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SAN SEBASTIÁN 2021 Competition

San Sebastián adds a batch of new films to its competition

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- The new titles by Thierry de Peretti, Michael Showalter and Zhang Yimou round off the selection of movies that are set to duke it out for the Golden Shell

San Sebastián adds a batch of new films to its competition
Undercover by Thierry de Peretti

As is customary, the San Sebastián Film Festival continues to drip-feed us information as it firms up the films that will form part of its programme, and it has just announced three eagerly awaited new titles that serve to top off the competition for the Golden Shell at its 69th edition (17-25 September).

One of them is the latest title by seasoned Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, One Second, which will have the honour of opening the Basque gathering. The movie, described as his own particular tribute to cinema, revolving around a prisoner who escapes from a labour camp in the midst of the Cultural Revolution and who is in search of images of his daughter, whom he hasn’t seen for years, had previously been announced to compete at the 2019 Berlinale, but it was withdrawn from the programme at the last minute for unspecified reasons, although it appeared to be related to the Chinese government’s censorship procedures.

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The other two films that have been announced are France’s Undercover [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thierry de Peretti
film profile
]
, the new outing by Thierry de Peretti (best known for his previous efforts Les Apaches [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and A Violent Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), about a journalistic investigation into a witness of police corruption in the world of drug trafficking, toplined by Roschdy Zem, Pio Marmaï and Vincent Lindon; and the USA’s The Eyes of Tammy Faye, the new opus by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick), starring Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain.

Previously, the festival also unveiled the selection of the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera parallel sidebar, which brings together the choicest arthouse cinema from this year, with daring titles that have already passed through various other festivals, as well as the films chosen to form part of the RTVE Galas (Mediterráneo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a movie that details the founding of the NGO Open Arms, helmed by Marcel Barrena and starring Eduard Fernández, Dani Rovira and Anna Castillo; and Once Upon a Time in Euskadi, the feature debut by director Manu Gómez).

Lastly, the Horizontes Latinos selection will bring together ten films directed by filmmakers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela, including five movies that passed through the festival’s Latin American work-in-progress strand, three feature debuts and the return of distinguished names such as Paz Fábrega, Alonso Ruizpalacios and Lorenzo Vigas to this section (read more here). It is also worth noting that the Perlak section will screen 15 films that were previously on the line-ups of festivals of the likes of Cannes, Venice and Berlin. Highly acclaimed auteurs such as Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car), Todd Haynes (The Velvet Underground), François Ozon (Everything Went Fine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) and Paul Verhoeven (Benedetta [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) will be joined by various helmers who are all the rage at the moment, such as the most recent winner of the Palme d’Or, Julia Ducournau (Titane [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julia Ducournau, Vincent Li…
film profile
]
), Céline Sciamma (Petite Maman [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), Sean Baker (Red Rocket) and Joachim Lafosse (The Restless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile
]
). In addition, author Emmanuel Carrère will present the second fiction film he has directed (Between Two Worlds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Carrère
film profile
]
), while the debuts by Shipei Wen (Are You Lonesome Tonight?) and Charlotte Gainsbourg (Jane by Charlotte [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), among others, will also get an airing (read more here).

Here are the full main selections:

Competition

One SecondZhang Yimou (China) (opening film)
Camila Comes Out TonightInés Barrionuevo (Argentina)
Maixabel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Icíar Bollaín
film profile
]
Icíar Bollaín (Spain)
Arthur Rambo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Cantet
film profile
]
Laurent Cantet (France)
Benediction [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Terence Davies (UK)
Blue Moon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alina Grigore
film profile
]
Alina Grigore (Romania)
Earwig [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
film profile
]
Lucile Hadzihalilovic (France/UK/Belgium)
The Good Boss [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Fernando León de Aranoa (Spain)
As in Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tea Lindeburg
film profile
]
Tea Lindeburg (Denmark)
Fever Dream [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claudia Llosa
film profile
]
Claudia Llosa (USA/Chile/Spain)
Undercover [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thierry de Peretti
film profile
]
Thierry de Peretti (France)
La abuela [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile
]
Paco Plaza (Spain/France)
The Eyes of Tammy Faye - Michael Showalter (USA)
I Want to Talk About Duras [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claire Simon
film profile
]
 – Claire Simon (France)
Quién lo impide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonás Trueba
film profile
]
Jonás Trueba (Spain)
Fire on the PlainZhang Ji (China)

RTVE Galas

Mediterráneo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Marcel Barrena (Spain)
Once Upon a Time in Euskadi [+see also:
interview: Manu Gómez
film profile
]
- Manu Gómez (Spain)

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile
]
Radu Jude (Romania/Croatia/Czech Republic/Luxembourg)
107 Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile
]
Peter Kerekes (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Ukraine)
El gran movimiento [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
Kiro Russo (Bolivia/France/Qatar/Switzerland)
They Carry Death [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samuel M Delgado and Helena…
film profile
]
- Helena Girón and Samuel M Delgado (Spain/Colombia)
Haruhara-San’s RecorderKyoshi Sugita (Japan)
HeltzearMikel Gurrea (Spain) (short film)
The Crossing [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Florence Miailhe (France/Germany/Czech Republic)
Le CormoranLubna Playoust (France/Italy) (short film)
Les filles du feuLaura Rius Aran (France) (medium-length film)
Mi iubita, mon amour [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Noémie Merlant (France)
My Uncle TudorOlga Lucovnicova (Belgium/Portugal/Hungary) (short film)
Petrov’s Flu [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia/Switzerland/France/Germany)
Unclenching the Fists [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Kira Kovalenko (Russia)
Returning to Reims (Fragments) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Jean-Gabriel Périot (France)
The Souvenir: Part II [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Joanna Hogg (UK)
Playground [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Wandel
film profile
]
Laura Wandel (Belgium)
Vortex [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Gaspar Noé (France)
Day Is Done (Xia wu guo qu le yi ban)Zhang Dalei (China) (short film)

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(Translated from Spanish)

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