Fatih Akin’s latest film opens San Sebastián festival
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The San Sebastián Film Festival has confirmed that Fatih Akin's "Ghost Song" ("Geister") will open this year's event as its opening night film, receiving its world premiere on 18 September in the main competition. The German director, celebrated for films including "Head-On" and "In the Fade", continues to build his festival pedigree with this selection, which the festival describes as "a poetic drama about loss and longing." The opening also gives the festival a strong German flavour, coming as the gala honours Werner Herzog with a Donostia lifetime achievement award and amid a broader surge of German productions across Locarno, Venice and Toronto this year.
"Ghost Song" stars Eren M. Güvercin and Mariam Dawoud and centres on Farasha, 20, who after her death enters the dreams of a man named Faris, sparking what the festival calls a romance that blurs dreams and reality. Akin, whose career highlights include a Golden Bear for "Head-On" and a Golden Globe for "In the Fade", has described the film as a mix of a conventional love story and Jean-Paul Sartre, and has called it "arthouse for teenagers" — part of a deliberate push towards younger-skewing arthouse cinema. The film is produced by Akin's own label Bombero International alongside Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany, and is sold internationally by Beta Cinema.
- San Sebastián festival opens with Fatih Akin's "Ghost Song" on 18 September
- Werner Herzog to receive the festival's Donostia lifetime achievement award
- Film blends romance and fantasy, stars Eren M. Güvercin and Mariam Dawoud
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Ghost Song, or Geister, is a new film by the German director Fatih Akin, which will have its world premiere at the San Sebastián Film Festival in Spain this year. It is set to open the festival on 18 September, screening in the main competition. Akin is known internationally for films such as Head-On, The Edge of Heaven and In the Fade, and has previously won a Golden Bear and a Golden Globe.
San Sebastián is one of Europe's longest-running and best-known film festivals, and its opening film and awards typically draw significant attention within the industry. This year's opening gala will also see the veteran German filmmaker Werner Herzog receive the festival's Donostia award, given for a lifetime's contribution to cinema. Ghost Song itself is a drama described as blending dreams and reality, starring Eren M. Güvercin and Mariam Dawoud, and centres on a romance that crosses the boundary between life and death.
The film's selection is being noted partly because it reflects a broader pattern of German cinema featuring prominently at major festivals this year, and because Akin has spoken of deliberately making work aimed at younger audiences as arthouse cinema-goers in Europe skew younger. It is produced by Akin's own company, Bombero International, together with Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany and Rialto Film, with international sales handled by Beta Cinema.
More coverage
- The Hollywood Reporter — San Sebastian Film Festival to Open With Fatih Akin’s ‘Ghost Song’
- Deadline — Fatih Akin’s ‘Ghost Song’ To Open San Sebastián Film Festival
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Originally published by Variety as “San Sebastián Sets Fatih Akin’s ‘Ghost Song’ as Opening Night Film ”.