The closing gala of the San Sebastian Film Festival took place on Saturday, September 25, and included artistic moments directed by choreographer and dancer Jon Maya.

If last year the concept of distance was the main focus due to the pandemic, this year it was all about hugs – those hugs that have been long overdue for months.

Starting with 2021, SSIFF commits itself to an important cause that concerns our world today: sustainability. The resolution comes from the desire to reduce waste caused by major events. Among the steps taken in this direction is the decision to completely recycle the red carpet used during the event.

Blue Moon, the debut feature by Romanian director Alina Grigore, has won SSIFF’s 2021 Golden Shell Award for Best Film.

Apart from Blue Moon, the festival program included 3 more films made by Romanian directors: Summer Planning (dir. Alexandru Mironescu), Mikado (r. Emanuel Pârvu), and Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (dir. Radu Jude), as well as the short film My Uncle Tudor, by the Moldovan director Olga Lucovnicova.

The Turkey-France-Romania co-production, Between Two Dawns (dir. Selman Nacar), with photography by Tudor Panduru and co-produced by Libra Films, had its world premiere at SSIFF, in the presence of co-producer Oana Giurgiu.

Here are the winners of the 69th edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival:

Golden Shell for Best Film

Blue Moon (dir. Alina Grigore)

Special Jury Prize

Earwig (dir. Lucile Hadzihalilovic)

Silver Shell for Best Director

Tea Lindeburg (As In Heaven)

Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance (ex-aequo)

Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl (As In Heaven)

Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye)

Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance

The cast of Who’s Stopping Us

Jury Prize for Best Screenplay

Terence Davies (Benediction)

Jury Prize for Best Cinematography

Claire Mathon (Undercover)

Kutxabank-New Directors Award

Lena Lanskih (Unwanted)

Special mention: Silvina Schnicer, Ulises Porra (Carajita)

Horizontes Award

Prayers For The Stolen (dir. Tatiana Huezo)

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award

Vortex (dir. Gaspar Noé)

Special mention: They Carry Death (dir. Helena Girón, Samuel M. Delgado)

Nest Award

In The Woods (dir. Sara Grguric)

Special mention: Podul De Piatrâ (dir. Artur-Pol Camprubi)

San Sebastián Audience Award

Petite Maman (dir. Céline Sciamma)

San Sebastián Audience Award for European Films

Between Two Worlds (dir. Emmanuel Carrère)

Irizar Basque Film Award

Maixabel (dir. Icíar Bollaín)

Special mention: Kuartk Valley (dir. Maider Ortega)

TCM Youth Award

Mass (dir. Fran Kranz)

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.