish theater. She says acting is a passion and a vocation for her, and when asked whether she prefers theater or film acting, her response is clear:
“I couldn’t just choose one of them. They are two different techniques; in theater the communication with the audience is something unique, whereas camera acting is very subtle and natural. I’m very fond of both theatre and movies. Maybe lately I’ve been more passionate about filmmaking. I can’t stop watching films and learning from them. I just love movies.”
The Nordic actress Emilia Uutinen
After finishing her studies she got popular very quickly with the Spanish Sitcom hit series “Escenas de Matrimonio”.
She tells she started the series with a co-star role, but her character became bigger until converted in one of the starring roles, while the Internet audience chose her as the most popular character of the famous sitcom.
She.appeared also on the weekly hit series “Brothers and Detectives” and played the main role on a fiction based music video “Invocating” that tells the story of a Londoner composer and pianist.
Jon Ariño and Emilia Uutinen
In 2010 Emilia Uutinen was tempted again by the film industry by shooting “An Almost Perfect World” (Un Mundo Casi Perfecto) from the Basque directors and scriptwriters Esteban and José Miguel Ibarretxe (“¡Sabotage!”).
“It was great shooting in the Basque Country. The nature is beautiful and I got to know some really nice people there. And the food is great!”
The movie was presented at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival on 2011 and had its premiere in the month of July this year. Below a video from the red carpet of the Málaga Film Festival.
Emilia tells us that this year had it’s premiere also a short movie she participated in that was shot in English in 2010 in the spanish province of Soria under the title of “Unfarewell”.
In this short she plays the character of a mother who looks after her small son in an Amish alike community where old people are condemned to be sacrificed. The actress tells us it feels natural to act in many languages:
“Acting in English or in French is very natural to me because I’ve spoken those languages since I was a child. Finnish is my mother tongue, Spanish my home tongue and I also speak fluent Swedish.”
Emilia Uutinen with Robert Englund
And asking her about her future, she tells us she can be seen soon in an intervention in the Spanish sitcom hit series "Aida", one of the biggest TV phenomena in Spain.
We wish all the best to the career of this Nordic actress, who actually is very Spanish. We are sure, she will be hugely successful.
This month there will be three new Spanish premieres in Spain.
On one hand Pedro Almodóvar will open in Spain his film number 18 "The Skin I live In" on the 2nd of September. The movie based on Thierry Jonquet's novel "Tarantula" tells the story of a plastic surgeon (Antonio Banderas) who tries to create an artificial skin that could have saved his wife's life. Twelve years after he manages to grow it in his laboratory thanks to the advances of cellular therapy and crosses the medical boundaries using transgenesis on human beings. However that won't be the only crime he commits.
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Blanca Suárez, Fernando Cayo, Bárbara Lennie, Eduard Fernández, José Luis Gómez, Roberto Álamo, Susi Sánchez, Jan Cornet
Premiere: 2 of September
On the other hand the new film of the spanish director Enrique Urbizu "No Habrá Paz Para los Malvados" (There won't be peace for the wicked) will have its premiere later this month.
It tells the story of Santos Trinidad, a police officer in his fifties whose life seems to be a failure. Things don't go any better when he gets involved in a triple murder by accident and a witness that could incriminate him manages to escape. In order to eliminate the witness Santos begins a man hunt that reveals that nothing is what it seems to be.
Cast: José Coronado, Rodolfo Sancho, Helena Miquel, Juanjo Artero, Pedro María Sánchez, Nadia Casado, Younes Bachir, Karim El Kerem, Abdel Ali El Aziz, Nasser Saleh, Juan Pablo Schuck, Eduard Farelo
Premiere: 23 of September
At the end of the month will have its premiere a Basque movie called "Urteberri on Amona!" (Happy New Year, Grandmother!) directed by Telmo Esnal.
The film is shot in Basque language and tells the story of a family whose father wants to send his mother-in-law to an old people's house in secret from his wife. The grandmother goes to the old people's house but in small time returns to the family home by her means.
Cast: Montserrat Carulla, Joxean Bengoetxea, Nagore Aramburu, Pedro Otaegi, Kontxu Odriozola
This week there will be three independent premieres of the Spanish film industry including two fiction based movies and one documentary.
The writer/director Borja Manso and co-writer Borja Cobeaga will open "Amigos" (Friends), starring Ernesto Alterio, Diego Martín, Alberto Lozano, Goya Toledo and Manuela Velasco. "Amigos" is a comedy that reveals the story of four buddies who have been friends since they were kids. One of them dies as adult leaving behind him a huge inheritance, and makes a posthumous proposal in which he promeses to leave all his money for one of the three friends. Although there is one condition... the inheritance goes for the one who manages to obtain the best television audiences until the end of the year. The production companies in charge are Películas Pendelton and Telecinco Cinema.
Also will have it's premiere this week the comedy, "Un Mundo Casi Perfecto" (An Almost Perfect World) directed and written by Esteban and José Miguel Ibarretxe, starring Javier Merino, Antonio Dechent, Álex Angulo, Velilla Valbuena, Emilia Uutinen, Mairim Pérez, Jon Ariño and Javivi. "Un Mundo casi Perfecto" tells the story of a scriptwriter who's life isn't going that well. In addition to his poor economical situation and a recent separation from his fiancée, he turns into a witness of a bank robbery. The film is produced by Armonika Entertainment and Silverspace Animation Studios.
The third premiere this week is "La Noche que no Acaba" (All Night Long) by Isaki Lacuesta which is a documentary about Ava Gardner's experiences in Spain. The famous Hollywood star shot for the first time in Spain in the 1950's while she was making "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman", and she fell in love with the country. "All Night Long" begins symbolically in those first shots she made in Spain and ends with the last work she did in Spain in the 1980's: "Harem". Ava Gardner used to say she hated to see her own films for she didn't recognize herself in them. She chose Spain as a "hiding place" because, by her own words, Spain had the same faults as she did.
The spanish director and scriptwriter Mateo Gil's new movie "Blackthorn" will be opened in Spain today 1st of July. The film already had it's american premiere in the Festival of Tribeca earlier this year and the spanish preview premiere was held on 28th of June.
Sam Shepard as James Blackthorn, alias Butch Cassidy
Gil, who has already directed various films in Spain (“Nobody Knows Anybody", “Spectre”, “Housebreaking”, ”Say me”) and worked as co-writer with the award nominated film maker Alejandro Amenábar, has made a surprise out of this new project that is actually a european western. The movie recreates the story of the legendary Butch Cassidy (Sam Shepard) who, as the story tells, was supposedly killed by the Bolivian army in 1908, but the truth (in Gil's movie) is that the famous outlaw actually managed to survive and had been hiding in Bolivia for 20 years. Now, as an old man he has adopted the name of James Blakthorn and he wants to return to the US, but a young spanish engineer (Eduardo Noriega) who has robbed a huge bolivian mine pops up in his life.
Starred by Sam Shepard and Eduardo Noriega, the rest of the cast consists of Stephen Rea, Magaly Solier, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Padraic Delaney, Dominique McElligott and Cristian Mercado.
Stephen Rea, Mateo Gil and Eduardo Noriega at the spanish Premiere
The production companies involved in the project are Arcadia Motion Pictures, Aiete-Ariane Films, Quickfire Films, Pegaso Producciones, Noodles Production, Buena Suerte, Eter Pictures and Nix Films, where as the distribution and theatrical release will be in charge of Magnolia Pictures in the U.S. and of Vertice Cine in Spain.
In fact the festival seeks an interactive approach between the filmmakers and the audience.
