Jaione Camborda Wins Golden Shell for Best Film at San Sebastian Film Festival 

It’s a Golden period for Jaione Camborda.

The San Sebastian Film Festival awarded the 40-year-old Spanish filmmaker’s O Corno (The Rye Horn) with the Golden Shell for Best Film.

Jaione CambordaSet on an island off the coast of Galicia in 1971, the film tells the story of a woman who earns a living harvesting shellfish. She’s also known on the island for helping other women in childbirth but has to flee and try to cross the border into Portugal after an unexpected event.

Camborda, who was born in San Sebastian, is the fourth woman to win the Golden Shell after The Kings Of The World by Colombian director Laura Mora last year, Blue Moon by Alina Grigore from Romania in 2021, and Beginning by Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili in 2020.

Additionally, the Best Screenplay Award went to María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat for Puan (Argentina-Italy-Germany-France-Brazil).

The Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance fell ex aequo upon Marcelo Subiotto and Tatsuya Fuji for their respective roles in Puan, by Alché and Naishtat, and Great Absence (Japan), by Kei Chika-ura, while the Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance went to Hovik Keuchkerian for his character in Un amor (Spain) by Isabel Coixet.

Here’s the full list of winners:

San Sebastian 2023 Award Winners List

Golden Shell For Best Film
O Corno (The Rye Horn)
Jaione Camborda (Spain)
Spain – Portugal – Belgium

Special Jury Prize
Kalak
Isabella Eklöf (Sweden)
Denmark – Sweden – Norway – Finland – Greenland – Netherlands

Silver Shell For Best Director
Tzu-Hui Peng, Ping-Wen Wang (Taiwan)
Chun Xing (A Journey In Spring)
Taiwan

Silver Shell For Best Leading Performance
Marcelo Subiotto (Argentina)
Puan
Argentina – Italy – Germany – France – Brazil

Tatsuya Fujo (Japan)
Great Absence
Japan

Silver Shell For Best Supporting Performance
Hovik Keuchkerian (Lebanon)
Un Amor
Spain

Jury Prize For Best Screenplay
María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat (Argentina)
Puan
Argentina – Italy – Germany – France – Brazil

Jury Prize For Best Cinematography
Nadim Carlsen (Denmark)
Kalak
Denmark – Sweden – Norway – Finland – Greenland – Netherlands

New Directors Award
Bahadur The Brave
Diwah Shah (India)
India

Horizontes Award
El Castillo (The Castle)
Martín Benchimol (Argentina)
Argentina – France – Spain

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award
El Auge del Humano 3 (The Human Surge 3)
Eduardo Williams (Argentina)
Argentina – Portugal – Netherlands – Taiwan – Brazil – Hong Kong – Sri Lanka – Perú

Special Mention: El Juicio (The Trial)
Ulises de la Orden (Argentina)
Argentina – Norway – France – Italy

Nest The Mediapro Nest Awards
Amma Ki Katha
Nehal Vyas (India)

Special Mention: Entre Les Autres
Marie Falys (Belgium)

Culinary Zinema Best Film Award
La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Pot Au Feu)
Tran Anh Hung (Vietnam)

Eusko Label Prize
First Prize: Latxa
Mike Urretabizkaia (Spain)

Second Prize: Soroborda
Paolo Tizón (Perú)

Irizar Basque Film Award
El Sueño De La Sultana / Sultana’s Dream
Isabel Herguera (Spain)

City Of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award
La Sociedad De La Nieve / Society Of The Snow
J.A. Bayona (Spain)

City Of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award For Best European Film
Io Capitano / I’m Captain
Matteo Garrone (Italy)

TCM Youth Award
La Estrella Azul / The Blue Star
Javier Macipe (Spain)

WIP Latam Industry Award
Los Domingos Mueren Más Personas / Most People Die On Sundays
Iair Said (Argentina)

Egeda Platino Industria Award For The Best WIP Latam
Los Domingos Mueren Más Personas / Most People Die On Sundays
Iair Said (Argentina)

WIP Latam Industry Award
Mannequins (Wt)
Michael Fetter Nathansky (Germany)

WIP Europa Awards
Mannequins (Wt)
Michael Fetter Nathansky (Germany)

XII Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum Best Project Award
Todo Esto Eran Mangas / These Were All Fields
Daniela Abad Lombana (Italy)

Dale! Award (Development Latin America-Europe)
Little War
Barbara Sarasola-Day (Argentina)

Artekino International Prize
Los Días Libres / The Days Off
Lucila Mariani (Argentina)

Elamedia Euskadi Post-Production Award
After The Night, The Night
Naomi Pacifique (Switzerland – Netherlands)

