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San Sebastian goes extreme
The 61st edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival will launch a new section dedicated to adventure and action sports films.
After last year’s BIG FRIDAY proved a huge success with audiences, given the quality of its movies, this year’s festival sees the birth of SAVAGE CINEMA, a new section in collaboration with RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE, set to bring the best from the worlds of action sports, adventure and the great outdoors to San Sebastian.
Bene Mayr performs at Monashee in British Columbia, Canada © www.redbullcontentpool.com
Extreme sports films have always enjoyed a strong underground following, with surfing films, in particular, having a long history that has seen many innovations that have passed into mainstream cinema. There are many independent film festivals dedicated to extreme sports, but this move by a major international film festival to dedicate a section of their programme to the genre shows how much it has progressed in terms of production values and general audience interest. SAVAGE CINEMA is opening its doors to new techniques of filming, production and innovative ways of storytelling in action sports and outdoor filmmaking, and aims to demonstrate the obvious evolution in the quality of these films.
The Anoeta Velodrome and various cinemas throughout the city will host these exciting screenings with the protagonists and filmmakers in attendance. It will present the perfect opportunity for the general public to witness the adrenaline rush of these incredible athletes, without the danger. The aim of these films is to take the viewer to places that are usually not easily accessible to even casual practitioners.
Rock-climbing, snow and mountain sports, surfing and skateboarding are some of the disciplines featured in the films to be presented in the programme of at least five titles. With no restrictions in genre, length or other formal criteria, the festival will feature documentaries, as well as short and experimental films, alongside fictional works.
Savage Cinema joins the Festival as a non-competitive section with its own selection committee: Maialen Beloki (member of the San Sebastian Festival Management/Selection Committee), Phillip Manderla (Filmmaker and Head of Feature Films at RBMH) and Sancho Rodríguez (Coordinator of Savage Cinema).
