The 68th San Sebastián International Film Festival took place from 18 to 26 September 2020 in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The festival opened with

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's '' Rifkin's Festival''.

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...

was awarded the Donostia Award for lifetime achievements. The competitive awards were presented on 26 September 2020. ''

Beginning Beginning may refer to: *''Beginning'', an album by Pakho Chau * ''Beginning'' (play), a 2017 play by David Eldridge * ''Beginning'' (2020 film), a Georgian-French drama film * ''Beginning'' (2023 film), an Indian Tamil-language drama film *"Begin ...

'' by Dea Kulumbegashvili swept the official selection prizes, winning the

Golden Shell The Golden Shell (; ) is the highest prize given to a competing film at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was introduced in 1957. In 1953 and 1954, the highest prize had been called the Gran Premio. In 1955 and 1956 it was replace ...

, as well as Best Actress, Screenplay, and Director. ''

Another Round ''Another Round'' () is a 2020 black comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg, co-written with Tobias Lindholm. Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe, the film follows four high school teachers who ...

'' ensemble lead cast won the Silver Shell for Best Actor.

Background

In June 2020, American actor

was announced as recipient of a Donostia Award. Other than the announcement of the opener ('' Rifkin's Festival'', out of competition), the first films confirmed to be in for screening were official selection competitive titles ''

'', ''

True Mothers is a 2020 Japanese drama film directed by Naomi Kawase. It was selected to be shown at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival. It is based on a 2015 novel by Mizuki Tsujimura. In June 2020, the Toronto International Film Festival announced that the film ...

'', '' Summer of 85'', '' In the Dusk'', ''

'', and '' Any Crybabies Around?''. The festival picked up 17 works (13 feature films and 4 short films) that have been pre-selected for the

2020 Cannes Film Festival The 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival was scheduled to take place from 12 to 23 May 2020. On 13 January 2020, Spike Lee was named as the president of the Jury. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, festival management announced on 14 ...

, cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in France The COVID-19 pandemic in France has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have reached France on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case in both Europe and France was identified in Bordeaux. T ...

. Cannes Festival director Thierry Fremaux participated in the Zinemaldia's opening gala on 18 September, making together with José Luis Rebordinos a plea for the return of people to the theatres.

Juries

;Official Selection *

Luca Guadagnino Luca Guadagnino (; born 10 August 1971) is an Italian film director and producer. His films are characterized by their emotional complexity, eroticism, and lavish visuals. Guadagnino has received numerous accolades, including a Silver Lion, alon ...

(President) *

Joe Alwyn Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born 21 February 1991) is an English actor. Alwyn made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama '' Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'' and has since played roles in films such as '' The F ...

* Marisa Fernández Armenteros *

Michel Franco Michel Franco (born 28 August 1979) is a Mexican filmmaker. He gained recognition for his film ''After Lucia'' that won the Un Certain Regard, Prize Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. He has since directed several independent fi ...

* Lena Mossum

Sections

Official Selection

;In competition The lineup of films selected for the Official Selection is as follows: :Highlighted title indicates award winner. ;Out of competition The following works were selected to screen out of competition:

Latin Horizons

The following films were selected for the Latin Horizons section: :Highlighted title indicates award winner.

New Directors

The following films were selected for the New Directors section: :Highlighted title indicates award winner.

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera

The following films were selected for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section: :Highlighted title indicates award winner.

Surprise film

The following film was programmed as a surprise:

Official Selection Awards

: ''

'' by Dea Kulumbegashvili * Special Jury Prize: '' Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan'' by

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

Silver Shell for Best Director The Silver Shell for Best Director (; ) is one of the main awards presented at the San Sebastián Film Festival to the director of a competing film. Winners See also * Golden Shell for Best Film * Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance ...

: Dea Kulumbegashvili (''Beginning'') *

Silver Shell for Best Actress The Silver Shell for Best Actress (Spanish: ''Concha de Plata a la mejor actriz''; Basque: ''Aktore onenaren Zilarrezko Maskorra'') was one of the main awards presented at the San Sebastián International Film Festival to the Best Actress of a co ...

: Ia Sukhitashvili (''Beginning'') * Silver Shell for Best Actor:

Mads Mikkelsen Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher (film series), ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), Detective Sergea ...

Thomas Bo Larsen Thomas Bo Larsen (born 27 November 1963) is a Danish film actor, born in Gladsaxe, Denmark. Career He was nominated for a Bodil Award in 1995 for Best Supporting Actor in ', and later won two Robert Awards, the first in 1996 for Best Actor in ...

, Magnus Millang,

Lars Ranthe Lars Kristian Ranthe (born 26 August 1969) is a Danish actor. Personal life Ranthe married to actress Christina Albeck Børge in 1998 with whom he has two daughters, actress Rigmor Ranthe (born 2004) & Betty Marie Ranthe (born 2008). Sele ...

(''

'') * Best Screenplay: Dea Kulumbegashvili and Rati Oneli (''Beginning'') * Best Cinematography: Yuta Tsukinaga (''Any Crybabies Around?'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:68th San Sebastian International Film Festival September 2020 in Spain San Sebastián International Film Festival 2020 in the Basque Country (autonomous community) San Sebastian