San Sebastian Film Fest Boss Talks Legacy, Jennifer Lawrence and a Glenn Close Dinner for the Ages

It’s José Luis Rebordinos’ penultimate year in charge of the San Sebastian Film Festival after 15 editions as director. The Spaniard eats, sleeps and breathes this fest. And that’s exactly why he’s leaving.

“I want to write, I want to work [at other] festivals, I want to work for friends,” the programmer tells The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the 73rd instalment, packed with A-list talent, hotly anticipated directorial debuts, a whopping 37 Basque productions and a Creative Investors’ Conference boasting the industry’s most in-demand producers. “I can direct the festival without a problem, but it’s impossible for me to do new things —so it’s important to have a new director with new ideas.”

Rebordinos’ open, non-territorial approach to Spain’s leading festival reflects the deep respect he has earned over three decades in San Sebastian. He launched the city’s Horror and Fantasy Film Festival in 1989, joined the main festival’s director’s committee in 1996 and, after taking over as director in 2011, has spent the past 15 years building it into a cultural powerhouse.

“We love to say that we are the smaller of the big festivals,” Rebordinos says, noting San Sebastian has always seen itself as below the top-tier European fests of Cannes, Venice and Berlin. “Little by little, we found our place. The festival is in a good moment, and at the same time, we have a very good team.”

San Sebastian may not have the star wattage of its French, Italian or German counterparts, but it has become a reliable draw for Hollywood heavyweights. This year’s red carpet will feature Angelina Jolie, Juliette Binoche, Paul Dano, Harris Dickinson, Matt Dillon, Colin Farrell, Ron Perlman and Stellan Skarsgard. Rebordinos, a self-professed cinephile, knows how to land marquee names, but he’s just as intent on showcasing top-tier filmmakers.

“We are a festival with a big public audience,” he begins. “And for that, it’s important to have Angelina Jolie and Colin Farrell because the audience wants to watch the stars in the city. But for us, it’s also very important to have the good directors.” He points to new works from Richard Linklater, Jafar Panahi, Joachim Trier and Claire Denis, all screening in San Sebastian this year. “The most important [thing] is the films in the festival.”

Alice Winocour’s Couture with Jolie and Louis Garrel, Edward Berger’s Farrell-starring Ballad of a Small Player, and James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg led by Russell Crowe and Rami Malek are just a few of the buzzy award faves set to make a splash on the promenade.

But Rebordinos says the festival’s true identity comes through in its Donostia Awards, San Sebastian’s signature career honors. This year’s first recipient is Jennifer Lawrence, a choice Rebordinos calls emblematic of what the festival is trying to achieve.

“She’s very young, she has an Oscar, she’s worked with a lot of very important directors and at the same time, she’s the girl of The Hunger Games,” says the fest director. “This week, a lot of young people called me to ask very crazy things: ‘When is it possible to watch Jennifer Lawrence? Is it possible to get tickets? Can you arrange a meeting with me and Jennifer Lawrence?”

“The most important problem in this moment for cinema is to have people in the cinema,” he continues. “And [therefore we need] young people in this festival. In 20 years, the only possibility for us, the people that love cinema, is the young people that love cinema.”

Alongside Lawrence, the festival will honor Spanish producer and longtime Pedro Almodóvar collaborator Esther García, whom Rebordinos describes as “an incredible woman.” Together, the two recipients reflect the festival’s dual commitment to global star power and the local industry it grew out of.

Not wanting to show favoritism, Rebordinos is relucant to discuss this year’s competition lineup. But there are a few out-of-competition titles that speak to the San Sebastian ethos, including the Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix-backed The Voice of Hind Rajab. Kaouther Ben Hania’s drama reconstructs the events surrounding the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who in January 2024 was traveling by car with family when they came under fire from the Israeli military while fleeing Gaza City. “It’s a good film,” Rebordinos says about its inclusion on the lineup, “but it’s more [about prompting] discourse about the genocide.”

Elena Molina and Isaki Lacuesta’s documentary Flores para Antonio, narrated by actress Alba Flores, which explores the life and work of her father, the musician and composer Antonio Flores, is another top pick for Rebordinos; as is Junji Sakamoto’s Climbing for Life, following the first woman who summited Mount Everest. “I think every person could find an interesting film [in our lineup] because it’s very eclectic,” he says about his 2025 slate. “We have thrillers, radical films…a lot of different films.”

t’s difficult to single out a favorite memory from the last 15 years rubbing shoulders with industry giants, but Rebordinos can’t help but recall a dinner he had with a personal hero of his, Glenn Close. “It was wonderful,” he says of the evening with the Oscar winner, and first Donostia Award recipient under Rebordinos’ reign. “She was lovely. We spoke about family, about New York, about the kitchen — we both love food.”

That mix of personal passion and international perspective has defined Rebordinos’ tenure, and continues to shape San Sebastian’s reach, from high-profile red carpets at the Kursaal to initiatives like Proyecta in Buenos Aires, which supports new voices in Latin American cinema by providing up to 20 percent of financing for budding directors shooting their first or second feature.

It’s a point of pride for Rebordinos that under his leadership, San Sebastian has carved out its own space on the global stage — a place where Hollywood stars and new auteurs share the same spotlight, and where the next generation of filmmakers and audiences can discover the power of cinema.

The 2025 San Sebastian Film Festival 2025 runs Sept. 19-27.