Preview of films competing in the Official Selection at San Sebastian International Film Festival
David Cronenberg, John Sayles, Wayne Wang, Nick Broomfield and Manuel Poirier, among the competing directors
The Official Selection will also feature three out of competition screenings: The Inner Life of Martin Frost, EarthandFlawless
Sixteen films will compete at the Official Selection of the 55th San Sebastian International Film Festival, to take place from September 20th-29th.
David Cronenberg, Wayne Wang, Hans Weingartner or Manuel Poirier are some of the directors with well-known careers whose new films will compete for the first time for the Golden Shell, among other official awards presented at San Sebastian. Others like Gracia Querejeta, Iciar Bollain, Nick Broomfield , John Sayles or Simon Staho are repeating their participation in the Festival competition.
Another three films screened out of competition will complete the Official Selection: The Inner Life of Martin Frost, by Paul Auster, who will chair the jury; the documentary film Earth, byAlastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield; and the Festival closing film, Flawless, by Michael Radford.
Six of the competing films will also compete for the Altadis-New Directors Award:BudaAz Sharm Foru Rikht /Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame, Emotional Arithmetic, Encarnación,Goong - Nyeo (Shadows in the Palace), Padre nuestro andMatar a todos.
OPENING GALA (in competition)
EASTERN PROMISES
USA
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel
The tale of the mysterious Nikolai, a man with connections to one of London’s most notorious organised crime families whose life does a complete about-turn on meeting Anna, a woman who accidentally discovers proof incriminating the family employing him. Cronenberg once again works with Viggo Mortensen following their previous collaboration in A History of Violence.
BATTLE FOR HADITHA
UK
Director: Nick Broomfield
Cast:Falah Abraheem Flayeh, Yasmine Hanani, Duraid A. Ghaieb, Elliot Ruiz
November 19th 2005, Haditha, Iraq. Iraqi insurgents bomb a convoy of US Marines, resulting in the death of their most popular officer. Enraged by this loss, his young Marine buddies carry out a brutal retaliation. Their violent house-searches lead to the massacre of 24 people, many of whom are women and children - tragic casualties of a war they cannot control. The Marines too are victims, attacked, wounded, and forced to respond in the way they have been trained. But when events occur at great speed and under extreme stress, can Marines in the line of fire be accused of murder? From the director of Kurt & Courtney (1998) and Ghosts (2006).
BUDA AZ SHARM FORU RIKHT / BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME
Iran-France
Director: Hana Makhmalbaf
Cast:Nikbakht Noruz, Abdolali Hoseinali, Abbas Alijome.
Competitor for the Altadis-New Directors Award
Thousands of families still live beneath the statue of Buddha destroyed by the Taliban. Baktay, a six-year-old Afghan girl, is goaded into going to school by their neighbours’ son who reads the alphabets in front of their cave. On her way to school, she is harassed by boys playing games cruelly mimicking their violent society. The boys want to stone Baktay or destroy her like the Buddha or shoot her like the Americans do in the labyrinth of caves. Will Baktay be able to overcome these obstacles in order to learn the alphabets of her mother tongue?
CEOT OI KAP GEI (EXODUS)
Hong Kong
Director: Pang Ho-Cheung.
Cast:Simon Yam, Annie Liu, Nick Cheung, Irene Wan
Hong Kong beat cop Jim is taking a routine statement from Kwan, brought in for using a video camera in a women’s toilet. When Kwan tells Jim he was gathering evidence of a secret worldwide women’s syndicate conspiring to exterminate men, Jim can’t tell if Kwan is attempting to escape conviction or if he genuinely believes this absurd conspiracy theory. But when Kwan disappears – along with all traces of his statement in the department archives – Jim begins to realize that not only is the underground organization real, but it has infiltrated every level of society, even the police force. Unbeknownst to Jim, even his own wife Cheung was once a member of the deadly group, but has quit due to her love for Jim and her faith in him. Eager for clues and unsure of who to trust, Jim tracks down Kwan’s ex-wife Pun. But when a passionate affair brews between Jim and Pun, the organization finds out. Now what will Cheung decide to do when the organization approaches asks her to rejoin the group…?
DAISY DIAMOND
Denmark
Director: Simon Staho
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Sofie Gråbøl, Trine Dyrholm, Charlotte Munck, Stine Stengade
A love story about Anna, who only has one dream: to make it as an actress. Without telling her wealthy family, she moves to Copenhagen to pursue her secret ambition. But fate has other things in store for her. She falls pregnant and has a baby girl. Though she struggles to give her daughter a good start in life, she ultimately fails to combine her dream of acting with a safe and loving environment for her child, culminating in a desperate act with fatal consequences for mother and daughter alike. From the director of Dag och natt (2004) and Bang Bang Orangutan (2005).
EARTH
UK-Germany
Directors: Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield
Documentary film
The authors of the film Deep Blue take a fascinating trip over the earth, from north to south and throughout all four seasons, to portray the contrasts between the different parts of the planet and their natural transformations. The survival conditions of certain animal species and their natural behaviour, sometimes with very comical elements, are also part of the extraordinary documentary film made with highly sophisticated techniques at the same time as the BBC’s Planet Earth TV series. Out of competition.
EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC
Canada
Director: Paolo Barzman
Cast:Susan Sarandon, Christopher Plummer, Gabriel Byrne, Roy Dupuis, Max von Sydow
Competitor for the Altadis-New Directors Award
In 1945, Jakob Bronski, a young dissident held at Drancy, takes two children, Melanie and Christopher, into his charge. 40 years later Melanie discovers that a now elderly Jakob, whom she believed had been taken from Drancy to Auschwitz and killed, is still alive. She immediately invites him to live with her and her family on their farm in Canada. Jakob arrives with Christopher as a surprise for Melanie and both must face the truth of the bond between them. The past explodes into the present in an unexpected and tender love story altering life for themselves and for those around them.
ENCARNACIÓN (EMBODIMENT)
Argentina
Director: Anahí Berneri
Cast: Silvia Pérez, Martina Juncadella, Luciano Cáceres, Osmar Núñez, Fabián Arenillas, Carlos Portaluppi
Competitor for the Altadis-New Directors Award
"I'm an actress" is how Erni Levier likes to see herself. She knows that her best years are behind her. In her Buenos Aires apartment plastered with posters of the B movies she starred in as the sex bomb du jour, she leads a surprisingly normal life, enjoying an easygoing relationship with a middle-aged man, setting up a website to keep herself in the public eye... But when she gets an invitation to her niece Ana's 15th birthday party, Erni decides to return to her hometown. For Ana, it's a time of discovery. For Erni, it's a difficult return to her roots. Second film from the director of Un año sin amor (A Year Without Love, 2005), winner of the Fipresci Award at the Mar de Plata Festival and of the Teddy Award in the Berlinale’s Panorama section.
FREE RAINER - DEIN FERNSEHER LÜGT (RECLAIM YOUR BRAIN)
Germany- Austria
Director: Hans Weingartner
Cast: Moritz Bleibtreu, Elsa Schultz Gambard, Milan Peschel, Gregor Bloéb, Simone Hanselmann
Successful TV producer Rainer has it all. He has reached the top by creating TV shows of the most stupid and vulgar kind. One day, mysterious young woman Pegah vengefully drives full speed into Rainer’s car. After this near-death experience, Rainer has a major change of heart and decides to produce a thought-provoking news show for his station’s prime-time line-up. Devastated by the show’s poor ratings, Rainer quits his job and embarks on an investigation of the audience measurement system that keeps intelligence-insulting programs at Number One, teaming up with the beautiful Pegah and a gang of unemployed social misfits.Third feature film from the director of Edukators (2004) (Cannes Official Selection 2004).
GOONG - NYEO (SHADOWS IN THE PALACE)
Korea
Director: Kim Mee-jeung
Cast: Park Jin-hee Yoon Se-ah, Seo Yeong-hee
Competitor for the Altadis-New Directors Award
A maid-in-waiting hangs herself within the palace walls. However, while performing the autopsy, imperial medic Chun-ryung suspects murder and starts an investigation. With a taste for justice and full of wit, although Chun-ryung bravely uncovers the deceptions, she is soon confronted with a hidden past kept secret by those with far more power than she could ever expect. Opera prima from the assistant director on Once Upon a time in the Battlefield (Hwangsanbeol).
THE INNER LIFE OF MARTIN FROST
France-Spain-Portugal
Director: Paul Auster
Cast: David Thewlis, Irène Jacob, Michael Imperioli, Sophie Auster
Successful novelist Martin Frost has just published a book when he decides to take some time off in a country house. On waking the first morning, Frost is amazed to discover a mysterious stunning woman lying next to him. Fascinated by her beauty and intelligence, Martin falls deeply in love with her, thinking that he has found the muse who will help him to write his most perfect book. Who is this strange woman who is so familiar with his life and work? Is she a real muse? Is she a figment of his imagination? Is she a ghost who has slipped into the inner life of Martin Frost? Out of competition.
HONEYDRIPPER
USA
Director: John Sayles
Cast: Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yaya da Costa
In the rural Alabama of 1950, the pianist and owner of a small joint hopes to save the place from closure by hiring the biggest blues guitar player of the moment, Guitar Sam. On the day of the show, the train arrives and Guitar Sam is nowhere to be found. Tyrone has to take drastic action not to lose this big make-or-break opportunity. From the director of Lone Star (1996), Men with Guns (1997) and SilverCity (2004), who will receive a tribute at this year’s Thessalonica International Film Festival.
LA MAISON
France
Director: Manuel Poirier
Cast: Sergi López, Bruno Salomone, Bérénice Béjo, Barbara Schulz
Malo, father of three young children, is about to divorce his wife. While travelling with friends, he comes across a lovely country house for sale and decides to look around. Inside, he discovers a letter written years ago by a little girl to her father. Touched and puzzled, Malo decides to find the owners of the house: two sisters in their 30s, unable to keep the home of their youth in the family. Malo falls in love with Chloe, the sister who feels the greatest attachment to the place. He soon learns that the house is to be sold at an auction and decides to buy it to make the little girl's dream come true...From the director of Western (1997), Te quiero (2001) and La curva de la felicidad (2002).
