Hogg, Noé and Jude to compete in San Sebastian side-bar

Zabaltegi-Tabakalera titles announced

by Amber Wilkinson

The Souvenir: Part II
The Souvenir: Part II Photo: Courtesy of Director's Fortnight

A total of 18 titles will compete for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award of this year's San Sebastian Festival’s all-encompassing competitive section, where any kind of style or length goes. This year 13 features, one medium-length film and four shorts will compete, including works by Joanna Hogg, Radu Jude and Gaspar Noé.

Several of the films selected come from festivals including Venice, Cannes and Berlin – including the Golden Bears for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film at the Berlinale. There are also works by filmmakers with connections to San Sebastian –Jean Gabriel Périot, Kiro Russo, Laura Wandel – for their participation in sections such as Nest and programmes like Ikusmira Berriak.

Among those that had a bow at Cannes, is Hogg's The Souvenir: Part II, Gaspar Noé's Vortex and Laura Wandel's Playground, which took home a FIPRESCI prize in the Un Certain Regard section. Other films from the French festival include Kira Kovalenko's Un Certain Regard winner Unclenching The Fists, Noémie Merlant's Mi Iubita, Mon Amour and Kirill Serebrennikov's Petrov's Flu.

Other big-hitters, include Radu Jude, who brings his Berlin Golden Bear winner Bad Luck Banging Or Looney Porn. The full list of titles is below:

  • Bad Luck Banging Or Looney Porn, Dir: Radu Jude, Romania
  • 107 Mothers, Dir: Peter Kerekes, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine
  • El Gran Movimiento, Dir: Kiro Russo, Bolivia
  • They Carry Death, Dir: Helen Girón, Samuel L Delgado, Spain, Colombia
  • Haruhara-San's Recorder, Dir: Kyoshi Sugita, Japan
  • Heltzear, Dir: Mikel Gurrea, Spain
  • The Crossing, Dir: Florence Mialhe, France
  • The Cormorant, Dir: Lubna Playoust, France, Italy
  • My Friends And The Fire, Dir: Laura Rius Aran, Spain
  • Mi Iubita, Mon Amour, Noémie Merlant, France
  • My Uncle Tudor, Dir: Olga Lucovnicova, Republic of Moldova
  • Petrov's Flu, Dir: Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia
  • Unclenching The Fists, Dir: Kira Kovalenko, Russia
  • Returning To Reims (Fragments), Dir Jean-Gabriel Périot, France
  • The Souvenir, Dir: Joanna Hogg, UK
  • Playground, Dir: Laura Wandel, Belgium
  • Vortex, Dir: Gaspar Noé, France, Argentina
  • Day Is Done, Dir: Zhang Dalei, China

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