Just because Woody Allen continues to be blacklisted in Hollywood, it doesn’t mean the director is having issues finding international film industry folks that are fully supporting the filmmaker and his work. Not only is he not having issues, but the San Sebastian Film Festival has announced (via Variety) that Allen’s upcoming film, “Rifkin’s Festival” will be the fall fest’s opening night film in September.
The report claims that “Rifkin’s Festival” will debut in September at the event, where it will play out of competition. This isn’t the first time that Allen has had the honor of opening the San Sebastian Film Festival. Back in 2004, he did the same thing with “Melinda and Melinda,” after it was announced that the event would honor the filmmaker with the Donostia Award for career achievement. Allen’s history with San Sebastian dates back nearly 40 years with almost a dozen of his films screening at the event.
Combine that with the fact that the film’s plot involves the San Sebastian Film Festival directly, and it’s clear why the event is glad to welcome Allen with open arms. For those not aware, “Rifkin’s Festival” follows the exploits of a married American couple visiting the festival and finding themselves involved with other people. The wife becomes enamored with a French filmmaker while the husband is smitten with a Spanish local.
READ MORE: San Sebastian Film Festival Is “Delighted” To Be Featured In Woody Allen’s Next Film
The film stars Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, Gina Gershon, Sergi López, Wallace Shawn, and Christoph Waltz.
Much like “A Rainy Day in New York,” it’s unclear if Allen’s new film will arrive in the US. His previous film was involved in quite a bit of controversy after Amazon dropped it due to the filmmaker’s recent #MeToo comments. From there, Allen was unable to find US distribution and instead, released the film in Europe and other territories around the world. So, just because “Rifkin’s Festival” is playing San Sebastian, it’s not a guarantee that fans in the US will get a chance to see the film.
The 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival is set to begin on September 18.