The Official Awards of the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival were announced, and the film “Tender Loving Care” directed by Mike Leigh (UK) won the Golden Shell Award.
According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international film journalist, the closing ceremony of the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival, headed by José Luis Rebordinos and the actresses Fariba Sheikan and Mariona Terés presented in the Kursaal Hall in San Sebastian, Spain, and on behalf of the jury members of this prestigious film event; the winners of different Competition sections are announced and the “Golden Shell” and “Silver Shell” awards were presented to them.
The Winners of the Main Competition
The jury members of the Main Competition (Official Selection) of the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival were; the American filmmaker Ira Sachs, director, writer and producer – President of the jury, the Japanese director and screenwriter Genki Kawamura, the French screenwriter Catherine Paillé, Brazilian actress and producer Alice Braga, the Basque actor Patricia López Arnaiz, the Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård and the British producer Mike Goodridge; announced their opinions as follows:
The Golden Shell Award
The Golden Shell Award, to: “Tender Loving Care” directed by Mike Leigh (United Kingdom), Country of production: United Kingdom
Cannes Festival’s Palme d’Or winner and Academy Award nominee Mike Leigh continues with the feature film “Tender Loving Care”, his insightful exploration of the contemporary world.
The Special Jury Award
The special prize of the jury, to: “Border” (Bian jing) directed by Ah Biao (China), Countries of production: Hong Kong – USA – South Korea
The Silver Shell Award for Best Director
The Silver Shell award for best director, to: Amanda Kernell (Sweden) for directing the “Brace Your Heart”, Countries of production: Sweden – Norway – Denmark – Iceland – Bulgaria
The Silver Shell Award for the Best Leading Performance
The Silver Shell award for the best Leading Performance, ex aequo to: Kate O’Flynn (UK) for “Tender Loving Care” directed by Mike Leigh, Country of production: United Kingdom
The Silver Shell award for the best Leading Performance, ex aequo to: Asta Kamma August (Sweden) for “Growth of the Soil” directed by Hans Petter Moland, Countries of production: Norway – Denmark – Germany
The Silver Shell Award for Best Supporting Performance
The Silver Shell award for the best supporting Performance, to: Javier Cámara (Spain) for “5 More Minutes” directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera, Country of production: Spain
Award for Best Cinematography
The Jury Award for Best Cinematography, to: Oskar Dahlsbakken (Norway) for the cinematography of “Growth of the Soil”, Countries of production: Norway – Denmark – Germany
The Jury Award for Best Screenplay
The Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, to for the script “Tender Loving Care” by Mike Leigh (United Kingdom), Country of production: United Kingdom
The Winners of the New Directors Award
The members of the jury of the New Directors Award, which were; Juan Pablo Miller, Producer – President of the jury (Argentina), Marina Charriton, Writer, director, and producer (France), Jonathan Romney, Journalist and film critic (United Kingdom), Dana Blankstein Cohen, Filmmaker, producer and film executive, and Tamar Novas, Actor (Spain); announced their opinions as follows:
Best Director Award
The best director award, to: Naëmi Ada for directing the “Body of Glass” (Germany), Countries of production: Germany – France
Special Mention
The jury special mention, to: Yoon Dan-bi (South Korea) for directing the “The World Before”, Countries of production: South Korea – Japan – France
The Winners of the Horizontes Make & Mark Award
The jury members of the Horizontes Make & Mark Award at the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival were; Casimiro Torreiro Gómez, Journalist, professor and film critic (Argentina), Agustina Llambi Campbell, Producer – President of the jury (Argentina), and Jérôme Vidal, Producer, (France); announced their opinions as follows:
The Horizontes Make & Mark Award
The Horizontes Make & Mark award, to: “The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer” directed by Alessandra Sanguinetti (USA), Countries of production: Argentina – USA
Special Mention
Special Mention, to: “Flies” by Ana Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico), Countries of production: Mexico – Spain
The Winners of the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award
The jury members of the avant-garde and experimental Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award, which were;
Mariette Rissenbeek, Producer – President of the jury (Netherlands), Ion de Sosa, Director, director of photography and producer (Spain), and Catarina Vasconcelos, Director and screenwriter (Portugal); announced their opinions as follows:
The Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award
