Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest will open the Perlak lineup of San Sebastian Festival’s 71st edition. This free adaptation of the homonymous novel by Martin Amis, portraying the everyday life of a German family who live beside Auschwitz, earned the British director the Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes.
Competing in the section are films from Maite Alberdi, Nikolaj Arcel, J.A. Bayona, Stephanie Di Giusto, Michel Franco, Matteo Garrone, Craig Gillespie, Jonathan Glazer, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Todd Haynes, Aki Kaurismäki, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Christian Petzold, Celine Song, Warwick Thornton, Justine Triet and Wim Wenders.
Bâtiment 5 / Les indésirables from Ladj Ly will close the section out of competition after its screening in Toronto. In the film, the director once again reflects a community’s struggle to find the place where they belong.
Except in the case of the closing film, all films in the Perlak section are candidates for the City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award, sponsored by the San Sebastian City Council. The prize is decided by viewers of the film’s first screening. The City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award is made up of two accolades: a Best Film Award, coming with 50,000 euros, and a Best European Film Award, with 20,000 euros, going to the distributors of the film in Spain.
Perlak Lineup of 2023 San Sebastian Festival
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
JONATHAN GLAZER (UNITED KINGDOM)
Country(ies) of production: UK
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Ralph Herforth
OPENING FILM (IN COMPETITION)
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
BÂTIMENT 5 / LES INDÉSIRABLES
LADJ LY (FRANCE)
Country(ies) of production: France
Cast: Anta Diaw, Alexis Manenti, Aristote Luyindula, Steve Tientcheu, Aurélia Petit, Jeanne Balibar
CLOSING FILM OUT OF COMPETITION
After the sudden death of the town’s mayor, Pierre, an idealistic young doctor, is appointed to replace him. He intends to continue the policy of his predecessor, who dreamed of rehabilitating this working-class neighbourhood. Haby, a young French woman of Malian origin living in one of the dilapidated tower blocks, refuses to see her family being driven out of the neighbourhood where she grew up.
AKU WA SONZAI SHINAI / EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
RYUSUKE HAMAGUCHI (JAPAN)
Country(ies) of production: Japan
Cast: Hitoshi Omika, Ayaka Shibutani, Ryuji Kosaka, Rei Nishikawa
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in a town near Tokyo. Their life will turn on its head when they learn that a glamping is to be built near their house for city dwellers to enjoy comfortable country breaks.
ANATOMIE D’UNE CHUTE / ANATOMY OF A FALL
JUSTINE TRIET (FRANCE)
Country(ies) of production: France
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis
Sandra, Samuel and their 11-year-old son Daniel live in a rather remote mountain area. One day they find Samuel dead outside their home. An investigation is opened into suspicious death and it’s not long before Sandra is charged, despite the ambiguous nature of the case: suicide or murder? A year later, Daniel is present at his mother’s trial as the couple is literally dissected.
BASTARDEN / THE PROMISED LAND
NIKOLAJ ARCEL (DENMARK)
Country(ies) of production: Denmark
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Melina Hagberg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh
In 1755, the impoverished Captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal; to build a colony in the name of the King. In exchange, he’ll receive a desperately desired Royal name for himself. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik de Schinkel, arrogantly believes this land belongs to him. When de Schinkel learns that the maid Ann Barbara and her serve husband have escaped for refuge with Kahlen, the privileged and spiteful ruler swears revenge, doing everything in his power to drive the captain away. Kahlen will not be intimated and takes up the unequal battle – not only risking his life, but also the family of outsiders that has formed around him.
DUMB MONEY
CRAIG GILLESPIE (AUSTRALIA)
Country(ies) of production: USA
Cast: Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, America Ferrera, Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan, Pete Davidson, Nick Offerman, Vincent D’Onofrio, Anthony Ramos
Dumb Money is the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall videogame store) into the world’s hottest company. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill, who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and posting about it. When his social posts start blowing up, so does his life and the lives of everyone following him.
IO CAPITANO / I’M CAPTAIN
MATTEO GARRONE (ITALY)
Country(ies) of production: Italy
Cast: Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall
Io capitano narrates the epic stories of two cousins who leave Dakar and set out for Europe. In this contemporary odyssey, the young men must overcome myriad obstacles in their struggle to survive in the desert and the sea.
