Filmmakers from Bulgaria, Chile, Germany, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the U.K. and Ukraine will present their first and second feature films in the New Directors lineup at this year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The Bad Son, the debut feature film from Money Heist star Jaime Lorente, will open the section, while Florid from British director Billy Lumby is set to close it. The fourteen titles will compete for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award at San Sebastian’s 74th edition, running from Sep. 18-26.
Lorente’s The Bad Son focuses on 11-year-old Ruben, who has to move in with his grandmother when his father mysteriously disappears. In a rural setting where time seems to have stood still, Ruben will learn that family wounds are passed down from one generation to another and will try to find a way to heal them as he grows.
Florid, meanwhile, from Lumby, follows a young man struggling to balance his mental health issues, medication and drugs with his musical ambitions. The filmmaker and screenwriter takes to the full-length format after having gaining recognition for his short films Suspended Animation (2009), Gold View (2012) and Samuel-613 (2015), for which he received a BAFTA nomination.
