# Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care sweeps San Sebastián’s main prizes

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mike-leighs-tender-loving-care-wins-big-at-san-sebastian-as-la-bola-negra-and-naza-take-audience-awards/
- Published: 2026-09-27T01:40:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-27T07:48:03+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/mike-leigh-tender-loving-care-wins-at-san-sebastian-la-bola-negra-naza-kate-oflynn-1236876459/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film

## Key points

- Mike Leigh’s film won three major San Sebastián prizes.
- Kate O’Flynn shared Best Lead Performance.
- *La Bola Negra* and *NAZA* won audience awards.

## Summary

Mike Leigh’s *Tender Loving Care* dominated San Sebastián’s main competition, winning the Golden Shell for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Lead Performance for Kate O’Flynn. The result is notable because the film was reportedly rejected for Venice’s competition and may be Leigh’s final feature.

Asta Kamma August shared the lead-performance prize for *Growth of the Soil*, while Amanda Kernell won Best Director for *Brace Your Heart* and Ah Biao’s *Border* received the Special Jury Prize. Audience awards went to Spanish queer epic *La Bola Negra* and documentary *NAZA*; several prominent films, including works by Fatih Akin, Pablo Larraín and Jesse Eisenberg, went home empty-handed.

## Coverage

- [Variety: Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care sweeps San Sebastián’s main prizes](https://variety.com/2026/film/news/mike-leigh-tender-loving-care-wins-at-san-sebastian-la-bola-negra-naza-kate-oflynn-1236876459/)
- [The Hollywood Reporter: Mike Leigh’s ‘Tender Loving Care’ Sweeps San Sebastian Awards as ‘La Bola Negra,’ ‘NAZA’ Earn Audience Nods](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mike-leigh-tender-loving-care-san-sebastian-awards-festival-1236712566/)
- [Deadline: San Sebastián: Mike Leigh’s ‘Tender Loving Care’ Wins Golden Shell & Best Screenplay](https://deadline.com/2026/09/san-sebastian-mike-leigh-tender-loving-care-golden-shell-1237114543/)

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.