26/09/2016 - SAN SEBASTIÁN 2016: The prize for the best film was awarded to Xiaogang Feng’s I Am Not Madame Bovary. The film’s lead, Fan Bingbing, was presented with the Silver Shell for Best Actress

Chinese director Xiaogang Feng with his Golden Shell (© Lorenzo Pascasio)

After a very strong 64th edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival, which drew to a close on Saturday, the final roll call was something of a lukewarm affair. I Am Not Madame Bovary, directed by Xiaogang Feng, was victorious in the battle for the Golden Shell for the best film in the official selection. The winning film, which took critical aim at Chinese bureaucracy, was screened in two different formats — in a round frame as well as the more conventional rectangle. Chinese star Fan Bingbing, took the Silver Shell for Best Actress for her performance in the leading role. Two juicy prizes, then, for the mighty China.

Host country Spain scooped two major accolades: best screenplay, for Isabel Peña and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, the duo behind the frenetic plot of May God Save Us [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile] (which Sorogoyen also directed); and best actor for Eduard Fernández, who gave a transformative performance as Smoke & Mirrors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alberto Rodríguez
film profile], a thriller by the award-winning Alberto Rodríguez.

The Special Jury Prize, adjudicated by a panel led by Danish director Bille August, was shared between The Winter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a Franco-Argentine co-production directed by Emiliano Torres (which also gained recognition for Ramiro Civita’s cinematography) and Johannes Nyholm’s The Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Johannes Nyholm
film profile], a collaboration between Sweden and Denmark. Legendary South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo won the Silver Shell for Best Director, for the romantic tragicomedy Yourself and Yours.

In Between [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maysaloun Hamoud
film profile] (Israel/France) by Maysaloun Harnoud, proved to be a jury favourite, pocketing three prizes: the Youth Award, the TVE Another Look Award and the Sebastiane Award (presented by the Basque LGBTI association Gehitu). The public opted for Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while the winner in the revamped Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Section was the music documentary Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (France/Germany), directed by Thorsten Schütte. Park [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile], by Sofia Exarchou and a co-production between Greece and Poland, was triumphant in the New Director’s Section, while Pepa San Martí’s Rara came out the winner in Latin Horizons.

The complete winners’ list of the 64th San Sebastián International Film Festival:

Golden Shell
I Am Not Madame Bovary - Xiaogang Feng (China)

Special Jury Prize (split)
The Winter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Emiliano Torres (Argentina/France)
The Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Johannes Nyholm
film profile] - Johannes Nyholm (Sweden/Denmark)

Silver Shell for Best Director
Hong Sang-soo - Yourself and Yours (South Korea)

Silver Shell for Best Actress
Fan Bingbing - I Am Not Madame Bovary (China)

Silver Shell for Best Actor
Eduard Fernández - Smoke & Mirrors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alberto Rodríguez
film profile] (Spain)

Jury Prize for Best Screenplay
Isabel Peña and Rodrigo Sorogoyen - May God Save Us [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile] (Spain)

Jury Prize for Best Cinematography
Ramiro Civita - The Winter (Argentina/France)

Other Prizes

Kutzabank-New Directors Award
Park [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile] - Sofia Exarchou (Greece/Poland)
Special Mention
A Taste of Ink [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Morgan Simon
film profile] - Morgan Simon (France)

Latin Horizons Award
Rara - Pepa San Martín (Chile/Argentina)
Special Mention
Alba [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Ana Cristina Barragán (Ecuador/Mexico/Greece)

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Thorsten Schütte (Germany/France)
Special Mention
The Disco Shines – Chema García Ibarra (Spain)

Audience Award
I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Ken Loach (United Kingdom/France/Belgium)

Award for Best European Film
My Life as a Courgette [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claude Barras
film profile] – Claude Barras (Switzerland/France)

Irizar Award for Basque Cinema
Pedalo - Juan Palacios (Spain)

Eroski Youth Award
In Between [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maysaloun Hamoud
film profile] - Maysaloun Harnoud (Israel/France)

FIPRESCI Award
Lady Macbeth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: William Oldroyd
film profile] - William Oldroyd (United Kingdom)

(Translated from Spanish)