San Sebastian has announced that international directors Javier Fesser, Hirkazu Kore-eda, Samira Makhmalbaf, Michael Winterbottom, Belen Macias and Yesim Ustaoglu will be showing their latest films in Official Selection at this year's festival.
They will join an already impressive list of film makers, including Christophe Honore, Kim Ki-Duk, Daniel Burman and local favourite Jaime Rosales.
British director Michael Winterbottom returns to competition at the festival for the third time with Genova, following 9 Songs (2004) and A Cock And Bull Story (2005). Genova tells the story of a father and his daughters who travel to the Italian town to try and start a new life after the death of their wife and mother. Colin Firth and Catherine Keener star.
Japanese film maker Hirokazu Kore-eda also returns to competition at San Sebastian for the third time with Still Walking (Aruitemo, Aruitemo), following After Life (which won the FIPRESCI prize at the festival in 1998) and Hana (2006). Still Walking is a family drama about grown children visiting their elderly parents to commemorate the death of the eldest son, who drowned 15 years earlier.
Oscar-nominated Spanish director Javier Fesser will bring her emotional drama Camino to the Basque festival. Inspired by a real event, the film tells the story of a bright 11-year-old girl who must simultaneously face two completely new events in her life - falling in love and dying.
Twice winner of the Jury prize at Cannes, Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf arrives at San Sebastian for the first time with Two-Legged Horse, her fourth feature about a poor boy hired to carry a wealthier lame boy around on his back like a horse.
A favourite on the festival circuit, Turkish director Yesim Ustaoglu will arrive in the Basque country with his fourth feature Pandora's Box (a French-Turkish-German-Belgian production) about three grown up siblings who are forced to put their differences aside in the search for their missing mother.
And last, but by no means least, local director Belen Macias will bring her debut feature El Patio De Mi Carcel to San Sebastian. The film tells the story of a petty thief who struggles with life outside of prison and so decides to help set up a theatre group with fellow criminals.
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