San Sebastian: Paprika Steen Chairs Main Jury

John Hopewell

MADRID – Danish actress-director Paprika Steen, star of early ‘90s Dogme films “The Celebration,” “The Idiots” and “Mifune,” will chair the jury of the 63rd San Sebastian Festival, which is packed by figures which have won festival plaudits but often or sometimes explored – or at least attempted – a broader audience cinema.All of which may or may not influence its final decisions, announced at fest close on Sept. 26.

A best actress winner at Karlovy Vary (“Applaus,” 2009) and San Sebastian last year, playing a control freak in Bille August’s euthanasia drama “Silent Heart,” Steen will be joined by London-based producer-turned director Uberto Pasoloni who won eternal fame producing “The Full Monty,” before taking the directors chair for debut “Machan” and Venice Horizons best director winner “Still Life.”

Also set for jury service: Italian cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, who lensed Michelangelo Antonioni’s “The Passenger,” and is a regular d.p. for Barbet Shroeder, Francis Veber and Ettore Scola; India’s Nandita Das, an actress – in Deepa Mehta’s 1996-2005 trilogy “Fire,” “Earth” and “Water,” for instance – director (Toronto player “Firaaq,” 2008) and playwright (“Between the Lines,”) who served on the Cannes competition jury in 2005 and its Cinefondation-Shorts jury in 2013; and Paris-based producer Julie Salvador, who co-produced Alain Resnais’ 2012 “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” before producer Yolande Moreau’s “Henri” in 2013.

The jury for a competition which has a traditionally significant Spanish and Latin American presence – seven titles, three Spanish-Latin American co-productions – also includes Spanish director Daniel Monzon who broke through with 2009’s “Cell 211,” one of the biggest sleepers of recent years, and helmed “El Niño,” another social-issue thriller, which ranked No. 2 at Spain’s 2014 box office.

Also delivering judgement will be producer Hernan Musaluppi, a driving force of the New Argentine Cinema from Martin Rejtman’s 2003 “The Magic Gloves” through double Berlin Alfred Bauer Silver Bear Award winners – Rodrigo Moreno’s 2006 “The Custodian” and Adrian Biniez’s “Giant,” in 2009 – and Victoria Galardi’s debut, “Lovely Loneliness,” which took a San Sebastian Youth Jury Award in 2008.

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