Zinemaldia Startup Challenge Award
Best European Project
Hyperate.Io
Germany 

Best Spanish Project
Witscript
Spain

Ibaia-Bilibin Circular Award
Yo Terrateniente
Rodrigo Demirjian
Produced By: Tourmalet Films, Ah! Cine
(Spain – Argentina)

Dogwoof Award
December
Grzegorz Paprzycki
Produced By: Telemark, Just A Moment
(Poland Lithuania)

Ibaia-Elkargi Award
Pulso
Victoria Alvares, Quentin Delaroche
Produced By: Revoada Produçoes
(Brazil)

RTVE – Another Look Award
The Royal Hotel
Kitty Green (Australia)

Special Mention: All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt
Raven Jackson (Usa)

Cooperación Española Award
La Estrella Azul / The Blue Star
Javier Macipe (Spain)

Euskadi Basque Country 2030 Agenda Award
Bâtiment 5 / Les Indésirables
Ladj Ly (France)

Dunia Ayaso Award
Creatura
Elena Martín Gimeno (Spain)

Special Mention: Mientras Seas Tú / Mentre Siguis Tu / While You’re Still You
Claudia Pinto Emperador (Venezuela)

Donostia Awards
Hayao Miyazaki
Javier Bardem
Víctor Erice

Zinemira Award
Paco Sagarzazu

Fipresci Award
Fingernails
Christos Nikou (Greece)

Feroz Zinemaldia 2023 Award
Un Amor
Isabel Coixet (Spain)

Euskal Gidoigileen Elkartea Award
Isabel Herguera (Spain), Gianmarco Serra (Italy)
“El Sueño De La Sultana / Sultana’s Dream” (Spain – Germany)

Sebastiane 2023 Award
20.000 Especies De Abejas / 20,000 Species Of Bees
Estibaliz Urresola (Spain)

Special Mention: Gabi, 8 Urtetik 13 Urtera / Gabi: Between Ages 8 And 13
Engeli Broberg (Sweden)

Lurra – Greenpeace Award
Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai / Evil Does Not Exist
Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan) 

Signis Award
All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt
Raven Jackson (Usa)

Ateneo Guipuzcoano Award
Great Absence
Kei Chika-Ura (Japan)

Benjamín Naishtat Signs with United Talent Agency (UTA)

Benjamín Naishtat is going global…

The 32-year-old Argentinian writer and director has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) in all areas.

Benjamín Naishtat

Born in Buenos Aires, Naishtat is best known for creating experimental and fictional shorts centered on historical and societal complexities. He has made a name for himself on the global film circuit: His first feature, History of Fear played at the Berlin Film Festival, and it won the Best Film Award at the Jeonju International Film Festival.

Additionally, he wrote and directed The Movement, which participated in the Cineasti del Presente section of the Locarno Film Festival.

His most recent film Rojo made its world premiere earlier this year at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Platform section; it t was also an official selection at the San Sebastián Film Festival where it won the Silver Shell for Best Director.

Camara Wins Best Actor Award at San Sebastian Film Festival

Javier Camara is having a Shell of an awards season…

The 48-year-old Spanish actor picked up the Silver Shell for Best Actor at the San Sebastian Film Festival, alongside co-winner Ricardo Darin.

Javier Camara

Camara and Darin won the double Silver Shell for their starring roles in Cesc Gay’s Truman, which was the most-applauded prize of the evening.

The film centers on Tomás (Camara), who returns to his hometown Madrid in order to convince his childhood friend Julian (Darin), whom he hasn’t spoken to in years, to continue his chemotherapy treatment.

Darin, a favorite at San Sebastian, quoted a tweet about the film that said, in Spanish: “at 23 I went to see a film about death and I think I learned everything about life.”

Meanwhile, Yordanka Ariosa took home the Silver Shell for Best Actress for her performance in The King of Havana, Agusti Villaronga‘s adaptation of the Pedro Juan Gutierrez novel.

It was a surprise win for the previously unknown Ariosa, who beat out Freeheld´s Oscar-tipped powerhouse Julianne Moore and Ellen Page.

In addition to the official awards, San Sebastian offered coveted cash prizes for competitions from many of the sidebars.

Argentinean filmmaker Santiago Mitre’s Paulina won the €35,000 cash prize that goes with the Horizontes Award for Latin American films.

Spanish filmmaker Asier Altuna’s Amama won the Irizar Basque Film Award with €20,000, given to a film with 20 percent financing from the local region. 

Brazilian director Eliane Caffe’s The Cambridge Squatter won the Films in Progress top prize, which awards post-production financing to a nearly finished film, in addition to a spot at the festival next year.