The avant-garde and experimental Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award, to: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” by Jane Schoenbrun (USA), Countries of production: USA – Canada
Special Mention
Special Mention, to: “Sometimes Sadness, Sometimes Rebellion” directed by María Aparicio (Argentina), Countries of production: Argentina – Spain
The Tabakalera Film and Audiovisual Laboratory-Nest Award
The Tabakalera Film and Audiovisual Laboratory-Nest Award, to: “Erased from the Map” directed by Maarij Reka (Indonesia), Country of production: Indonesia
Special Mention
Special Mention, to: “Nobody Barks” directed by Júlia Coldwell Serra (Spain), Country of production: Spain
FIPRESCI Award
The International Federation of Film Critics “FIPRESCI” Grand Prix for best film of the year, to: “One Battle After Another” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (USA), Country of production: USA
San Sebastian Audience Award
The City of Donostia Award / San Sebastián Award decided by the audience of the Perlak section, went to: “La bola negra” directed by Javier Calvo (Spain), Javier Ambrossi (Spain), Countries of production: Spain – France
The San Sebastian Audience Award for Best European Film
The Audience Award for Best European Film was carried off by the animated film “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” co-directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, Country of production: United Kingdom
DAMA Youth Award
The DAMA Youth Award, to: “The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer” directed by Alessandra Sanguinetti (USA), Countries of production: Argentina – USA
The presence of world-famous cinematographers in San Sebastian
During the 74th San Sebastian international film festival, world-renowned cinematographers including; Orlando Bloom, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Ricardo Darín, Lali Espósito, Dolores Fonzi, Jeremy Irons, Vincent Lindon, Rami Malek, Noémie Merlant, Mercedes Morán, Lena Olin, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Brad Pitt, Marcelo Subiotto, Werner Herzog, Naomi Watts, Fatih Akin, Lukas Dhont, Jesse Eisenberg, Nicole Garcia, Pablo Larraín, Diego Luna, Martin McDonagh, Tsai Ming-Liang, Cristian Mungiu, Pawel Pawlikowski and Andrey Zvyagintsev presented their films to the public and the media.
Werner Herzog received the Donostia Award for lifetime achievement
Werner Herzog received the Donostia Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. The presentation of the festival’s highest honor to the German filmmaker coincided with the screened his film “Bucking Fastard” at the festival following its premiere in the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in Italy.
The German director, screenwriter and producer Werner Herzog received the first Donostia Award of the San Sebastián Festival’s 74th edition, at an opening gala in the Kursaal Auditorium, marking the official commencement of nine days of films, meetings and reflection.
The German director received the festival’s highest honour from actor Orlando Bloom, who features on the cast of his latest film, screened earlier at the Victoria Eugenia Theatre. The festival wishes to highlight a career marked by an “exploration of the limits of the cinema and by an always extraordinary, free-thinking and bold approach”.
Herzog confessed his “connection” with the Basque people
Herzog confessed his “connection” with the Basque people ever since directing “Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes” / “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972) and recalled the filming of “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (2010), during which he felt a deep connection with the people who created the cave paintings thousands of years ago.
Basque language, “the most amazing language, which precedes all languages in Europe”
He also praised Basque culture and the Basque language, describing it as “the most amazing language, which precedes all languages in Europe”, and expressed his admiration for bertsolaris (oral improvisers), as representatives of a community of poets, “not knowing exactly what they are talking about but I feel a community; I feel as if I belong there. I receive this here from the poets”, he concluded.
Werner Herzog one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinema
Over a career spanning six decades, Werner Herzog has become one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinema, building an extraordinary body of work ―around 80 films― shaped by obsession, extreme situations and the contradictions of human nature. His films, both fiction and non-fiction, are populated by dreamers and conquerors confronted with extreme landscapes and forces beyond their control. Guided by his concept of “Ecstatic Truth”, Herzog advocates a cinema that transcends the mere observation of facts to reveal a deeper, more poetic dimension of reality.
Herzog as an “extraordinary filmmaker” with an “unmistakable voice”
For his part, Bloom has highlighted Herzog as an “extraordinary filmmaker” with an “unmistakable voice”.
