Five films from the Official Section and two from the New Directors section are nominated for the RTVE - Another Look Award

Films by Dolores Fonzi, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, Milagros Mumenthaler, Xiaoyu Qin, Tribeny Rai, Emilie Thalund, and Alice Winocour will compete for the 19^th RTVE - Another Look Award at the 73^rd San Sebastian International Film Festival, which opens next Friday, the 19^th. RTVE, an official sponsor of the festival, presents this award each year to a feature film that explores issues relevant to women’s realities in any sphere — directed, performed, or written by creators, both women and men, who approach diverse themes from a gender perspective.

This year’s jury is comprised of journalist and RTVE board member María Solana, filmmaker Gema Blasco —who released La Furia / Fury this year— and journalist Amaia Ereñaga. They jury members will analyse five films in the Official Selection –Belén, by Dolores Fonzi (Argentina), Couture, by Alice Winocour (France and USA), Jianyu laide mama / Her Heart Beats in its Cage, by Xiaoyu Qin (China), Las corrientes / The Currents, by Milagros Mumenthaler (Switzerland and Argentina) and Los domingos / Sundays, by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain)– and two films in New Directors –Chhora jastai / Shape of Momo, by Tribeny Rai (India and Republic of Korea) andVaegtloes / Weightless, by Emilie Thalund (Denmark)–. 

The award will be presented on Saturday the 28^th at the Festival’s closing gala. Last year, Payal Kapaida’s film All We Imagine As Light won the award, and Laura Carreira’s On Falling received a special mention.

This year, RTVE will hold four premiere galas for its films participating in the 73^rd edition of the Festival. It will be a week of premieres with the release of the films Parecido a un asesinato / Hidden Murder (Antonio Hernández), Ya no quedan junglas / The Gentleman (Luis Gabriel Beristáin), La cena / The Dinner (Manuel Gómez Pereira), and La tregua / The Truce (Miguel Ángel Vivas).

Official Selection

Belén

Dolores Fonzi (Argentina)

Country(ies) of production: Argentina

Cast: Dolores Fonzi, Camila Plaate, Laura Paredes, Julieta Cardinali, Luis Machín, César Troncoso, Sergio Prina, Ruth Plaate, Lili Juárez

Tucumán, Argentina, 2014; a young woman is admitted to a hospital with severe abdominal pain, unaware she is pregnant. She wakes up handcuffed to a gurney and surrounded by police. She is accused of having self-induced an abortion and, after two years in detention, is sentenced to eight years in prison for aggravated homicide. A female lawyer from Tucumán will fight for her freedom with the support of thousands of women and organizations, who unite to change the course of history.

Couture

Alice Winocour (France)

Country(ies) of production: France - USA

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Anyier Anei, Ella Rumpf, Louis Garrel

In the frenzy of Fashion Week, three women cross paths in Paris, grappling with the world’s tragedies and the questions of their lives: Maxine, an American film director in her forties, discovers she has cancer; Ada, a young South Sudanese model, escapes a predetermined destiny to be thrust into a deceptive universe and French makeup artist Angèle, a small hand working in the shadows of the catwalks, dreams of escaping her life.

Jianyu laide mama / Her Heart Beats in Its Cage

Qin Xiaoyu (China)

Country(ies) of production: China

Cast: Zhao Xiaohong, Zhang Jingqi, Wang Junyan

Hong has been in prison for ten years for killing her husband. Due to her contribution to the inmates’ art troupe, Hong unexpectedly gets a chance to reduce her sentence. Her son, Lele, has been raised by his grandmother and has never been ready to live with his mother. After their reunion, Lele always treats her coldly. With a lonely grandmother who wants Lele to come back to her, and a society that is not kind to ex-prisoners, will Hong be able to escape the intangible prison and regain the freedom of her heart?

Las corrientes / The Currents

Milagros Mumenthaler (Argentina)

Country(ies) of production: Switzerland - Argentina

Cast: Isabel Aimé González Sola, Esteban Bigliardi

At the height of her career, Lina, a 34-year-old Argentine stylist, is driven by a sudden impulse after an award ceremony in Switzerland. Back in Buenos Aires, she says nothing, but something in her has shifted - quiet and invisible, it subtly unravels a past she thought she had left behind.

Los domingos / Sundays

Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain)

Country(ies) of production: Spain - France

Cast: Blanca Soroa, Patricia López Arnaiz, Miguel Garcés, Juan Minujín, Mabel Rivera, Nagore Aranburu

Los domingos / Sundays tells the story of Ainara, an idealistic and brilliant 17-year-old who has to decide what university degree to pursue — or at least that’s what her family hopes she will do. However, the young woman says she feels increasingly closer to God and is considering embracing the life of a cloistered nun. The news takes the entire family by surprise, creating a chasm and putting everyone to the test.

New Directors

Chhora jastai / Shape of Momo

Tribeny Rai (India)

Country(ies) of production: India - South Korea

Cast: Gaumaya Gurung, Pashupati Rai, Shyama Shree Sherpa, Rahul Mukhia, Janaki Kadayat

Bishnu returns to her Himalayan village after quitting her job, only to face mounting family pressures and societal expectations. As tensions rise with her pregnant sister’s arrival and a budding relationship with a "suitable" boy from her community, Bishnu must choose between conforming to tradition or claiming her independence.

Vaegtloes / Weightless

Emilie Thalund (Denmark)

Country(ies) of production: Denmark

Cast: Marie Helweg Augustsen, Ella Paaske, Joachim Fjelstrup

Lea, a fifteen-year-old girl, spends her summer at a health camp surrounded by forest and beach. Lea is determined to lose weight, and she longs to be like her friend Sasha, her new roommate at the camp: fun, lively, and unafraid to take up space in the world. While Sasha seeks attention from the local boys, Lea’s heart is set on Rune, a charming instructor from the camp. When Rune reciprocates her attention, something awakens within Lea; an unfamiliar yet thrilling desire.