Spanish cinema is to take part in the San Sebastian Festival with three films competing in the Official Section (The Condemned , La mujer sin piano and Yo tambien ) and three more in the Zabaltegi-New Directors section: (Mascares , Ori and Zorion Perfektua ). Furthermore, director Fernando Trueba, winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with Belle Epoque (1992), will present his new film, The Dancer and the Thief, in the Official Section, out of competition.

What’s more, the film The Secret of Her Eyes is also competing for the golden shell; this is an Argentine-Spanish co-production, directed by Juan Jose Campanella, who was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Award for Son of the Bride (2001). The new film stars Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil.

The Condemned is the new film by Catalonian director Isaki Lacuesta, one of the most admired new Spanish directors. For Cravan vs. Cravan (2002), Lacuesta received the New Director Award and the Gran Angular Award at the Sitges Festival, in addition to the Sant Jordi RNE Award, amongst many other prizes. His second feature film, La leyenda del tiempo (2006), competed at the Festival of Locarno, and won the Special Jury Prize and the Best Actor Award for Israel Gomez at the Festival of las Palmas. The Condemned is his third feature-length film.

Madrid filmmaker Javier Rebollo is competing in the Official Section of the San Sebastian Festival for the second time; he previously entered Lo que se de Lola in 2006. This film subsequently received the Fipresci Critics’ Award at the London Festival, the Best First Work Prize at the Festival of Guadalajara, and Rebollo was nominated for the Goya for Best New Director. In La mujer sin piano , his second feature film, he obtained popular actress Carmen Machi for the lead role.

Yo tambien is the first feature-length film to be made by directors Alvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro, and stars Lola Dueñas and Pablo Pineda. Alvaro Pastor, from Madrid, has directed several short films, including Invulnerable (2005), which received over 30 awards, and One more, one less (2002), co-directed by Antonio Naharro, which won over 40 awards. Naharro is an actor, scriptwriter and director from Albacete, and was awarded several prizes for his performance in the short Invulnerable .

Catalonian directors Elisabet Cabeza and Esteve Riambau return to San Sebastian with Mascares , having presented their first feature film, La doble vida del faquir in the Zabaltegi-Special section in 2005. Mascares is their second feature-length production and stars Jose Maria Pou. Ori is a Georgian co-production and the first full-length fiction film by Madrilenian director Miguel Angel Jimenez Colmenar, maker of the documentary Dias de El Abanico (2007). Ori was filmed entirely in Georgia.

Zorion Perfektua is the first feature film for cinema from the Vizcayan director Jabi Elortegi, who has made highly successful television series like "Goenkale" and "Agitacion⅐". The film, mostly in the Basque language, is based on the novel of the same title by Anjel Lertxundi and stars the popular actress and television presenter Anne Igartiburu. More Spanish cinema will also be shown in the Horizontes section in the form of Latin American co-productions, and in the Made In Spain section; the titles will be announced shortly.