Wolverine in San Sebastián

Hugh Jackman arrived in San Sebastián and wooed all of us. He is much younger than the actors who are usually presented with the Donostia Award – a lifetime-achievement award – but he is talented and charming so who else can outdo him? At the age of forty-four and thanks to a wide variety of  roles throughout his career, he has shown us that he is able to sing, dance, play a superhero, host the Oscars ceremony and perform on stage, in brief, he is a very versatile actor.

He has very good looks but perhaps what is more remarkable is that he usually comes across as a very easy-going person in interviews. Sometimes film stars appear to be arrogant, distant and whimsical but Hugh Jackman is just the opposite. Maybe he´s just pretending to be a nice guy but cinema is about pretences and make-believe so if he is so good at pretending, obviously, he deserves to be presented with the Award, don´t you think?

What do you think about Hugh Jackman? Have you seen any of his films? Do you know any other actors who were presented with the Donostia Award?

It´s time for festivals

As summer comes to an end, we must go back to our daily routine. It´s time to go back to normal and it´s also time to embark on new experiences but above all, it´s time for festivals: film festivals!!

This year the Venice film festival has been full of English-speaking cinema. Most media have drawn their attention to two British films: Philomena and Under the Skin.

Philomena tells us the story of an elderly Irish woman – Judi Dench – whose child was taken away from her by nuns many decades earlier. An initially sceptical journalist played by Steven Coogan helps her to track down the identity of the child. The film, which has had very good reviews, has been directed by Stephen Frears.

Set in the Scottish Highlands, Under the Skin is Jonathan Glazer´s film adaptation of the Dutch-Scots writer Michel Faber´s 2000 novel. The plot of the novel is about an alien who masquerades as an alluring woman in order to kidnap hitch-hikers and sell them back home for food, consequently the film attempts to portray the story of that alien.

There have been very different reactions to the film but it has not been received with critical acclaim as far as mainstream industry voices are concerned. Maybe one of the reasons why this film has hogged the limelight is that its protagonist is played by Scarlett Johansson, who attended the Venice premiere along with Jonathan Glazer.

 As you can in this photo Scarlett Johansson looks very different in Under the Skin.

 It is also worth mentioning another English-speaking film: Kill Your Darlings. This film is about the early years of the beat generation, a generation which has already become familiar in cinematic terms thanks to Kerouac´s On the Road, which was adapted for the screen in 2012. In Kill Your Darlings Daniel Radcliffe plays the role of Allen Ginsberg and by doing so he makes it clear that he has left behind the character of Harry Potter.

Far away from the decadently beautiful city of Venice, another film festival overlaps the Venice festival: the Toronto film festival. The Canadian city has hosted the world premiere of The Fifth Estate, which is a portrayal of the life of WIKILeaks founder Julian Assange. The part of Assange is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, a British actor who has become famous for his performance of Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC TV series. Cumberbatch has been regarded as “the man of the festival” as he appears in three of the festival films: The Fifth Estate, 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County.

Cumberbatch at the press conference held on the morning after the premiere of the film.

The film is directed by Bill Condon and Dan Stevens, who is famous both sides of the Athlantic for his role of Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, plays the role of a journalist who is well-known in Britain: Ian Katz.

As Venice and Toronto bid us farewell, the beautiful city of San Sebastian takes the baton since it hosts another film festival in September. It´s a bit early to guess which films will be held in high regard but we do know that the 61^st edition of the San Sebastian Festival has chosen Hugh Jackman to be presented with its Donostia Award on 27^th September prior to the screening of his latest work: Prisoners. The Australian actor is said to be one of the most versatile actors of our time who has won the Golden- Globe and Tony Awards as well as being nominated for an Academy Award.

Apart from Hugh Jackman, Carmen Maura will also be presented with the Donostia Award on 22^nd September as a tribute to one of the most outstanding careers in Spanish cinema over the last decades. Carmen Maura has become a household name all over Europe where she has won numerous and prestigious awards throughout her career.

As you can see, September is a good month when it comes down to watching films as there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy this wonderful industry.

So, what do you think about film festivals? Do you like to keep up-to-date with the latest news related to these events? Have you already heard about any of the films that I have mentioned? Do you feel like watching any of them?