San Sebastián gave Spanish cinema two major prizes. Javier Cámara won for _5 minutos más_, while _La bola negra_ took the public award after leading the Perlak vote.
On 26 September 2026, the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival ended with Javier Cámara taking the Concha de Plata al mejor actor de reparto for _5 minutos más_. The audience also chose Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi's _La bola negra_ for the Premio del Público Ciudad de San Sebastián a la mejor película.
Spain therefore had a clear place in the festival's final awards. Cámara shares the result with a film led by Belén Cuesta and Berto Romero and directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera. It follows a marriage in crisis that becomes trapped in a time loop.
That matters.
La bola negra, dirigida por Javier Calvo y Javier Ambrossi, había compartido previamente en Cannes el premio a la mejor dirección con Paweł Pawlikowski.
The award sends Cámara back to the Kursaal stage.
In 2015, he won the Concha de Plata al Mejor Actor ex aequo with Ricardo Darin for _Truman_. His new prize recognises his supporting performance in _5 minutos más_. It is his second major San Sebastián award, according to the festival's official records.
_La bola negra_ won its prize through the Perlak audience vote. The second film by 'los Javis' scored 9,40. It finished just ahead of _Naza_ by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, which scored 9,29 and won the prize for best European title. The British production denounces what its creators describe as the «systematic» killing of civilians in Gaza. EFE confirmed both Perlak results and the scores. The festival also named _La bola negra_ the section's audience favourite.
Variety отмечает, что Javier Cámara стал единственным испанским победителем в конкурсной программе. При этом основной домашний успех Испании обеспечили именно зрительские награды, включая победу La bola negra в Perlak.
The top festival prize went to _Tender Loving Care_ by Mike Leigh. The film collected two other awards as well. Leigh is known for _Secretos y mentiras_, _El secreto de Vera Drake_, _Another Year_ and _Mi única familia_. His new film is an emotional social drama about the importance of care. Leigh could not travel to San Sebastián because of his fragile health. Speaking by videoconference, he said it would "probably" be his last film.
Other jury awards filled out the palmarès. The Premio Especial del Jurado went to _Border_, directed by Ah Biao. Amanda Kernell received the Concha de Plata a la mejor dirección for _Brace Your Heart_. Kate O'Flynn and Asta Kamma August shared the Concha de Plata a la mejor interpretación protagonista for _Tender Loving Care_ and _Growth of the Soil_ respectively.
_Growth of the Soil_ also won the Premio del Jurado a la mejor fotografía for Oskar Dahisbakken. Mike Leigh received the Premio del Jurado al mejor guion for _Tender Loving Care_.
The closing gala also marked José Luis Rebordinos's departure after fifteen years as director of Zinemaldia. The festival community gave him a warm ovation. It moved many people in the room.
His tenure ends with Spanish acting and audience choice beside the main prizes for international cinema. Spanish cinema did not take the top competition award. It did secure a major acting honour and the strongest public vote.
Cámara's prize rewards a performance. _La bola negra_ shows how strongly audiences responded in Perlak. The official festival release, EFE and Variety all draw the same line: Spain had limited representation among the competition winners, but its films performed strongly with audiences.