KAIBUTSU / MONSTER
HIROKAZU KORE-EDA (JAPAN)
Country(ies) of production: Japan
Cast: Sakura Ando, Eita Nagayama, Soya Kurokawa, Hinata Hiiragi, Yuko Tanaka
When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms into the school demanding to know what’s going on. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher and child, the truth gradually emerges…
KUOLLEET LEHDET / FALLEN LEAVES
AKI KAURISMÄKI (FINLAND)
Country(ies) of production: Finland – Germany
Cast: Alma Poysti, Jussi Vatanen
The tale of two lonely people who run into one another by chance one night in Helsinki and try to find the first, only and ultimate love of their lives. Their road towards this honorable goal will be overshadowed by the man’s drinking, lost phone numbers and life’s general tendency to throw curveballs on the path of those looking for happiness.
LA MEMORIA INFINITA / THE ETERNAL MEMORY
MAITE ALBERDI (CHILE)
Country(ies) of production: Chile
Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Both fear the day he will no longer recognise her.
LA SOCIEDAD DE LA NIEVE / SOCIETY OF THE SNOW
J.A. BAYONA (SPAIN)
Country(ies) of production: Spain – Uruguay – Chile
Cast: Enzo Vogrincic Roldán, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Tomas Wolf, Diego Vegezzi, Esteban Kukuriczka, Francisco Romero, Rafael Federman, Felipe González Otaño, Agustín Della Corte, Valentino Alonso, Simón Hempe, Fernando Contigiani Garciai , Benjamín Segura
In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which had been chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, crashed in the heart of the Andes. Only 29 of its 45 passengers survived the accident. Trapped in one of the most hostile and inaccessible environments on the planet, they have to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.
MAY DECEMBER
TODD HAYNES (USA)
Country(ies) of production: USA
Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton
Inspired by true events. A teacher was arrested for having sexual relations with one of her 13-year-old students while she was married and the mother of three children. She was released after completing her sentence, but failed to respect the prohibition to see the boy again, becoming pregnant by him and spending another 7 years in prison accused of rape. Now, 20 years later, a Hollywood actress wants to make a film about their story.
MEMORY
MICHEL FRANCO (MEXICO)
Country(ies) of production: Mexico – USA
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard, Brooke Timber, Merritt Wever, Elsie Fisher, Josh Carles, Jessica Harper
Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life: her daughter, her job, her AA meetings. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past.
PAST LIVES
CELINE SONG (SOUTH KOREA)
Country(ies) of production: USA
Cast: Greta Lee, Yoo Tae-o, Jhon Magaro
Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are torn apart when Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea to the United States. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for a week that will confront them with notions of love, destiny, and the choices that make up a life.
PERFECT DAYS
WIM WENDERS (GERMANY)
Country(ies) of production: Japan – Germany
Cast: Kôji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Yumi Asô, Aoi Yamada
Hirayama works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. He likes leading a simple life and having a highly structured daily routine. He loves music, books, and trees, and taking pictures of them. His past is about to reappear though unexpected encounters. A moving and poetical reflection on the search for beauty in everyday life.
ROSALIE
STÉPHANIE DI GIUSTO (FRANCE)
Country(ies) of production: France
Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Benoît Magimel, Benjamin Biolay
France, 1870. Rosalie isn’t like other young girls. She is hiding a big secret. Ever since birth her body and face have been covered with hair and she is forced to conceal it to avoid rejection. She is what’s called a bearded woman. But she had never wanted to become a fairground attraction. One day, the owner of a café drowning in debt decides to marry her for the dowry, with no inkling of her secret. But Rosalie is tired of hiding and wants to be seen as a woman even if she is different. What will her husband think when he finds out the truth?
ROTER HIMMEL / AFIRE
CHRISTIAN PETZOLD (GERMANY)
Country(ies) of production: Germany
Cast: Thomas Schubert, Paula Beer, Enno Trebs
A hot, dry summer, like so many in recent years. A small holiday home on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Four young people meet, friends old and new. A red sky looms over them. Slowly and imperceptibly they are surrounded by the flames. They hesitate, afraid – not of the flames – it’s love that scares them. Happiness, lust and liberation; but also jealousy, resentment and tension. A film suspended between symbolism and realism, huge fun yet deeply tragic.
THE NEW BOY
WARWICK THORNTON (AUSTRALIA)
Country(ies) of production: Australia
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Aswan Reid, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair
In 1940s Australia, a 9-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun. The new boy’s presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.
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