The 2020 annual San Sebastian Film Festival is currently underway. The Spanish film festival, held in the city Donostia-San Sebastián, is one of the 14 A-class FIAPF festivals. This of course means that it’s quite a big deal for movie fans all over the world! The legendary festival has since its beginning in 1953 seen some important historical cinema moments, such as European premiere of Star Wars, and the international premier of Hitchcock's Vertigo.

The 68th edition of the festival hosts 143 films, and is being held between September 18th and 26th. A strict safety protocol has been put in place, requiring the wearing of face masks and slicing the capacity by 40-60% as a safety measure.

Some interesting titles of SSIFF2020

Naturally, mentioning all of the films of the festival would make for a much too long article, so instead let’s have a look titles we are most excited about:

• “Crock of Gold”, starring Shane MacGowan, directed by Julien Temple and produced by Johnny Depp. “Crock Of Gold – A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan” will be the most recent in the trending films covering famous musicians' lives. It follows legendary singer/songwriter Shane MacGowan and celtic punk band The Pogues, and promises to show some never before seen footage of the band.

• “Supernova”, starring Lori Campbell, James Dreyfus and Ian Drysdale, directed by Harry Macqueen. Following the gay couple Sam and Tusker, the latter whom is diagnosed early-onset dementia. The couple of 20 years now travels England in an RV to visit friends and family, and to relive the past one last time together.

• “Rifkin’s Festival”, starring Christoph Waltz, Gina Gershon and Wallace Shawn, directed by Woody Allen. The romantic comedy follows an American couple discovering the San Sebastian Film Festival and falling in love with the beautiful city and magical movies. It can be seen as Woody Allen’s love letter to the festival. The film screened on the first day of the festival and has been getting mostly positive reviews so far. Allen himself attended the premiere from New York via a video link due to the current pandemic. He expressed great disappointment that he could not attend the event in person. 

Other things to do in San Sebastian

Most film fans have probably dreamed about going to the San Sebastian Film Festival at some point. With Woody Allen’s “Rifkin's Festival”, we expect the popularity to increase even more, and the attendance to skyrocket after then pandemic times are over. We have compiled a short list of things to see and do in San Sebastian for those of you who plan on visiting the Spanish city in the future:

• Visit the beach: San Sebastian is a coastal city with a beautiful, albeit sometimes crowded beach. A visit to the city must include a swim in the magnificent Bay of Biscay and a long walk in the sand.

• Try your luck at Casino Kursaal: A Small and cosy casino that offers games such as slot machines, blackjack and roulette. Find more information about casinos at Casinoer.org.

• Marvel at the view from Monte Igueldo: The small mountain situated to the west of the city offers an amazing panoramic view of the city and the entire bay.

• Appreciate Basque at Museo de San Telmo:The famous museum of San Sebastian is the biggest museum for Basque history. Being well over 100 years old, it is the city's oldest museum.