At which 2008 film festival did Yesim Ustaoglu’s Turkish film Pandora’s Box win the Golden Shell?

Yesim Ustaoglu’s Turkish film Pandora’s Box won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.

Pandora’s Box is a 2008 Turkish-language drama directed and written by Yesim Ustaoglu. The story follows three adult siblings who return to their rural Black Sea village after their elderly mother disappears. Their reunion exposes tensions involving family responsibility, memory, aging, and modern urban life.

At the 56th San Sebastián International Film Festival, the film received the Golden Shell, the festival’s principal competition award. Tsilla Chelton, who played the mother, also won the festival’s Best Actress prize for her performance.

The film is not a direct adaptation of the ancient Greek myth. Its title evokes the idea of a container holding hidden troubles, while the narrative focuses on a contemporary family confronting problems that had been left unaddressed.