#San Sebastian Festival to Screen ‘May December,’ ‘Zone of Interest,’ ‘Past Lives’ in Best-of Sidebar

The San Sebastian film festival has again selected top picks of this year’s festival season for its Perlak sidebar, which screens recent, critically-acclaimed movies that have not yet been released in Spain.

The 2023 Perlak lineup, unveiled on Friday, includes Celine Song’s Sundance hit Past Lives and Maite Alberdi’s Grand Jury winning documentary The Eternal Memory, Christian Petzold’s Berlin breakout Afire and the Cannes sensations The Zone of Interest from Jonathan Glazer, Todd Haynes’s May December, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy, Monster from Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall.

Les indésirables, the latest social drama from French director Ladj Ly (Les Misérables), which premieres in Toronto next month, will close the Perlak section, screening out of competition. Another Toronto-bound feature, Dumb Money, also made the Perlak cut. The comedy from Australian filmmaker Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) tells the story of the GameStop short squeeze drama and stars Paul Dano, Seth Rogen and Shailene Woodley.

From Venice, San Sebastian will be re-spooling Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist, Danish period drama The Promised Land from director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) starring Mads Mikkelsen, Matteo Garrone’s refugee drama Io Capitano, and Michel Franco’s Memory starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard.

Except for the closing film, all movies in the Perlak section qualify for San Sebastian’s Audience Awards, the $54,000 (€50,000) best film honor and the $22,000 (€20,000) prize for best European film, voted on by San Sebastian viewers.

The 71st edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival runs Sept. 22-30.