HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL AWARD

The San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival will this year grant its Award to the producer and screenwriter Elías Querejeta for
the commitment of his work and his dedication to defending human rights across the board of his films and life.

Born in Hernani (Gipuzkoa) in 1934, Elías Querejeta is unquestionably one of Spanish cinema’s most important personalities. From 1963 until today, he has produced over 50 feature films, working with directors (to most of whom he offered their first break) like Carlos Saura –The Hunt (1965), Cria! (1975)–, Víctor Erice –The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), The South (1983)–, Montxo Armendáriz –Tasio (1984), Stories from the Kronen (1995)–, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón – Habla, mudita (1973)–, Emilio Martínez-Lázaro –Las palabras de Max (1978)–, Ricardo Franco –Pascual Duarte (1975)–, Francisco Regueiro, Gracia Querejeta –Seven Billiard Tables (2007)– or Fernando León de Aranoa –Mondays in the Sun (2002)–, among many others, always placing his stakes on daring, personal projects, closely linked to the social reality of each historical moment in time.

He has garnered endless awards over the years of his career, such as the Premio Nacional de Cinematografía (1986), the Medalla de Oro de la Academia de las Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas (1998) or the Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes granted by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture (2001), and has received tributes the world over: Brussels, Caracas, Chicago, London, Paris, Warsaw, San Sebastian (Golden Drum 1998), etc.