In short
The San Sebastián International Film Festival (Donostia Zinemaldia) is Spain’s largest film festival and one of the few in the world with the top “A” category from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). Its 74th edition ran from 18 to 26 September 2026. The main prize is the Golden Shell (Concha de Oro) for the best film in the Official Section.
The Tairix and ORAI Global Media team was at the festival. This is the first article in a new series: here are the key facts and the official results, followed by our own reports and photos by Olga Rumyantseva.
A little history
According to the festival archive, it began in 1953 as an international film week. The following year it became an international film festival, in 1955 it was allowed to award official competitive prizes, and in 1957 it received FIAPF’s top “A” category, which it still holds.
The main screenings and red carpets take place at the seafront Kursaal congress centre and the Victoria Eugenia Theatre. Besides the Official Section, the festival has several strands: New Directors (debuts), Horizontes Latinos (Latin American cinema), Zabaltegi-Tabakalera, Perlak (the year’s best films from other festivals) and Culinary Zinema, devoted to food and cooking.
The jury and honorary awards
The official jury of the 74th festival was chaired by the American filmmaker Ira Sachs. Its members were Genki Kawamura, Catherine Paillé, Alice Braga, Patricia López Arnaiz, Bill Skarsgård and Mike Goodridge. The honorary Donostia Awards for a contribution to cinema went to Werner Herzog and Naomi Watts.
Official Section winners
The results were announced on 26 September 2026, according to the festival’s official website:
- Golden Shell for best film — Tender Loving Care, Mike Leigh (UK)
- Special Jury Prize — Bian jing / Border, Ah Biao (China)
- Silver Shell for best director — Amanda Kernell, Garrat du váimmu / Brace Your Heart (Sweden)
- Silver Shell for best leading performance (tie) — Kate O’Flynn (Tender Loving Care) and Asta Kamma August (Markens grøde / Growth of the Soil)
- Silver Shell for best supporting performance — Javier Cámara (5 minutos más / 5 More Minutes, Spain)
- Jury Prize for best cinematography — Oskar Dahlsbakken (Markens grøde / Growth of the Soil, Norway)
- Jury Prize for best screenplay — Mike Leigh (Tender Loving Care)
Other main awards
- Kutxabank-New Directors — Body of Glass, Naëmi Ada (Germany)
- Horizontes Make & Mark — La ilusión de un verano sin fin / The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer, Alessandra Sanguinetti (USA)
- Zabaltegi-Tabakalera — Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun (USA)
- Audience Award (Perlak) — La bola negra, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (Spain–France)
- Audience Award for best European film — NAZA, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
- Culinary Zinema — Burgundy, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (USA)
- FIPRESCI Grand Prix for the film of the year — One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson (USA)
Familiar faces: Eulalia Ramón and Sants
The Official Section included Mikel Gurrea’s Sants / Saints, featuring Eulalia Ramón, godmother of the SOL festival in Torrevieja. Our team met her again at the festival — an acquaintance that began in Torrevieja continued in San Sebastián.
Coming next in this series
Irina (Tairix) and Olga Rumyantseva (ORAI Global Media) are preparing bylined articles and photo reports from San Sebastián. They will appear in this series in the Society & culture section.