Veteran producer Esther García will receive a Donostia Award at the 73rd San Sebastian International Film Festival, in recognition of her decades-long career and impact on Spanish and Latin American cinema. The honor also coincides with the 40th anniversary of El Deseo, the production company she has shaped since the mid-1980s alongside Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar.
The announcement was made today at Tabakalera–International Centre for Contemporary Culture in San Sebastian, where festival director José Luis Rebordinos and head of communication Ruth Pérez de Anucita also revealed this year’s official poster — a tribute to the late actress Marisa Paredes, a longtime friend of the festival. The image, created by the studio Wallijai from a 2000 portrait by Manuel Outumuro, marks the second time Paredes has featured on the poster, following a stylized appearance in 2006 as “The Lady from Shanghai.”
García joined El Deseo in 1986 and has since produced more than 100 titles, including All “About My Mother,” “Talk to Her,” “Volver,” “The Skin I Live In,” “Pain and Glory,” and “The Room Next Door,” which won the Golden Lion at Venice.
She has earned numerous awards, including the Spanish National Cinematography Prize, six Goya Awards, and the Silver Fotogramas. García is also a vocal advocate for women in film and a member of CIMA, Spain’s Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media.
Paredes, who passed away earlier this year, was closely tied to the festival and to Almodóvar’s filmography. She appeared in over 75 films, working with directors such as Raúl Ruiz, Guillermo del Toro, and Fernando Trueba, in addition to her six collaborations with Almodóvar. Her last visit to the festival was in 2023 for Alba Sotorra’s “Break a Leg.”
The 73rd San Sebastian International Film Festival will run from Sept. 19 to 27.
Scroll down to view this year’s collection of San Sebastian Film Festival posters.
Official Poster
New Directors
Zabaltegi Tabakalera
Culinary Zinema
Zinemira
Made in Spain
Horizontes Latinos
Nest
Perlak
