Mike Leigh's 'Tender Loving Care' Wins San Sebastián Golden Shell — SkimNews
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- Mike Leigh's 'Tender Loving Care' won the Golden Shell for Best Film and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay at the 2026 San Sebastián Film Festival.
- Kate O'Flynn shared the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance with Asta Kamma August for 'Growth of the Soil,' directed by Hans Petter Moland, which also won the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography.
- Leigh was not present in Spain — he was in New York for the film's U.S. premiere and sent a video message, thanking the jury 'especially for The Golden Shell.'
- The festival describes 'Tender Loving Care' as Leigh's latest and potential last feature, giving the double win the air of a career capstone.
- Amanda Kernell took the Silver Shell for Best Director for 'Brace Your Heart,' while Javier Cámara won Best Supporting Performance for '5 More Minutes.'
- The jury was presided over by Ira Sachs, whose fellow jurors included Genki Kawamura, Alice Braga, Patricia López Arnaiz, Bill Skarsgård, Catherine Paillé, and Mike Goodridge.
- Werner Herzog and Naomi Watts received honorary Donostia Awards; Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another' won the FIPRESCI Grand Prix for Best Film of the Year.
Why it matters: Taking both the top jury prize and Best Screenplay at one of Europe's most respected A-list festivals is a rare double — and doing it for a film billed as his potential last feature gives Leigh a career-crowning moment at age 78, while his absence for the U.S. premiere underscores how the film itself has taken on a life independent of its maker.
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