Our trip around the recently-closed film festivals of the world this week brings us to Thailand, Spain’s Basque Country, and Boston, Massachusetts. Let’s take a look at some of the films which have recently been making big impressions.

San Sebastian International Film Festival
In Northern Spain’s Basque Country, the picturesque seaside city of San Sebastian (or Donostia in Euskara) plays host to one of the world’s premiere film festivals. Last week, the 56th annual festival closed, having presented lifetime achievement awards to Meryl Streep & Antonio Banderas, and its Golden Shell (Grand Prize) to Pandora’s Box out of Turkey. Pandora’s Box is a drama about 3 siblings from Istanbul who are forced to work together in order to find their recently disappeared mother.
http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/

Boston Film Festival
The 24th Annual Boston Film Festival closed on September 18th, awarding its Grand Prize to Appaloosa, which Ed Harris wrote, directed and stars in. Appaloosa is set in the old west, and depicts two friends’ attempts to liberate a small town from the rule of a wicked rancher. Boston’s is a somewhat smaller festival, but is one of the first in the fall season, and has boasted its share of world premieres over the years.
http://www.bostonfilmfestival.org/

Bangkok International Film Festival
Now in just its 6th year, the Bangkok festival features over 100 films with a special focus on the Thai and Southeast Asian film industry. This focus didn’t prevent the jury from awarding its Grand Prize (the “กรังปรีซ์โกล์ดเดนท์กินนรีอวอร์ด” if you’re taking notes) to PVC-1 — an intense film from Greece’s Spiros Stathoulopoulos. PVC-1 is set in Columbia and is a real-time recreation of the true story about a woman’s struggle for survival after terrorists attach a collar bomb to her neck. A gripping, terrifying drama, this film has also been honored at other festivals.
http://www.bangkokfilm.org/