Catalan cinema has had a history-making year. For the first time, two films from Catalan producers have been selected in main competition in Cannes (Carla Simón’s “Romería” and Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât”), as well as a strong showing in Berlin with four films in official selection. Now, talent from the region is arriving in droves at the Spanish-speaking world’s foremost festival of San Sebastián (Sept. 19-27) to crown the exceptional year.
There are a whopping 27 Catalan projects across all sections and sidebars of this year’s edition of San Sebastián, including the two Cannes competition titles and other standouts such as Eva Libertad’s Berlin audience winner “Deaf,” Belén Funes’s big Málaga winner “The Exiles,” and Ana Cristina Barragán’s recent Venice Horizons winner “The Ivy.” Acclaimed Catalan filmmakers such as Cesc Gay and José Luis Guerin are highlights of this year’s program, with the former presenting “My Friend Eva” and the latter introducing his highly anticipated “Good Valley Stories” in competition.
“Romería” courtesy of San Sebastián Film Festival
One of the most exciting burgeoning international regions when it comes to animation, Catalonia continues to build on the recent legacy of Pablo Berger’s Oscar-nominated “Robot Dreams” (Berger hails from Madrid, but the film was backed by Barcelona’s Arcadia Motion Pictures) with “The Treasure of Barracuda,” from Adrià Garcia, who broje out with 2007’s Goya-winning “Nocturna.” Promising exports from Barcelona’s prestigious Pompeu Fabra University are also heavily present in the Basque region, with debuts such as “The Imminent Age” and “The Drunkmen’s Mallaise” showcasing the strength of the renowned film school.
The strong Catalan presence at San Sebastián is a testament to years of continuous strategic investment, talent development, and fruitful international partnerships. With the continuous support of bodies such as the Catalan Institute for the Cultural Companies (ICEC) and training centers like ESCAC and Pompeu Fabra, it’s easy to see why Catalonia has established itself as one of the most powerful forces within European arthouse cinema.
Below, you will find short profiles for all Catalan projects at this year’s San Sebastián Film Festival:
“Good Valley Stories” (“Historias del Buen Valle”), dir. José Luis Guerin
(Orfeo Iluso, Los Ilusions, Perspective Films)
Having its world premiere in Official Selection in San Sebastián, this is the latest by Goya-winning director and leading Pompeu Fabra University export Guerin, whose work famously threads the lines between fiction and non-fiction. His first feature film since “The Academy of Muses” a decade ago, “Good Valley Stories” takes place over three years in Valbona, a suburban district of Barcelona, to investigate themes of identity, urban life, and ecological conflicts. Shellac handles sales.
“Breaking Walls” (“Los Aitas”), dir. Borja Cobeaga
(Despadres, Inicia Films, BTeam Prods, Sayaka Producciones)
Oscar-nominated Cobeaga (“Éramos pocos”) is homegrown to San Sebastián and a festival veteran, having been featured in several of the event’s sidebars over the years. His latest takes place in the working-class suburbs of Bilbao in the late ’80s, where a rhythmic gymnastics team is gearing up to compete in Berlin. When the mothers can no longer accompany the girls, the job falls to the dads, who embark on a momentous trip juxtaposed to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Film Factory handles sales.
“The Treasure of Barracuda” (“El Tesoro de Barracuda”), dir. Adrià Garcia
(Inicia Films, Hampa Studio, Belvision)
Garcia returns 18 years after “Nocturna” won the Goya for Best Animated Film. Adapted from the eponymous book by Llanos Campos, “The Treasure of Barracuda” follows a young orphan girl who accidentally ends up on a pirate ship led by the titular captain while trying to reunite with her last remaining family member. Beautifully animated, this is a treasure-haunting fable about the power of reading and chosen families. Filmax handles sales.
“The Treasure of Barracuda” courtesy of San Sebastián Film Festival
“The Drunkmen’s Mallaise” (“La Marsellesa de los Borrachos”), dir. Pablo Gil Rituerto
(Boogaloo Films, Les Films de l’Oeil Sauvage, Graffiti Doc, Escarlata)
Another Pompeu Fabra export, Rituerto has worked as a film editor for 15 years, cutting films for names such as José Luíz Guerín, Mercedes Álvarez, and Isaki Lacuesta. “The Drunkmen’s Mallaise” is the director’s feature debut, an ode to oral memory that follows a film crew retracing the steps of the 1961 clandestine journey taken by a group who collected popular protest songs at the peak of Franco’s dictatorship. Begin Again Films handles sales.
