San Sebastian announces further competition titles

Roger Michell and Bertrand Tavernier join line-up.

by Amber Wilkinson

Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan in Roger Michell's Le Weekend, which will compete for the Golden Shell at San Sebastian Film Festival
Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan in Roger Michell's Le Weekend, which will compete for the Golden Shell at San Sebastian Film Festival

San Sebastian Film Festival has announced six of its competition titles, including British film Le Weekend, directed by Notting Hill helmer Roger Michell.

The film stars Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan and Jeff Goldblum and recounts the tale of two English teachers trying to regain their marriage spark by returning to Paris, where they went on honeymoon.

French veteran Bertrand Tavernier will bring his political satire Quai d’Orsay to the 61st edition, based on the comic of the same name by Lanzac & Blain.

Colin Firth as Eric Lomax in The Railway Man, which will screen in competition at San Sebastian Film Festival
Colin Firth as Eric Lomax in The Railway Man, which will screen in competition at San Sebastian Film Festival

Also competing is UK/Australian co-production The Railyway Man - written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson, it is based on the real-life story of Eric Lomax and features a cast of big-hitters including Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Stellan Skarsgård. Lomax was a British solider forced to work on the Burma-Thailand railway after being captured by the Japanese during the Second World War. Years later, he discovers the man responsible for much of his suffering is still alive.

Mexico’s Fernando Eimbcke premieres his third film, Club Sándwich, about a mother who is forced to confront the fact her teenage son is growing up after he starts to fall in love.

Former Golden Shell winner French director François Dupeyron (What's Life? [C’est quoi la vie?]), returns with My Soul Healed by You (Mon âme par toi guérie), which tells the story of a man who can heal with his hands, forced to reassess his life after an accident.

Rouding out the announcement was Bad Hair (Pelo Malo), by Venezuela's Mariana Rondón, which tells the story of a youngster whose "bad hair" is just the beginning of his problems with his mother.

The festival runs from September 20-28, with more titles being announced in the coming weeks. Read the line-up so far, here.

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