Overview

• Esther García became the first producer to receive a Premio Donostia, presented by Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar during the 73rd edition’s opening gala at the Kursaal.
• From the stage, García thanked the festival for recognizing a non-actor, non-director and cautioned that men still hold the key decision posts at platforms and broadcasters.
• The gala honored the late Marisa Paredes, whose image fronts this year’s poster, with a performance by Izaro and a tribute delivered by Cayetana Guillén Cuervo as Paredes’ family looked on.
• Political declarations punctuated the ceremony, including Pedro Almodóvar’s “Viva Palestina libre,” Juliette Binoche’s appeal to end the suffering in Palestine, and García’s call to stop the killings in Gaza.
• At a festival event the next day in Tabakalera, actor Eduard Fernández accepted Spain’s National Prize of Cinematography wearing a Palestinian scarf and condemned what he called the barbarity in Gaza, with Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun praising his career.