The Ruination of Men, Grand Winner at San Sebastian 2000 On Saturday night, September 30, the San Sebastian Festival awarded its prizes at the closing gala. How fitting for a Mexican - and not just any Mexican, his name is Arturo Ripstein - to receive the Golden Shell for the Best Film and Best Screenplay: The Ruination of Men. Several other prizes were bestowed on European filmmakers, but when it comes comes to acting, San Sebastian once again honored the best in the Spanish world. And let us remind you that the jury was headed by British director Stephen Frears. more De Niro Delights Audience while Accepting Achievement Award A few years ago, during an interview, Dustin Hoffman set about mimicking Robert de Niro when he was answering questions by journalists. Indeed, no word came out of his mouth. Instead he delivered an anthology of bored and ironic expressions which, picked up by Hoffman, were riotously funny. Anyone who has interviewed Robert de Niro will tell you: it's not easy to get a few articulate reflections out of him. Facing a packed press conference room proved another ordeal for the great actor who yet managed to make the press laugh with some slips of self-mockery. more Dinosaurs Let Loose at the Velodrome Wednesday night, the scuttle of thousands of excited children added to the stumping of dozens of dinosaurs fighting for their lives to turn the screening of Disney's Dinosaurs into the loudest thing that ever happened at the Velodrome of San Sebastian, which becomes a mega-cinema during the festival with a capacity of 3000 and a 400 m2 screen. Roy Disney went on the stage and articulated a timid "Buenas Noches" before addressing the near-capacity juvenile audience. more   No Competition Favorites Yet Midway into the festival, no clear buzz is centered around any competition film, nor any deals as San Sebastian has no market. Several Spanish films stand out nonetheless, the opening film La Comunidad (Commonwealth) by Alex de la Iglesia, Francisco Lombardi’s Tinta Roja, the Mexican road movie Sin Dejar Huella (Without A Trace) by Maria Novaro and El Otro Barrio (The Other Side) by Salvador Garcia. more Farewell Diego Monday night at the grand Maria Christina Hotel, an official cocktail and dinner was organized to bid farewell to Diego Galan. A film critic, Diego joined the festival in 1985 as a general delegate and was appointed festival director in 1995. Two month before the festival, he announced his decision to step down for strictly personal reasons. It is Mikel Olaciregui who is to assume the empty position. Mikel joined the festival team as manager in 1993 and was appointed deputy directory in 1999. According to the national magazine ABC, "There was more emotion at this dinner than in the films in competition." Interview with the two directors Sundance Channel Announces Spain and Portugal Launching Also Monday night, the most famous night club of San Sebastian, the Bataplan, became the launch pad for the first European representation of Sundance Channel. Founded in 1996, Sundance Channel has become a major asset for the promotion and broadcasting of independent films and, in accordance with a festival spirit, offers its subscribers regular thematic and retrospective film cycles called "mini-festivals". Interview Paola Freccero, Vice President at Sundance Channel International. more Press Conference Highlights Each day two or three press conferences are programmed to give the press a chance to drill those behind the films, tributes or retrospectives. These sessions are generally dominated by the Spanish press and well frequented by cameramen. Here are a few highlights. Bernardo Bertolucci Not known for giving interviews abundantly, Bertolucci was delightfully open and revealing before the sea of reporters and cameras. Since no recent film was presented, the questions turned towards his past seeking new insight into this master's works featured in a retrospective at San Sebastian. Excerpts from the press conference Michael Caine In what has been a year of awards for Michael Caine - including winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Cider House Rules and being named a Sir by the Queen -- his newest honor was the Donostia Award for Lifetime Achievement Saturday night, September 23. Michael Caine receives his award at the gala presentation John Waters Baltimore's most notorious filmmaker, John Waters is one of the most daring authors of contemporary cinema, a master in bad taste so to speak. His latest film Cecil B Demented, a spoof on Hollywood filmmaking, screened out of competition at Cannes, went onto Toronto and now at San Sebastian where it was one of the few movies to screen at the Velodrome, one of the largest screening facilities in the world. Love's a Bitch is People's Choice Favorite So Far As the first weekend came to a close, the thirty degree Celsius weather and blue skies also left, but not for long as the sun reappeared Monday morning. Many screenings have been shown to sold-out audiences, and fortunately opportunities to see these films in other venues the next day are possible. At this point, the barometer in the Zabaltegi venue shows Amores Perros (Love's a Bitch) way ahead as the people's choice, while Alaska.de is the slight favorite of the young people's vote. more Region Shaken by Latest assassination Although the sun warmed those in San Sebastian for the 48th edition of the festival, the city - and the entire Basque region - was shaken by the latest assassination on Thursday morning, September 21. The festival officially opened that night, but the Inaugural Cocktail - Reception at midnight to be held at the event's nucleus, the Kursaal Centre, was cancelled. more Pre-fest News Grand Prize Already Decided And the winner is … Magnolia? For the second year in a row, the international federation of film critics - the FIPRESCI - will hold its yearly awards ceremony (for films released between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2000) at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The award, officially called the "Grand Prix" is the only award from FIPRESCI that is voted on by all its 150 members (rather than a festival-specific jury). This year the award will go to Magnolia from Paul Thomas Anderson in a ceremony held in his honor. Magnolia features an all-star ensemble cast, including Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore. The two runner-up films were Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark, and Abbas Kiarostami's The Wind Will Carry Us. San Sebastian Honors Robert De Niro and Michael Caine Actors Michael Caine and Robert De Niro now have more in common than their profession and a few Oscar nominations … Robert de Niro and Michael Caine will be in San Sebastian this month to receive Donostia Awards for Lifetime Achievement at this year's San Sebastian International Film Festival. De Niro will accept the prize on 29 September and will be joined on-stage by the up-and-coming actor Javier Bardem, who recently won the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival for Before Night Falls. In what has been a year of awards for Michael Caine - including winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Cider House Rules and being named a Sir by the Queen -- his newest honor will be to receive the Sebastian International Film Festival's Donostia Award. This is the second time that the fest has honored Caine; in 1996 he won the Best Actor Award for his work in Bob Rafelson's Blood and Wine. He will be in person in San Sebastian on the Kursaal stage to receive the award from Spanish actress Rosa Maria Sarda. Caine joins a legion of international celebrities who have accepted this honor including Gregory Peck (the first recipient in 1986), Susan Sarandon, and Catherine Deneuve. Presentation Get ready for some tapas, sangria, sun and cinema with the 48th annual San Sebastian Film Festival, kicking off 21 September. The fest opens with a screening of La Comunidad (Commonwealth) by Alex de Iglesias -- the first time since 1992's screening of The Master Swordsman by Pedro Oleo -- that a Spanish film has opened the event. It is also marked by the departure of festival director Diego Galan, who announced in July that this would be his last festival in the position. Named in May by Talk magazine as one of the Top Five festivals for glitz in the world, this year's Donostia Film Festival (better known as San Sebastian) promises to be an event full of glamour and good cinema on the shores of Europe's celebrated resort town. more