Naomi Watts to receive top honour at 2026 San Sebastián Film Festival
The English actress will be awarded the Donostia Prize alongside Werner Herzog, underscoring the Basque festival’s continued strategy of bridging transatlantic talent with the European cultural market.
Naomi Watts will receive the Donostia Award at the 2026 San Sebastián Film Festival, securing the event’s highest acting honour. The English actress will be presented with the prize on 19 September at a dedicated gala ceremony. She will share this year’s recognition with acclaimed director Werner Herzog, who was announced as the first Donostia Award recipient in August.
This selection highlights the festival’s ongoing role in validating international careers that intersect heavily with the European film industry. Watts’s extensive filmography includes major collaborations with prominent European directors. These notably include Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona in the box-office hit "The Impossible" and Austrian director Michael Haneke.
The Zinemaldia jury formally described Watts as one of the most talented and recognisable actresses of her generation. Her five-decade career spans early cult dramas like David Lynch’s "Mulholland Drive" to major television projects. This body of work has accumulated nominations across the Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes.
Following the 19 September gala, the festival will host a screening of "La esposa perfecta", directed by Ben Shirinian. Watts appears in the cast of this new drama. The film follows a young New York Times journalist investigating a suspected former Nazi officer living in Queens while befriending the suspect's wife.
The Donostia Award has historically elevated the Basque festival’s international profile and market relevance. Previous honourees at the event include industry legends such as Catherine Deneuve, Agnes Vardà and Pedro Almodóvar. By pairing a transatlantic star like Watts with a European auteur like Herzog, the Zinemaldia reinforces its position as a key autumn destination for high-profile cinema.
Film festivals across Europe increasingly rely on such high-profile retrospectives to drive international attendance and secure distribution deals. The San Sebastián event has long leveraged its Donostia Awards to attract global media attention and industry professionals. Recognising an actress with Watts’s cross-continental appeal serves this exact economic and cultural function for the region.