“The Dinner” (“La Cena”), dir. Manuel Gómez Pereira
(La Terraza Films, Turanga Films, Sideral Cinema, Ikiru Films, Entre Medina y Genero AIE, Halley Production)
Veteran director Pereira returns with a historic comedy centered around a dinner organized by General Franco for his generals following the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. What they don’t know is that the dinner will be prepared by a group of Republican chefs who have just been given their last chance to escape the country. Stars Mario Casas (“The Innocents”) and Alberto San Juan (“The People Upstairs”). Film Factory handles sales.
“The Ivy” (“Hiedra”), dir. Ana Cristina Barragán
(Botón Films, Guspira Films, BHD Films, Ciné-Sud Promotion)
Ecuadorian director Barragán’s (“Octopus Skin”) third feature is fresh out of winning the best screenplay award at Venice’s Horizons sidebar (the director was also in town pitching her next feature, “Amapola,” in the Venice Gap-Financing Market). “Ivy” turns on a mother, Azucena, 31, who attempts to rekindle a relation with her son, Julio, whom she abandoned after giving birth at the age of 13. Bendita Film Sales handles sales.
“Pheasant Island” (“La Isla de Los Faisanes”), dir. Asier Urbieta
(Arcadia Motion Pictures, La Tentación, La Fidèle, Galatea Films)
The titular Pheasant Island is the world’s smallest jointly owned land, belonging to Spain for half the year and France the other. Urbieta’s feature debut is an instigating social drama that follows the tensions between a couple after an encounter with migrants trying to cross the river between the two countries. The chance encounter sparks difficult political and moral conversations between the young lovers, a debate that ends up affecting the entire community. Latido Films handles sales.
“The Exiles” (“Los Tortuga”), dir. Belén Funes
(Oberon Media, La Claqueta, Quijote Films, La Cruda Realidad)
Another big winner at this year’s Málaga, Funes’s sophomore feature took home best director and screenplay, and a Special Jury Prize at the festival. The director returns to San Sebastián after her 2019 debut “A Thief’s Daughter” won the best actress award with a moving drama about a father and daughter duo grappling with grief after losing the family’s matriarch. A Contracorriente Films handles sales.
“Deaf” (“Sorda”), dir. Eva Libertad
(Distinto Films, Nexus Creafilms, A Contracorriente)
Libertad’s feature debut won Berlin’s Audience Award and was the big winner at this year’s Málaga Film Festival, where it took the Golden Biznaga for best Spanish Film, the Silver Biznagas for best male and female performance, and the Audience Award. The moving drama follows a couple made up of a deaf mother and a hearing father as they expect their first child, having to navigate a world not made for their daughter. Latido handles sales.
“Romería,” dir. Carla Simón
(Elastica)
One of the great prides of Catalonia, Simón’s (“Summer of 1993,” “Alcarrás”) third feature premiered in competition in Cannes to large acclaim. A semi-autobiographical affair, “Romería” follows 18-year-old Marina, who travels to Vigo to meet her father’s biological family for the first time. A gripping drama beautifully shot by veteran Hélène Louvart and exploring issues of otherness, the AIDS crisis, and belonging, “Romería” continues Simón’s streak of standout family dramas. MK2 handles sales.
“Sirât,” dir. Oliver Laxe
(The Deserters Films, El Deseo, Filmes da Ermida, Uri Films, 4A4 Productions)
Another film to premiere in competition at this year’s Cannes, Laxe’s “Sirât” won the prestigious Jury Prize ex aequo and is this year’s Spanish submission for the best international feature Oscar. The blood-pumping thriller starts with a man and his young son arriving at a rave in the Moroccan outback looking for their daughter/sister. What comes next is a scorching exploration of diaspora and survival told through the throbbing beats of EDM. The Match Factory handles sales.