MATAHARIS
Spain
Director: Iciar Bollain
Cast: Najwa Nimri, Tristán Ulloa, María Vázquez, Diego Martín, Nuria González, Antonio de la Torre
Ines, Eva and Carmen are private detectives who often trespass upon other peoples’ privacy. But no-one has prepared them for confronting their own secrets. While working, these three professionals of observation will have to cross the thin line separating public and private affairs and, above all, will have to discover themselves in order to be able to solve more than their respective professional cases. Fourth feature film from the director of Hola, ¿estás sola? (Hi, Are You Alone? 1995), Flores de otro mundo (Flowers from Another World, 1999) andTe doy mis ojos (Take My Eyes, 2003).
MATAR A TODOS
Uruguay-Chile-Argentina
Director: Esteban Schroeder.
Cast: Roxana Blanco, Darío Grandinetti, Walter Reyno, María Izquierdo, César Troncoso, Patricio Contreras, Jorge Bolani, Claudio Arredondo
Competitor for the Altadis-New Directors Award
Julia Gudari is investigating the kidnap of a person who turns out to be a Chilean chemist wanted as a witness by the international authorities. Everything seems to indicate that the Uruguayan army is protecting Berrios. Julia fears that her father, General Gudari, is involved, but evidence is scarce. Amid the pressure and threats, Julia understands that if she wants to find out the truth, she’ll have to dig into her past to heal old wounds and overcome her fears. Second feature film from the director of El viñedo.
PADRE NUESTRO (OUR FATHER)
USA
Director: Christopher Zalla
Cast: Jesus Ochoa, Armando Hernández, Paola Mendoza, Jorge Adrián Espíndola
Competitor for the Altadis-New Directors Award
This modern-day film noir starts with Juan on the run in his native Mexico. He makes a quick getaway by jumping on a truck carrying illegal immigrants to New York City. Fellow traveller, Pedro, is a young man about Juan’s age who hopes to link up in New York with his father Diego. Since he doesn’t know his father, Pedro carries a letter of introduction written by his mother. Arriving in New York, Juan disappears - asdo Pedro’s belongings and letter. Grand Jury Prize winner at this year’sSundance Film Festival.
SIETE MESAS DE BILLAR FRANCÉS (SEVEN BILLIARDS TABLES)
Spain
Director: Gracia Querejeta
Cast: Maribel Verdú, Blanca Portillo, Jesús Castejón, Víctor Valdivia, Lorena Vindell, Raul Arévalo
Angela and her son Guille travel to the big city to see Leo, her father and the boy’s grandfather, when he suddenly takes ill. Arriving shortly after a warm daybreak on a sunny day, they discover that Leo has just passed away. Charo, the dead man’s mistress, explains the dire straits suffered by the paternal business: a hall with seven billiard tables. Charo is convinced that the only way to pay off the debts is to sell the place. However, Angela learns that her husband has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. Given this painful reality, Angela resolves to get on and rebuild her life. And the first thing she decides to do is put her savings into getting the old place and its seven tables back up on its feet. Fifth feature film from the director of Una estación de paso (Whistle Stop, 1992), El último viaje de Robert Rylands (Robert Rylands’ Last Journey, 1996), Cuando vuelvas a mi lado (By My Side Again, 1999) andHéctor (2004).
A THOUSANDS YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS
USA
Director: Wayne Wang
Cast: Faye Yu, Henry O, Passa Lychnikoff, Vida Ghahremani
Mr. Shi is a retired widower from Beijing. When Yilan, his only daughter who lives in the US, divorces, he decides to visit her in the small town where she works as a librarian. His intention is to stay with her until he helps her recover from the trauma. Mr. Shi likes to tell the people he meets in America that he’s a “rocket scientist”, enjoying their attention. But Yilan is less enthusiastic about his showing off, nor is she interested in his plan to rescue her marriage and reconstruct her life. When Mr. Shi insists on finding out the reason for the divorce, Yilan starts to avoid him. From the director of Smoke (1993), La caja china (1995) and The Princess of Nebraska (2007), this film is included in Zabaltegi-Specials.
CLOSING GALA (out of competition)
FLAWLESS
UK
Director: Michael Radford
Cast: Michael Caine, Demi Moore, Joss Ackland, Lambert Wilson
Laura Quinn (Demi Moore) works for the London Diamond Corporation, the biggest diamond company in the world. Laura is a dedicated but dissatisfied executive enormously frustrated by the fact that her career is obstructed by the male chauvinism ruling the company. She joins forces with Mr. Hobbs (Michael Caine), a long-standing employee who claims to have the perfect plan for a traceless heist. Out of competition.
San Sebastian, 24th August 2007