“Whether exploring the extremes of nature, the strange recesses of human behaviour or the boundaries between fact and fiction, Werner has always approached cinema as an adventure,” he stated.
Naomi Watts received the Donostia Award for lifetime achievement
Naomi Watts: “The joy of being an actress is spending your life trying to inhabit other people and somehow, along the way, to discover more of yourself”
The Kursaal Auditorium, the actress and producer Naomi Watts received the second Donostia Award of the San Sebastián Festival’s 74th edition San Sebastian International Film Festival at a ceremony presented by the actor Jon Plazaola. The filmmaker JA Bayona presented the festival’s highest honour to an actor who dedicated the accolade to the late David Lynch, while assuring that “the pleasure of being an actress is spending your life trying to inhabit other people and somehow, along the way, to discover more of yourself”.
Naomi Watts: Thirty years ago I had hopes and dreams
She went on to say that “women of my age need to see ourselves reflected on screens, and I’m grateful to be part of shifting that narrative. Thirty years ago I had hopes and dreams, I just never imagined they would take me this far.”
David Lynch gave me the role you couldn’t even dream of, he changed my life
At the start of her speech, Watts assured that “receiving a lifetime achievement award is a slightly strange thing when you still feel like you’re in the middle of it, or just getting started even”. As well as thanking JA Bayona and recalling the adventure of shooting under his orders in The Impossible (2012), the actress remembered the difficulties of her early days until David Lynch directed her in Mulholland Drive (2001). “All the wounds from rejection now appeared as growth. He gave me the role you couldn’t even dream of. David changed my life”, she said.
Naomi Watts: This award is very much about David Lynch. David, I miss you
“He gave me a different understanding of what it meant to act: to trust instinct, to embrace uncertainty, to not be afraid of the strange or the unexplained. But more than anything, he believed in something in me before I fully believed in myself. That is a gift you never forget. So this award is very much about him. David, I miss you”, she said, referring to the filmmaker who died in January 2025.
Cinema, is one of the greatest and most unpredictable art forms
She also thanked Ben Shirinian, who makes his directorial debut with The Housewife (Donostia Award Screening), and other filmmakers who trusted in her, such as Michael Haneke, David Cronenberg, Peter Jackson and Alejandro Gómez Iñárritu, as well as “the crews who make the magic happen” in the cinema, which is one of the greatest and most unpredictable art forms there is.
I enormously grateful for the Donostia Award
Naomi Watts assured that thirty years ago she had “hopes and dreams”, but that she never imagined they would take her “this far”. She therefore said that she feels “deeply moved and enormously grateful” for the Donostia Award and for having the “privilege” of doing what she loves.
Cinema is the most beautiful art form
“Cinema is the most beautiful art form. We need storytelling now more than ever. And I’m just grateful that a woman of my age ― despite what I was told at 31, when I was launching Mulholland Drive, that it’d all be over by 40 ― can be part of shifting that narrative. We need to see ourselves reflected on screens. And perhaps the greatest thing I can say is that after all these years, I still want to know what happens next”, she said.
You spend your life trying to inhabit other people
“You can prepare for everything, and then something unexpected happens, and suddenly you’re alive. You spend your life trying to inhabit other people, and somehow, along the way, you discover more of yourself. That, to me, is the joy of being an actor”, she confessed.
Screened a selection of the year’s best feature films
The 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival screened 263 films from 47 countries in various sections, including; the Main Competition, Donostia Award Screening, the New Directors, the Horizontes Make & Mark, the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera, the Perlak (A selection of the year’s best feature films, as yet unreleased in Spain, which have received critical acclaim and/or awards at other international festivals), Nest competition (short films by film students), the Culinary Zinema competition, Loterías Short films competition, the Eusko Label micro-shorts competition, the Zinemira (films produced in the Basque Government of Spain), the Made in Spain, the Velodrome, the Movies for kids, Klasikoak, Retrospective, the On the Other Island, the FIPRESCI Award (International Federation of Film Critics), Surprise film section, the EITB Gala, the RTVE Galas, discussion with directors and actors, specialized film meetings, etc was held in September 18 to 26, 2026, in San Sebastian, Spain.
Credit images from the website of the Sebastian Film Festival
For more details: https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/in/
