San Sebastián Chief José Luis Rebordinos on His Final Year at the Helm — and Being the Only Top Film Festival to Take a Political Stance
Is José Luis Rebordinos proud of what he’s achieved over the last 17 years at the San Sebastián International Film Festival?
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“No,” replies the Spaniard, a twinkle in his eye. He’s made time in his impossibly busy schedule — Penélope Cruz will be on the red carpet beside us in just a matter of hours — for a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, where he can reflect on his final edition in charge. “I am happy, because I think we did good work. We, not I, because we are a team. We are a lot of people, and we did very good things. I did my work. I have a salary for that. It’s a normal thing,” he smiles, before adding: “I am very bad [at] interviews!”
Rebordinos can be as self-effacing as he likes, but there is no denying that he is leaving an impressively sturdy event behind. As THR explored in depth in May, San Sebastián’s “hidden gem” reputation has been upended by its concentrated investment in star power, world premieres and an industry-focused agenda, all while pulling Basque cinema into the spotlight. Even at the back end of September, in the shadow of heavy-hitters Venice and Toronto, Rebordinos has made this seaside town a can’t-miss stop on the festival circuit. (It also helps, of course, that the food is world-renowned delicious.)
From 2027, Rebordinos will pass the reins to Maialen Beloki, his deputy director for 11 years and the first woman to head the San Sebastián Film Festival in its 74-year history. He has no qualms that this was the right time to give Beloki the opportunity. “She is very intelligent and a very good person. She knows the festival very well, and [being a woman], I think it is the perfect direction for the festival [to go in],” beams Rebordinos about his colleague. “I took the decision because I want to do new things,” he continues to THR. “It’s [been] a lot of years directing the festival. I love it a lot. It’s wonderful work, but I want to write. I want to have more time to read. I want to work with Latin American and Spanish cinema, but at smaller festivals, more relaxed.”
He is, in his own words, “a very relaxed man,” and felt no added pressure coming into this last edition at the top of the food chain. An air of acceptance permeates the interview — Rebordinos understands he has done what he can, and a new era awaits. “I think in this moment the festival is better than 50 years ago,” he says, adding that their gearing toward industry events has bolstered its stature. The likes of the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, launched in 2012, or the Creative Investors’ Conference, which has been running since 2022, have pulled some of the globe’s biggest producers to the Kursaal and, in the process, altered San Sebastián’s DNA.
“The industry activities changed the festival,” says Rebordinos with a firm swoop of his arms. “There are some very big films in the competition [now] that 10 years ago, it would have been impossible to have.” Among the contenders vying for the coveted Golden Shell this year alone are Ghost Song from Cannes award winner Fatih Akin, the final project from beloved British auteur Mike Leigh, Tender Loving Care, and Jesse Eisenberg’s hotly anticipated The Debut with Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. Rebordinos is convinced they wouldn’t be here without the festival’s honing in on servicing the wider industry.
The festival’s relationship with Hollywood has only continued to grow. At this 74th installment, all eyes will be on Brad Pitt’s Heart of the Beast premiere, as well as appearances from Diego Luna and Jordan Firstman, but the Creative Investors’ Conference also draws industry giants such as Christine Vachon, Pablo Larraín and Adele Romanski, who will be making their way to the Tabakalera conference center next week. Vachon is a particularly big fan of this festival and returns for her second CIC in a row. “Everybody thinks of Cannes and Venice and Berlin, but it’s the smaller festivals like San Sebastián that people will gravitate toward,” the Killer Films co-founder told THR in May. “Those are the festivals where you actually get to spend time with filmmakers, local artists and financiers.”
Just last night, San Sebastián awarded its most prestigious honor, the Donostia Award, to prolific German filmmaker Werner Herzog. Rebordinos says the committee that chooses the Donostia recipients will lean towards one “cinephile” name and one “star.” On Saturday evening, Naomi Watts will have the latter covered. “And at some point three [Donostia Awards] were confirmed,” he tells THR. “The third was confirmed since May, but they changed their schedule, and this person couldn’t come.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t Herzog who had to pull out. He had an entire theater on its feet as he came on stage Friday night to claim the award. The opening ceremony was marked by political declarations, too, as hosts Fariba Sheikhan and Mariona Terés told the crowd: “We join the myriad of voices calling for an end to genocide, like the one happening in Gaza. […] And we stand in solidarity with the directors of the film NAZA, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who have been threatened by the Israeli government,” they continued to thunderous applause.
It is not the first political stance San Sebastián has taken. Rebordinos says to THR that the festival lost a potential sponsor over his public condemnation of Spain’s far-right Vox party. “It’s [a] racist, homophobic, misogynistic party,” he says. On speaking out about the Israel-Gaza war, he talks through a translator to ensure clarity: “The genocide isn’t a theory. We are watching the genocide. We are a little speaker, but in front of the barbarism, we had to say something. It’s not very important, our opinion. But we can say something.”
“At the same time,” he continues, “we are the only A-category festival that has issued a statement about it.” Rebordinos pauses and says he wants to make something clear about his fellow festival organizers. “I understand other festivals don’t want to [make a statement] out of fear, because they’re hesitant, and I respect that. I don’t like people telling other people what they have to do. It’s up to everyone’s own conscience.”
That mix of personal passion and international perspective has defined Rebordinos’ tenure. It’s a point of pride for this outgoing chief that, under his leadership, the San Sebastián International Film Festival has carved out its own purpose on the global stage. The baton now passes to Beloki, who no doubt knows she has some big shoes to fill.
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The 2026 San Sebastian International Film Festival runs Sep. 18-26.
