The 60th San Sebastian Film Festival was officially opened in a ceremony hosted by Spanish actors JoséCoronado, Barbara Goenaga and Cayetana Guillén Cuervo.

A look back over the highs and lows of 60 years of cinema in San Sebastian with the help of archive footage was the storyline of this gala night.

Producer Christine Vachon, Official Jury president, expressed the jury interest in working hard to
arrive to the best agreement to hand the 60Th Golden Shell Awards.

During the gala FIPRESCI´s secretary general, Klaus Eder, gave the FIPRESCI Award to Michael Haneke for Amour. In a video message, Haneke apologized for not personally picking up the award but sent along the actor Ramón Agirre to collect it on his behalf.

The retrospective to Georges Franju was introduced by his close collaborator Jacques Champreux who
reminded the audience that in the centenary of Franju's birth this was the only place that was paying tribute to him
and that he was very moved by this.

Other restrospectives presented were Very Funny Things and Cine en Construcción.

The moment everybody was eager to see arrived at the end of the gala when the Kursaal welcomed back
to Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, both previously Donostia Award winners.

Nicholas Jarecki, the director of Arbitrage, the film that was screened after the Gala, came on
stage with the film's producers and its two stars.

Richard Gere recalled how special his previous visit to the city had been for him while Susan Sarandon expressed the wish that the public would have her back another time. It´s her third time at San Sebastian Fest.