It’s a long-awaited return for Xavier Legrand, who, six years after Custody, rewarded all over the world, returns to San Sebastián to present in competition his second film, The Successor, shot in Quebec. Also in competition: The Red Island by Robin Campillo, which retraces part of the director’s childhood in Madagascar, and finally A Serious Job, by Thomas Lilti, on the world of education. This is the first time that the filmmaker will present a film at the Spanish festival.
Three other minority co-production films (by Cristi Puiu, Joachim Lafosse and the Benjamin Naishtat/María Alché duo) complete the French presence in competition.
There Pearl sectionwhich brings together films from the major international festivals of the year, will make it possible to find films discovered in Cannes and Toronto: Anatomy of a fall by Justine Triet, Rosalie by Stéphanie Di Giusto and Bâtiment 5 by Ladj Ly.
There Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section, more oriented towards “research” cinema, will see the presentation of films by Éléonore Saintagnan (Camping du lac), Paul B. Preciado (Orlando, my political biography) and Damien Manivel (L’Île). Note that the posthumous short film by Jean-Luc Godard (Film announcement of the film that will never exist: “Funny wars”) will be presented during the opening night of the section.
French cinema is also present, as usual, in the international co-productionswith more than a dozen films presented in all sections.
A delegation of French artists and professionals will make the trip (with reservations) : Robin Campillo, Xavier Legrand, Marc-André Grondin, Yves Jacques, Joachim Lafosse, Daniel Auteuil, Thomas Lilti, François Cluzet, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos, William Lebghil, Paul B. Preciado, Damien Manivel, Justine Triet, Stéphanie Di Giusto , Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Ladj Ly, Anta Diaw, Aristotle Luyindala, Tran Anh Hung, Juliette Binoche, Pierre Gagnaire,
Finally, Unifrance will organize a cocktail on Sunday September 24, at the Hotel Maria Cristina, for the attention of all the French talents present in San Sebastián, but also of the Spanish distributors.