Werner Herzog To Be Feted With Donostia Award At San Sebastian Film Festival

Oscar-nominated pioneering German filmmaker Werner Herzog will be feted wtth the San Sebastián Film Festival’s prestigious Donostia Award during its 74th edition in September.

The legendary director will be honored at the Spanish festival’s opening gala and will screen his latest film Bucking Fastard, following its world premiere in main competition at Venice Film Festival. The filmmaker reportedly rejected Cannes' invitation to screen the film because the festival didn't offer a main competition slot. He wished to see the leads of his film, Rooney and Kate Mara, be eligible for awards attention.

Herzog is best known for Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Grizzly Man (2005) and Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010). He was nominated for a best documentary Oscar in 2008 for Encounters at the End of the World and has bagged prizes at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals. He has published poetry and books of prose and acted in films, among them Jack Reacher, The Mandalorian and guest roles in The Simpsons. Born in Munich in 1942, he grew up as a child in a remote valley in the Bavarian mountains.

San Sebastian Film Festival On Werner Herzog

“Over a career spanning six decades, Werner Herzog has become one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinema, building an extraordinary body of work ―around 80 films― shaped by obsession, extreme situations and the contradictions of human nature,” San Sebastián Film Festival said in a statement.

“His films, both fiction and non-fiction, are populated by dreamers and conquerors confronted with extreme landscapes and forces beyond their control. Guided by his concept of ‘Ecstatic Truth,’ Herzog advocates a cinema that transcends the mere observation of facts to reveal a deeper, more poetic dimension of reality.”

The San Sebastián Film Festival 2026 will take place from Sept. 18 to 26.