J.A. Bayona was given a homecoming hero’s welcome at the San Sebastian Film Festival over the weekend as he touched down for the Spanish premiere of air crash survival drama Society Of The Snow.
The drama – recounting the experiences of the Uruguay rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes mountains in Argentina in 1972 – was the closing film of Venice but in many ways its San Sebastian outing was a more momentous affair.
The screening came just three days after the film was announced as Spain’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy awards.
The picture is Bayona’s first Spanish-language film since the 2007 title The Orphanage, which also represented Spain. The director was given a rapturous reception on Friday night as he took to the stage in the company of one of the survivors Gustavo Zerbino.
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