San Sebastian International Film Festival opened its gates on September 20th celebrating its 61st edition. The festival will be finished on September 28th after having shocased a variety of films from all over the world. 

In the New Directors Section of the festival we meet some of the most aspiring filmmakers of the Balkans. Tudor Cristian Jurgiu from Romania and Michalis Konstantatos from Greece are participating in the festival with their first feature films. Tudor Cristian Jurgiu`s Japanese Dog tells the story of an old man reuniting with his son who has been living in Japan while Michalis Konstantatos` Luton is about the everyday life of three very different persons trying to find their own way in what seems to be a still life. In the same section we meet Yozgat Blues, the second feature film by Mahmut Fazil, that tells the story of Sabri, a barber in Yozgat -a very small city in the middle Anatolia-, who has some emotional breakdowns when he runs into Yavuz and Neşe who come to the town to sing in a small music hall-bar. 

In Animatopia. New Paths Of Animation Cinema Spanish audiences will have the chance to watch one of the best animated films of the last years, Anca Damian`s Crulic – The Path To Beyond that recreates the true story of Claudiu Crulic, a Romanian citizen who was arrested in Poland for a crime he claimed he never committed.

Manuel Martín Cuenca`s Canibal, a co-production from Spain, Romania, Russia and France will compete for the Golden Shell Award in the Official Competition of the festival.

Last but not least, this year`s Golden Bear of the Berlin International Film Festival, Child`s Pose by Calin Peter Netzer will be screened at the Pearls Section. The film is about a 60-year-old woman who puts all her skills, contacts and money into preventing her son, involved in a tragic accident, from going to prison.