Pedro Almodóvar to receive a Donostia Award

On 26th September, the director, screenwriter and producer Pedro Almodóvar will receive a Donostia Award at the 72nd edition of the San Sebastian Festival. Presentation of the honorary award, which recognises the extraordinary contribution to the world of cinema by the person receiving the tribute, will take place in the Kursaal Auditorium prior to the screening of his latest movie, La habitación de al lado / The Room Next Door, his first feature film in English, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, to compete for the Golden Lion at the upcoming Venice Festival. It will be Swinton who will be on stage to present the award to him.

Pedro Almodóvar's career, which includes more than a dozen short films, some widely travelled in the international arena, such as La voz humana / The Human Voice (2020), premiered at the Venice Festival, and Extraña forma de vida / Strange Way of Life (2023), screened at Cannes, and nigh on thirty feature films, boasts almost 170 awards and more than 200 nominations. Among his accolades are two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, seven European Film Academy Awards, five BAFTAs, four Césars, five Goyas and two David de Donatellos. He has harvested laurels at the Cannes, Berlin, Venice and San Sebastian festivals, as well as being the subject of a homage at the MOMA. He has also received recognitions including the Jean Renoir Award, has been chosen for the David Lean Lecture and named doctor honoris causa at Harvard and Oxford, as well as having been honoured with the National Medal of Arts in the USA, the Spanish Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, the Prince of Asturias Medal of the Arts and the French Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour.

Added to his artistic talent and his instantly recognisable visual style (his personality shines through from the art direction to the soundtrack), Pedro Almodóvar's cinema is remarkable for the writing of its female characters, the directing of its actors, its courage in addressing subjects such as the LGBTIQ+ universe, religion, sex, addiction and historical memory, and his political commitment, which has driven him to take a public stance against war and extreme right-wing discourse.

Source: San Sebastian Festival