“The Portuguese House” (“Una Quinta Portuguesa”), dir. Avelina Prat
(Distinto Filmes, Jaibo Films, O Som e a Fúria)
Prat has worked as a script supervisor with veterans such as Cesc Gay, David Trueba, and Lucile Hadzihalilovic. Her sophomore debut, “The Portuguese House,” trails a quiet geography professor (“Close Your Eyes” star Manolo Solo) in the aftermath of his wife’s disappearance. Aimless, he assumes another man’s identity as a gardener on a Portuguese estate, quickly befriending the house’s owner—comfortably and dangerously settling into a life that isn’t his. Bendita Film Sales handles sales.
“Close to the Sultan” (“El La Alcoba Del Sultán”), dir. Javier Rebollo
(Elamedia, Eddie Saeta, Paraiso Production)
A San Sebastián veteran and the winner of the festival’s best director award for “Woman Without Piano” in 2010, Rebollo is back with a loving look at the origins of cinema. The director’s fourth feature is told through the story of an early 20th-century sultan curious about the wonders of the burgeoning cinematograph, eventually being introduced to the ins and outs of the new technology by a former operator for the Lumiére Brothers. Sideral Cinema handles sales.
“The Imminent Age” courtesy of San Sebastián Film Festival
“The Imminent Age” (“L’Edat Imminent”), dir. Col·lectiu Vigília, Clara Serrano Llorens, Gerard Simó Gimeno
(Ringo Media)
An intimate look at the life of soon-to-be 18-year-old Bruno, whose youthful impulses and longings stand in contradiction to the responsibility of being the sole carer for his ailing 86-year-old grandmother. This is the first feature by The Col·lectiu Vigília, who met at Pompeu Fabra. The film has been nominated for best new director at the Gaudí Awards, received the best Spanish Screenplay Award at the Gijón Festival, and a special mention at the Cork Festival. Outplay Films handles sales.
“My Friend Eva” (“Mi Amiga Eva”), dir. Cesc Gay
(Impossible Films)
Multiple Goya-winner Cesc Gay is one of the leading Spanish directors internationally, with films like “Truman” proving box office hits abroad. For his latest, the director looks at the titular 50-year-old woman who has been married for over twenty years but realizes on a trip to Rome that she wants to fall in love once more. Film stars Nora Navas (“Libertad”), Juan Diego Botto (“The Suicide Squad”), and Rodrigo de la Serna (“Money Heist”). Filmax handles sales.
“Fury” (“La Fúria”), dir. Gemma Blasco
(Ringo Media)
Blasco’s feature debut is a searing look at the aftermath of sexual assault, unusually told through the changing relationship between sister Alex and brother Adrián. The film explores how trauma can foster dangerous rage while building a powerful parallel between that anger and the classic tale of Medea. Terrifically acted, “Fury” premiered at SXSW in Austin and went on to win Silver Biznagas for best actress, best supporting actor, and best acting at the Málaga Festival. Filmax handles sales.
“Away” (“Molt Lluny”), dir. Gerard Oms
(Zabriskie Films, Revolver Amsterdam)
The acclaimed feature debut of Oms, turning on the journey of self-discovery of a Spaniard, Sergio, living penniless in he Netherlands’ Utrecht. Sergio is played by Mario Casas in what many critics hail as one of the finest performances of his career which won him best actor at March’s Málaga.
“La buena letra” dir. Celia Rico Clavellino
(Arcadia Motion Pictures Mod Producciones, Misent Producciones)
Rico Clavellino’s third movie, after she burst onto the scene at the 2018 San Sebastian Festival with “Journey to a Mother’s Room,” a period-drama charting the trauma and eclipsing emotional horizons of Spain’s post-Spanish Civil War. Premiered at he 2025 Málaga Festival, produced by two Spanish indie heavyweights: Arcadia (“Robot Dreams”) and Mod (“The Captive”).
“Daniela, Forever” dir. Nacho Vigalondo
(Sayaka Producciones, Señor y Señora, Mediacrest, Wrong Men)
Playing last year Toronto’s Platform – one of international’s most prestigious competitions – the latest from Basque sci-fi auteur, and the Basque Country’s most international of filmmakers. The English-language movie boasts one of Henry Golding’s finest performances, some critics said, though the final results split reviewers.
