The report on the 2024 Festival 

A total of 172,301 spectators flocked to the 676 screenings of the 252 films from 53 countries at the 72nd edition of the San Sebastian Festival, translating into a rise in audience figures of 8.9% compared to the 158,194 recorded in 2023.

For the third year in a row, the Festival has surpassed its record of accredited guests, whose figures passed the 5,000 mark for the first time last year and stood at 5,314 this year, i.e. a rise of 5.8%. Almost half of this figure is accounted for by the Industry section, with 2,392 people recorded in 2024, meaning 143% more than the 984 of 2010, the year when the Festival launched its new strategy in support of the industry.

A rise has also been noted in recent years with respect to the number of journalists who cover the Festival, particularly in the case of the international press: in the last edition we were visited by 226 journalists from 202 media outlets, the equivalent of 17% and 27% more than in 2023. 

Ten films presented at the San Sebastian Festival rack up a total of 18 Goya Awards

Ten films presented at the San Sebastian Festival were awarded in  18 categories at the 39th edition of the Goya Awards, granted by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences of Spain. El 47, which won the award for best film ex aequo with La infiltrada, was the most awarded film of the night.

La estrella azul / The Blue Star, Youth Award and Cooperación Española Award in 2023, won the awards for Best New Director (Javier Macipe) and Newcomer Actor (Pepe Lorente).

La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés, directed by Antón Álvarez, which received a Special Mention at the Kutxabank-New Directors Award, was chosen Best Documentary Film and received the award for Best Original Song (Antón Álvarez, Yerai Cortés).

La virgen roja / The Red Virgin, which premiered in the Official Selection, recieved two Goya Awards: Costume Design (Arantxa Ezquerro) and Art Direction (Javier Alvariño).

La habitación de al lado / The Room Next Door, screened on the occasion of the Donostia Award to Pedro Almodóvar after winning the Golden Lion in Venice, received the Goya Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay (Pedro Almodóvar), Original Score (Alberto Iglesias) and Cinematography (Edu Grau).

Marco, which closed Perlak after its screening in Venice, won the Goya Awards for Best Leading Actor (Eduard Fernández) and Makeup and Hairstyling (Karmele Soler, Sergio Pérez Berbel, Nacho Díaz).

Emilia Pérez, by Jacques Audiard, selected in Perlak, won the Best European Film Goya Award.

Ainda estou aquí / I'm Still Here by Walter Salles, selected in Perlak, won the Goya for Best Ibero-American film.

Segundo premio / Saturn Return, which was selected in Made in Spain after being awarded in Malaga, won the Goya Awards for Best Director (Isaki Lacuesta, Pol Rodríguez), Editing (Javi Frutos) and Sound (Diana Sagrista, Eva Valiño, Alejandro Castillo, Antonin Dalmasso).

Casa en flames / A House on Fire, directed by Dani de la Orden, which was selected in Made in Spain after being screened in Malaga, was recognized with the Goya award for Best Original Screenplay (Eduard Sola).

Cafuné, by Carlos Fernández de Vigo and Lorena Ares, which won the Loterías Second Award, received the Goya for Best Animated Short Film.

Actor Richard Gere, Donostia Award in 2007, received the International Goya.

San Sebastian Festival, third most important cultural initiative of 2024 in Spain and first in the Basque Country

The Culture Observatory of Fundación Contemporánea has announced the results of its analysis of Spain's cultural scene in 2024. The San Sebastian Festival has moved up one place from last year and is the third most important cultural event of the past year, after the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofia National Museum and Art Centre.

The San Sebastian Festival has been chosen one more year as the "cultural flagship" of the Basque Country, which recognises "the most outstanding proposal" according to the professionals of this community.