Jaime Lorente's debut feature The Bad Son will open the New Directors section at the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival, which runs September 18–26, 2026, with Billy Lumby's Florid set to close it. The section — a competitive showcase for first and second features — will screen 14 titles vying for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award (The Hollywood Reporter).

Lorente, whose full name is Jaime Lorente López, is likely familiar to streaming audiences from his screen acting work; The Bad Son marks his first turn behind the camera. The 106-minute Spanish production centres on 11-year-old Ruben, who moves in with his grandmother after his father mysteriously disappears (San Sebastian Film Festival). Lumby, closing the section, was BAFTA-nominated for his 2015 short Samuel-613; Florid follows a young man juggling mental health struggles, medication, drugs, and musical ambition (The Hollywood Reporter).

The 14-film lineup spans 13 countries, with filmmakers from Bulgaria, Chile, Germany, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the U.K., and Ukraine (The Hollywood Reporter).

Among the titles: German filmmaker Naëmi Ada's Body of Glass; Mexican director Rodrigo García Saiz's second film Morro; Norwegian director Marlene Emilie Lyngstad's Cute; Japanese director Kazuya Murayama's The Ballet Lesson; Kazakh filmmaker Ayana Nurdinova's Mugalim; and Iranian director Massih Parsaei's Lovers Sleep Alone. Javier Giner's debut Esta soledad (This Solitude), a 110-minute feature, and Tatjana Moutchnik's first film also join the selection (San Sebastian Film Festival, 28 July 2026).

The New Directors section sits apart from the festival's main competition, which in 2026 includes new work from Mike Leigh, Pablo Larraín, and Benjamín Naishtat. That split is the point: the main competition spotlights established names, while New Directors is where the festival places its bet on filmmakers at the very start of their feature careers.

San Sebastian, held annually in the Basque coastal city of Donostia, is the highest-profile Spanish-language film festival and one of Europe's major autumn market stops. A selection here can open doors — distribution interest, sales-agent attention, and festival-circuit momentum — for a director with no prior feature track record.

The full New Directors lineup of 14 competing titles is now confirmed.