José Luis Rebordinos is opening his final edition as director of the San Sebastián International Film Festival, a post he has held for fifteen years. The 74th Zinemaldia begins with 263 films from 47 countries, and the red carpet is ready at the Kursaal. Werner Herzog will receive the festival's first Donostia Award.
The Official Selection includes 17 feature films competing for the basic prizes, including the Golden Shell. Trade coverage describes them as world premieres outside their countries of production; three are Spanish. Organisers are also introducing a best soundtrack award for the first time.
The 74th San Sebastián Film Festival runs from 18 to 26 September 2026, information from the festival’s official website. Almost all screenings have sold out.
This edition carries clear institutional weight. San Sebastián is closing the fifteen-year cycle led by Rebordinos, who took charge in 2011. In an interview with RTVE, he called it a normal edition, though small tributes are planned around his departure and the emotion they may stir.
Rebordinos measures those fifteen years by the festival's growing reach in the film industry. He says the event already had major cinematographic prestige when he arrived, but little industry presence. By his estimate, the number of accredited industry professionals has since risen from just over 600 to more than 2,400. The figure has not been independently audited.
The festival has announced that the closing film will be Le Faux Soir by Belgian director Michaël R. Roskam. Naomi Watts is also due to receive a Donostia Award at a special screening on 19 September. She and Herzog are the two separately announced recipients of the honour for the 2026 edition.
Rebordinos also points to a fuller calendar. The aim was to extend the festival beyond its nine official days and establish it as a year-round institution. The festival's official materials and international industry coverage describe that expanded professional role as one of the basic changes of the Rebordinos era.
His personal account is tied to names and missed chances. Rebordinos recalls Glenn Close as the first Donostia Award recipient of his tenure. He also mentions Monica Bellucci and Sigourney Weaver, as well as Javier Bardem and Ricardo Darín, whom he describes as a friend. Julianne Moore and Clint Eastwood are the two absences he regrets most.
His most controversial decisions are part of that record. Rebordinos says he is proud that the festival defended the presumption of innocence when it invited Johnny Depp amid allegations of mistreatment involving his former wife. He also cites its defence of freedom of expression through the screening of the film about Josu Ternera. The festival's condemnation of the genocide in Gaza, he says, was a basic human-rights issue. EFE reported that the opening also included explicit statements in support of artistic freedom and dissident cinema.
Actresses Mariona Terés and Fariba Seikhan will present the opening ceremony, broadcast live on La 2 and RTVE Play. Herzog's latest film, Bucking fastard, will be shown during the evening. Orlando Bloom, its male lead, will also be in San Sebastián. Festival coverage and EFE have confirmed Herzog's Donostia Award.
Radiotelevisión Española is an official sponsor and will cover more than the ceremony. TVE and RNE programmes will broadcast from the RTVE tent, along with their news coverage. RTVE Play is also launching the channel 'RTVESANSEBASTIANFES' for festival information.
The handover is more than a ceremonial farewell. Rebordinos leaves behind a festival with greater industry presence and strong audience demand, alongside its year-round ambition. The 74th edition also tests the legacy he has described. San Sebastián is starting its next chapter from a stronger institutional position than the one he found in 2011.
