'Sundays', the young cloistered nun by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, Golden Shell in San Sebastián

The gossipmongers whispered a name, and the gossipmongers were right. Alauda Ruiz de Azúa won the Golden Shell at this 73rd edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival , after competing in the Official Section with Sundays , a brave and risky project in today's secular world about a subject that remains (perhaps today more than ever) taboo: the 17-year-old girl who, against the expressed opinion of her family, decides to become a cloistered nun. The jury, headed by JA Bayona, awarded a film on the same day that journalists also awarded it the Feroz Zinemaldia Prize.

Ruiz de Azúa thus consolidates herself as the filmmaker she seemed destined to be since she presented the world with Cinco Lobitos back in 2022, an intimate portrait of motherhood seen from a human and unromanticized perspective, at that difficult moment in a person's life when they go from daughter to mother and from being cared for to caring. Last year she also dared to make a name for herself with the miniseries Querer, which dealt with the delicate subject of consent and sexual abuse in marriage, and which became a phenomenon thanks in part to word of mouth . Los domingos is nothing more than the foundation of a career that, in reality, has only just begun.

Ruiz de Azúa thus consolidates herself as the filmmaker she seemed destined to be since she presented 'Cinco Lobitos' to the world back in 2022.

On the other hand, both Best Director and Best Screenplay went to Joachim Lafosse, a regular at the festival with a career that often explores uncomfortable and disturbing issues. This time, he presented Six Jours ce printemps-là in the Official Section, a drama that chronicles a family's six days in a luxury villa on the Riviera . Curiously, the Belgian director's name came to light just a year ago when he was accused by a dozen actors who had worked with him—who alleged abuse and toxic practices on his sets—as reported by the French newspaper Libération at the time.

Best performance, ex aequo

Following the same pattern of recent times (remember the previous Goyas for El 47 and La Infiltrada ), the tie for the Silver Shell for Best Performance this time went to Jose Ramón Soroiz for his courageous performance in Maspalomas ( Aitor Arregi and José Mari Goenaga, creators of Loreak and La trinchera infinita ), which was competing in the Official Section and was a risky take on a topic that has been little explored in contemporary cinema: homosexuality in old age (and even more convoluted, returning to the closet after having managed to come out). "I'm taking this award home tonight, but it belongs to all the people who participated in this film," he said. " Maspalomas is the greatest award that anyone has ever conceived for me. I also want to take this moment to say 'stop genocide' and end all wars."

She shares the Soroiz Award with actress Zhao Xiaohong, who stars in Jianyu Laide Mama ( Her Heart Beats in Its Cage ), a Chinese film directed by Qin Xiaoyu that tells the story of a woman accused of killing her husband in self-defense in prison. The film is Xiaohong's own true story, and she explained the difficulties of producing the film in an emotional press conference during the festival. "I would like to share this honor and happiness with my son who is in China. Mom loves you," she said.

Also notable is the Best Supporting Performance on this occasion for Tucuman actress Camila Plaate for her performance in Belén , a true story directed by Dolores Fonzi (who was presenting her second feature film at the festival) and which is also Argentina's choice for the Oscars (and the upcoming Goyas). "Who is Belén? I am Belén," said the actress upon collecting her award, with a very combative speech. "This film brings us memory, truth, and justice. If it can be done, it was done. In Argentina, we are marching for those girls who were murdered and tortured. Long live women and the struggle of the masses. Belén won, and Belén is all of us ."

Best Cinematography went to Los Tigres, a film by Alberto Rodríguez (who was making a surprising double appearance by also presenting Anatomía de un Instant , based on Cercas' bestseller about 23F), a film that tells the story of two divers played by the always excellent Antonio de la Torre and Bárbara Lennie . The award went to Pau Esteve, director of photography: "Alberto, please, take me wherever you want, I'll go wherever it takes," he said.

It was clear that the edition would be marked by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict , and Jennifer Lawrence (Donostia Award winner for a career that, according to the jury, is one of the most influential today) also spoke out on the matter last Friday: "What's happening is genocide and I'm terrified for my children. It's become normal for politics to have no integrity and for politicians to lie. There's no empathy." The actress took advantage of the festival to present her next work, Die My Love ( Lyanne Ramsay ), a savage film about psychosis and postpartum depression, in which she fully invested herself in order to make the spiral of madness that her character finds herself in believable. She was one of the most anticipated actresses at the festival, where the Hollywood crowning glory was also provided by Angelina Jolie presenting Couture by Alice Winocour, and who similarly wanted to speak out about the political and social drift of the United States: "I love my country, but I don't recognize it."

The conflict has been very present in this 73rd edition, as expected, through demonstrations, badges or speeches

These weren't the only political discourses seen throughout the festival. The conflict was very present at this 73rd edition, as expected, through demonstrations, badges, and speeches. "It's time to take a clear stand," stated the directors of Maspalomas . "It's a shame that a genocide is happening in Gaza and there are no demonstrations against an indiscriminate killing that should have ended a long time ago," also asserted Alberto Rodríguez . At the opening gala last Friday the 19th, Pedro Almodóvar shouted "Free Palestine" before presenting the Donostia Award to Esther García. Shouts of "stop genocide" were heard continuously on the red carpets, and there were also allusions from both the winners who came up to speak and the gala presenters, actors Itsaso Arana and Óscar Lasarte . "In Cannes, they forced us to remove the Palestine insignia ," recalled José Luis Guerín , who took home the Special Jury Prize. In San Sebastián, however, where they were initially critical of the conflict, they showed their pride.