Stars, Auteurs, Business and More: What to Expect at This Year’s San Sebastián Festival

Cited by many creatives and execs as their favorite film festival, Spain’s San Sebastián — a European A-list fest just below Berlin, Cannes and Venice in size — stirs up a classic cinematic cocktail for 2025 under director José Luis Rebordinos.

There’s a choice selection of august auteurs and discoveries in competition, plus most of Spain’s finest films of 2025, fresh winds blowing from a New Directors sidebar. There’s also plenty for the industry to drink in, led by the CAA Media Finance-backed Creative Investors’ Conference and projects at the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum. A beacon of stability, San Sebastián will, however, inevitably frame vertiginous change sweeping across the world’s film and TV landscape.

Here are seven takes on the 2025 edition, which runs Sept. 19-27, unspooling in the exquisite Basque resort city:

Stars

On Sept. 26, Jennifer Lawrence will pick up a career achievement Donostia Award, San Sebastian’s highest honor.