Maha Harada – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

IN MY FATHER’S ROOM (SSIFF 2026) – Review by Jennifer Green

September 21, 2026September 23, 2026 Jennifer Green Eri Watanabe, In My Father’s Room, Issey Ogata, japanese films, Maha Harada, San Sebastian International Film Festival, SSIFF 2026, Yoshio Kitagawa, Yu Ao

A gentle meditation on aging and life’s small pleasures, In My Father’s Room marks bestselling Japanese novelist Maha Harada’s debut as a film director. During the San Sebastian International Film Festival (Sept 18-26), where she presented her film in competition, Harada talked about making the transition from descriptive words on page to images on film. And although her writing has been described as quite visual, she said the shift took effort to pare down exposition and allow the images to symbolically tell her tale (which is based on her own short story).

Festivals

San Sebastian Interntional Film Festival 2026 (SSIFF 2026) Overview – Jennifer Green reports

September 17, 2026September 18, 2026 Jennifer Green amanda kernell, Fatih Akin, jesse eisenberg, José Luis Rebordinos, Maha Harada, Maialen Beloki, mike leigh, Naomi Watts, Nicole Garcia, pablo larrain, RTVE-Otra Mirada Award, San Sebastian International Film Festival, SSIFF2026, werner herzog, Yesim Ustaoglu

San Sebastián International Film Festival kicks off in Spain (Sept 18-26), inaugurating its 74th annual edition in the northern Spanish city, with 263 films from 47 countries screening across its line-up. The Official Selection features 17 films making their world premieres outside their production territories and competing for the fest’s top Golden Shell prize, including new works from directors Jesse Eisenberg, Mike Leigh, Fatih Akin, Nicole Garcia, Pablo Larrain and more.

Festivals

San Sebastian Interntional Film Festival 2026 (SSIFF 2026) Gender Report – Jennifer Green reports

September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 Jennifer Green amanda kernell, Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA), Fatih Akin, gender parity, Golden Shell award, José Luis Rebordinos, Maha Harada, Maialen Beloki, Nicole Garcia, RTVE-Otra Mirada Award, San Sebastian International Film Festival, SSIFF 2026, Yesim Ustaoglu

Former festival deputy director Maialen Beloki was selected last spring as the San Sebastian International Festival’s new director starting with next year’s 75th edition, replacing the long-serving José Luis Rebordinos. She will be the festival’s first female director and is set to lead an executive team currently made up of mostly women. The festival also announced this year that it will honor a female producer of one of the eight films screening in three key competitive sections with its RTVE-Otra Mirada Award. The prize, which has traditionally focused on films about women, will now recognize “the key role of female producers as the essential cog of audiovisual creation.”