City of Life and Death

No, nothing terrible has happened in Donostia - this is the title of the film that has just won the Golden Shell award in the 57th International Film Festival. In a year that has been marked, blighted you might say, by the world economic crisis there had been fears that this year's film festival would inevitably be a shadow of its usual self as a consequence of cost-cutting measures. But happily, this has not been the case. 'City of Life and Death' was directed by Lu Chuan and it marks the first occasion that a Chinese film has taken the top prize in this film festival. On past occasions the choice of the jury has not always been well-received by critics or public alike but this year, Lu Chuan's film was both the critics' and popular favourite too. The film tells the story of the brutal Japanese occupation of Nanking in 1937. Filmed in black and white, the film also won the award for best cinematography.

For those to whom the film festival is as much about glamour as cinematographic art, the undoubted high point was with Brad Pitt's visit. Brad, sporting a distinctive goatee beard that has grown considerably since the photo, was attending the festival in the company of QuentinTarantino, whose film 'Inglourious Basterds' was presented outside of the official competition , in the section 'Pearls from other Festivals'. And yes, the title of the film is spelt the way it is spelt. Set in German-occupied France, 'Inglourious Basterds' presents Brad Pitt as the commander of a team of American soldiers called the "Basterds" who plot to assassinate the Nazi political leadership, and as many other Nazis as possible. Back in the kinder world of the film festival, Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino captured the media attention throughout their brief stay and were generous with their public. A dinner at the restaurant of Juan Maria Arzak, which Brad described as 'one of the best of his life', attracted such a crowd of well-wishers in the street outside that police had to come to control the traffic.

This year the lifetime achievement award, the Donostia Award, went to Sir Ian McKellen. It was said that there was a good deal of uncertainty amongst the public as to what to expect from Sir Ian before the event but all doubts were dispelled during the award ceremony as he charmed his audience with the warmth and simple elegance of his address, receiving a sustained, standing ovation at the end. Sir Ian joins a long list of distinguished actors and actresses to have received the Donostia Award previously. Sir Ian promised he would return to visit Donostia and he showed his attachment to the city by wearing a promotional T shirt for the San Sebastian, European Capital of Culture 2016 campaign... which will be the subject of the next posting!