65th San Sebastian Film Festival

This year the top prize at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival, was awarded to director James Franco who received a Golden Shell for “The Disaster Artist.” It’s a comedy bromance that tells the story of two film-makers working on what came to be regarded as one of the worst films ever made. Argentinean Anahi Berneri became the second female director to win a Silver Shell for “Alanis” which tells the story of Maria, a Buenos Aires sex worker who is depicted as both a whore and a madonna, just as many societies have historically depicted women. Whilst it is presented as socialist realism, the film challenges male viewers to question how they regard women. Romanian directors presented two films at the festival and Bugdan Dumitrache took best actor for his role in ‘Pororoca’ directed by Constantin Popescu. He plays a desperate father who’s lost his daughter in a park and whose marriage then falls apart.