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On Saturday, September 21, 2024, the second day of the San Sebastián Film Festival, Australian actress Cate Blanchett was celebrated with the prestigious Donostia Award. The festival runs until September 28, 2024.
At San Sebastián Film Festival, Cate Blanchett received the Donostia Award from Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón, who had directed her in Defamation, and was visibly moved by a video message from George Clooney. “You always make everyone around you feel lucky to work with someone so talented and kind. I’m proud to call you my friend,” George Clooney said, bringing tears to Cate Blanchett’s eyes.
The actress highlighted how cinema “transcends borders” and has taken her “all over the world.” “Here in the Basque Country, at this vibrant festival that transcends cultural, regional and international borders, I feel like I’m coming home,” she said before thanking San Sebastián.
The Donostia Award has previously been given to Gregory Peck, Vittorio Gassman, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall and Meryl Streep. This year, Spanish actor Javier Bardem and filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar will also be honored.
During a press conference, the 55-year-old actress, winner of two Oscars, reflected on the significance of receiving such recognition, “Awards are wonderful, especially when they come from critics or cultures outside your own, appreciating the work you’ve done. It’s deeply meaningful to me.”
Two major contenders for the Golden Shell were also screened on Saturday: Conclave, directed by Edward Berger, and Soy Nevenka by Icíar Bollaín. Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow, explores the secretive process of electing a new pope, a tense story adapted from Robert Harris’s novel. Ralph Fiennes plays Cardinal Lawrence, who oversees the conclave.
“This film isn’t really about religion,” Edward Berger said. “For me, it’s about the power struggles that happen behind closed doors, whether in a newsroom, on a film set, in a company, in politics or religion.” Edward Berger’s previous film, All Quiet on the Western Front, won four Academy Awards, and Conclave is already generating Oscar buzz, particularly for Fiennes.
Soy Nevenka, also competing for the Golden Shell, tells the real-life story of Nevenka Fernández, a Spanish councilwoman who accused the mayor of Ponferrada of sexual harassment in 2001. Despite warnings from family and friends, Nevenka Fernández pursued legal action, making Ismael Álvarez the first Spanish politician convicted of sexual harassment in 2002.
Director Icíar Bollaín revisits this story two decades later, reflecting on its significance today. “It’s not just about the harassment Fernández faced, but also about where we are now,” Bollaín explained. The film invites viewers to follow Fernández’s journey toward dignity, continuing Bollaín’s powerful storytelling, which previously tackled victims of ETA in Redemption.
In the festival’s Horizontes Latinos section, two Argentine films were also screened: Simón de la montaña by Federico Luis and El jockey by Luis Ortega.
With AFP
