San Sebastián Opens With Political Declarations And Tributes To Werner Herzog & Outgoing Festival Director José Luis Rebordinos

“We join the myriad of voices calling for an end to genocide, like the one happening in Gaza,” Fariba Sheikhan and Mariona Terés, the hosts of this evening’s San Sebastián Film Festival opening ceremony, concluded in their welcoming remarks.

“And we stand in solidarity with the directors of the film Naza, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who have been threatened by the Israeli government,” the pair added. The duo received a lively round of applause from the crowd inside the festival’s Kursaal auditorium.

Like many political and cultural institutions across Spain, the San Sebastián Film Festival has been consistently outspoken about Israel’s violent campaign in Gaza. Last year, the Festival issued an open letter calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and a “rejection of the unimaginable massacres to which the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is subjecting the Palestinian people since Hamas perpetrated the terrorist attack of 7 October 2023.”

The same political spirit was present throughout the opening ceremony of this year’s edition, which runs until September 26.

Tonight’s opening night film was Fatih Akin’s fantasy drama Ghost Song, which screens in competition. Further titles in the festival’s lineup include Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti; Pablo Larraín’s Netflix horror series My Sad Dead (Mis muertos tristes); the world premiere of Fred Cavayé’s action-skewed adaptation of Les Misérables; Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care; Ah Biao’s Chinese-language feature debut Border; and Nicole Garcia’s Marion Cotillard starrer Milo. The festival will close with Le Faux Soir from Belgian filmmaker Michaël R. Roskam.

Werner Herzog and Naomi Watts are the recipients of the two honorary awards this year in San Sebastián. The former received his award this evening during the opening ceremony. He was handed the award by his Bucking Fastard actor Orlando Bloom, who described Herzog as a filmmaker who continues “to surprise and inspire audiences around the world” with his unpredictable work.

“There is an incredible curiosity in the way he approaches filmmaking, and a willingness to follow an idea wherever it leads, even when it leads somewhere completely unexpected, and that spirit has defined his work for decades,” Bloom said.

“Whether he is exploring the extremes of nature, the strange corners of human behavior, or the boundaries between fact and fiction, Werner has always approached cinema as an adventure. What I admire most is that he never seems to make a film simply because a film is supposed to be made. There is always a genuine question behind it.”

Herzog accepted the award and declared Bloom a “living legend” of cinema. The German filmmaker continued to explain his deep connection to the Basque region of northern Spain and southwest France, which he said goes back to his 1972 film Aguirre, the Wrath of God, which was based on the life of Basque soldier Lope de Aguirre.

“I feel a community,” he said of the Basque region. “I feel like as if I belong here. It is a country. It is a country of poetry. It’s a country of poets, and I receive this here from the poets. Thank you very much.”

There were also passionate tributes this evening to outgoing Festival director José Luis Rebordinos, who steps down after this year’s edition, his 17th at the helm.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to José Rebordinos for his support, his dedication, and the extraordinary work he has carried out over the years,” Carlos Prada, Senior Vice President of Local Productions at Warner Bros. Spain, said on stage. “His contribution has been fundamental in making the San Sebastián International Film Festival not only one of the great film festivals but also a respected cultural benchmark recognized worldwide.”

Maialen Beloki, Rebordinos’s current deputy, will take over in January 2027.

“Maialen is a highly qualified professional with an in-depth knowledge of the festival,” Rebordinos told Deadline during an interview ahead of this year’s festival. “She has been part of the team for seventeen years, serving as deputy director for the last eleven of those. I can’t think of anyone better suited to the role.”