Prolific filmmaker Werner Herzog will receive the San Sebastián Film Festival’s prestigious Donostia Award during its 74th edition in September.
The German director will be honored at the Spanish festival’s opening gala and will screen his latest film “Bucking Fastard,” following its world premiere at Venice Film Festival.
“Over a career spanning six decades, Werner Herzog has become one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinema, building an extraordinary body of work ―around 80 films― shaped by obsession, extreme situations and the contradictions of human nature,” San Sebastián Film Festival said in a statement. “His films, both fiction and non-fiction, are populated by dreamers and conquerors confronted with extreme landscapes and forces beyond their control. Guided by his concept of ‘Ecstatic Truth,’ Herzog advocates a cinema that transcends the mere observation of facts to reveal a deeper, more poetic dimension of reality.”
Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, Herzog’s credits include “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972), “Fitzcarraldo” (1982), “Grizzly Man” (2005) and “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (2010). He was nominated for a best documentary Oscar in 2008 for “Encounters at the End of the World” and has won prizes at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals.
Starring sisters Rooney and Kate Mara, “Bucking Fastard” tells the “unusual story of twins whose extraordinary bond leads them to speak in unison, love the same man and share the same dreams,” according to its official synopsis.
The San Sebastián Film Festival will take place from Sept. 18 to 26.