“Jone, Sometimes” (“Jone, Batzuetan”) dir. Sara Fantova
(Escándalo Films, ESCAC Studio, Amania Films, ECPV)
During Bilbao’s Semana Grande, Jone lives her first love with Olga, as her father’s Parkinson’s illness worsens. A Basque-language coming of age and family tale marking the first feature from Bilbao-born Sara Fantova, an Escac alum cherry-picked to direct three episodes of “This Is Not Sweden.” Produced by the Sergi Casamitjana-led Escac Estudios (“Salve, María”) and Amania Films, headed by director David Pérez Sañudo (“The Last Romantics”).
“Puberty” (“Pubertat”) dir. Leticia Dolera
(Distinto Films, Corte y Confección de Películas, Uri Films, AT-Prod)
Dolera’s follow-up to “Perfect Life,” a 2019 Canneseries top prize and special interpretation awardee, set up at HBO Max co-produced by 3Cat and bound for one of the key sneak peeks at San Sebastián. Set Catalan town with a long-standing tradition of building human towers – castells – and tackling the thorny issue of sexual aggression among adolescence. Beta Film handles sales.
“Samaná Sunrise” (“Amanece en Samaná”) dir. Rafa Cortés
(A Name Like This,, Materia Cinema,, Quexito Films, Fede Entertainment España)
Two couples, old friends, reunite at a luxury Dominican hotel, a confession sparking a “Sliding Doors” rearrangement of their lives. Adapting “Cancun,” from renowned Catalan playwright Jordi Galcerán, a well reviewed romcom return to direction of Rafa Cortés, whose “Yo,” released in 2007, marked him out as a director to track.
“The Sleeper. The Lost Caravaggio” (“The Sleeper. El Caravaggio Perdido”) dir. Alvaro Longoria
(Mediacrest, Fandango)
A doc feature thriller told with a large sense of irony by Longoria, one of Spain’s most prominent documentarians. Put on the market for €1,500 ($1,755) by a Madrid family, who had hung it in their sitting room, a painting is discovered to be a legendary but lost Caravaggio, with a market price of maybe maybe €300 million ($351 million).
“Sleepless City” (“Ciudad sin sueño”), dir. Guillermo Galoe
(Les Valseurs, Ciudad sin sueño película, Sintagma Films, Buenapinta Media, Encanta Films, BTeam Prods)
A vision of a Roma family riven by the demolition of its shanty town La Cañada Real, seen by Toni, 15, living perhaps his last days of freedom and sense of community there beside his beloved grandfather. An auspicious fiction feature debut from Galoe, winner of this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week SACD Prize for best screenplay.
“Strange River” (“Estrany Riu”) dir. Jaume Claret
(Zuzu Cinema)
16-year-old Dídac (Jan Monter) goes on a cycling trip down the Danube with his brother and parents and falls for a boy. A first crush drama sold by Films Boutique and produced by Xavi Font at ZuZú Cinema. A Catalan-language coming of age tale lit by an autumnal melancholy and unabashed romanticism which world premiered in Venice Days to upbeat reviews.
“Sundays” (“Los Domingos”) dir. Alauda Ruiz de Azua
(Colosé Producciones)
Ainara, 17, startles her liberal family announcing she is contemplating joining an enclosed religious order. From the creator of Series Mania’s 2025 Grand Prix winner “Querer,” and offering many of the same pleasures: the mix of suspense drama and psychological and social observance grounded in a knowingly depicted Basque reality; the contrast of two mindsets, and a top notch cast. One of San Sebastián’s most anticipated main competition titles, now with a trailer, backed by Movistar Plus+ (“Sirât), sold by France’s Le Pacte.
“Until My Voice Breaks” (“Hasta que me quede sin voz”) dir. Mario Forniés, Lucas Nolla
(Movistar Plus+, Blur)
A San Sebastián world premiere, playing its widescreen Videodromo. Spanish pop-rock singer-singer musician Leiva talks to camera about his life, a childhood accident, his barrio, the band Pereza, friendship with Joaquín Sabina, and a problem with his vocal chords which threatens to end his career. Produced by Blur, the latest in a line of hugely popular music docs at Movistar Plus+ which also takes in “Flowers for Antonio,” also at San Sebastián.
