Six titles join San Sebastian competition

British director Sarah Gavron among those added

by Amber Wilkinson

Sarah Gavron's Rocks will compete for the Golden Shell
Sarah Gavron's Rocks will compete for the Golden Shell Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival

British director Sarah Gavron's latest film Rocks is one of six additional titles that has been announced in the San Sebastian competition line-up.

The film, written by Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson, tells the story of a young girl who is determined to keep the fact that there mother has left her and her younger brother alone from the authorities, through fear of being separated from him.

Also joining the line-up is the second feature by Brazilian filmmaker Paxton Winters. Pacified, set in the favelas of Rio and produced by Darren Aronofsky, tells the story of a friendship that develops between a girl trying to get her mum out of trouble and an ex-convict trying to stick to the straight and narrow.

More established filmmakers include Alice Wincour, who brings her third film Proxima, starring Eva Green and Matt Dillon, about a female astronaut who finds the demands of work take their toll on her single-mum relationship with her young daughter. Relationships are also at the heart of Lhamo and Skalbe, the fourth feature by Tibetan filmmaker Sonthar Gyal, which charts the story of a couple whose past prevents them getting married.

Rounding out the additions to the competition are Mug director Malgorzata Szumowska's latest drama The Other Lamb, about a young girl who begins to question her place in the religious community she was born into and the feature debut of playwright and actor Gonçalo Waddington. His film Patrick, recounts the tale of an adolescent who was kidnapped as a child.

The latest batch of films take the number of competition titles at the festival - which runs from September 20 to 28 to 17 and completes the contenders for the Golden Shell.

Share this with others on...

Movies out this week include:

Is This Thing On? Nouvelle Vague Primate Rabbit Trap
News

Home truths Marijana Janković on Balkan representation, and the immigrant question of belonging

The division belle Suzannah Herbert on facing the US' troubled history and making Natchez

Spin-off alchemy Claude Schmitz on bringing back cop pairing for Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems

Past crime Christoffer Boe on creating a world for his period mystery Special Unit - The First Murder

It Was Just An Accident screenwriter arrested in Iran Jafar Panahi speaks out

Sundance announces winners Josephine, Nuisance Bear, Shame And Money and To Hold A Mountain take top prizes

More news and features

Interact

As we move into 2026, don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.

With awards season in full flow, you can keep track of the latest news on that here:

César nominations Nouvelle Vague leads the race for France's biggest awards

BAFTA nominations One Battle After Another and Sinners almost neck and neck

Critics' Circle Awards One Battle After Another wins fight

Oscars Sinners dominates the nominations