San Sebastian: Koldo Almandoz on ‘Deer,’ Immigration, a new Basque Country

San Sebastian — Carving out a reputation in Basque cinema as a regarded left-of-field short filmmaker over 20 years moving into features with “Ghost Ship,” essay on fiction and commoditization of pleasure, Koldo Almandoz takes a partial step towards the mainstream in his fiction feature debut, “Oreina” (Deer), which world premiered Tuesday at San Sebastian.

Starring newcomer Laulad Ahmed, Patxi Bisquert and Ramon Agirre – immortalized in Alex de la Iglesia’s “El Dia de la Bestia,” a Basque cinema Zinemira Prize winner for career achievement this year at San Sebastian – “Deer” brings a documentarian’s eye and sense of revealing gesture and larger social trends to the tale of a second-generation Maghreb immigrant, Khali, who befriends a grizzled poacher living in a house beside some marshes with his estranged brother.

Boasting scenes of extraordinary beauty, “Deer” is not for audiences who want on-the-nose explanation.

It boasts scenes of extraordinary beauty, and a

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