The Other Son, the intimate coming-of-age film by Juan Sebastián Quebrada, will premiere at San Sebastián

Juan Sebastián Quebrada has been selected in the "New Directors" category of the San Sebastian Film Festival with his film "El otro hijo" ("The Other Son").

This section of the event is dedicated to providing visibility to directors with their first and second films.

With a total of 11 feature films competing for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award, endowed with 50,000 euros, the festival announced today in a press conference that Quebrada's film is a story that "follows the steps of a teenager who, after the unexpected death of his brother, tries to find the strength to keep living."

Written by Juan Sebastián, Miguel González portrays Federico, a teenager whose brother Simón dies in an unfortunate and unexpected accident. As his family environment collapses and the vibrant youth life he had known starts to crumble, he gets closer to Laura, his brother's girlfriend, with whom he finds a way to mourn and find relief.

The film is a coming-of-age story inspired by a real-life event that happened to the director, the loss of his own brother. "The movie is inspired by a family event and from that, it tells a story that is more of a coming-of-age of a teenager who loses his brother and has to deal with his final stage of school, his first love, and his family," Juan Sebastián commented to Proimágenes during the filming.

Film Factory, the sales agent, highlights in advance that the director delivers "a delicately mature film that positions him as one of the most promising emerging talents in Colombian cinema," in a story "loaded with emotions and that explores grief and hope through the conflicting experience of a teenager who falls in love with his deceased brother's ex-girlfriend."

Regarding the selection at the Festival, the Colombian director said, "What makes me happy about this selection is, above all, that it opens up space for another type of Colombian cinema: an urban, lively, intimate, and human cinema that seeks identification with the audience and that is filled with emotions and energy. I am also very happy about the news because of what it means for national cinema, for the whole team that made the film possible, and, in particular, for the incredible group of actors who accompanied me."

In 2015, Quebrada presented his film "Días extraños" ("Strange Days") at BAFICI, his graduation work in fiction, which was also part of the FICCI 2016 competition. His first professional short film, "La casa del Árbol" ("The Treehouse"), had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The story followed a young couple in Bogotá who, upon deciding to live together, begin to understand what brings them together as a couple but also what sets them apart.

The 71st edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival will take place from September 22 to 30, opening this section with "Carefree Days" (China) by Liang Ming.

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