Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care Wins Golden Shell at San Sebastián Film Festival

Mike Leigh’s new film Tender Loving Care has won the Golden Shell for Best Film at the 2026 San Sebastián International Film Festival, leading an impressive three-award result for the British drama.

The film also earned Leigh the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, while Kate O’Flynn received the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance, shared with Asta Kamma August for Growth of the Soil.

The prizes were announced as the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival concluded in Spain on Saturday night.

Three major awards for Tender Loving Care

Winning the Golden Shell places Tender Loving Care at the top of this year’s official competition.

The festival jury also recognised Leigh’s screenplay separately, while O’Flynn’s performance as Amy earned one of the event’s principal acting awards.

Screen Daily reports that actors Paul Jesson and Alice Bailey Johnson collected the awards at the ceremony on behalf of the film, with Leigh sending a video message to the festival.

The film had already travelled through several major festivals before arriving in San Sebastián, including Telluride and Toronto.

It now heads towards London with considerably more awards attention surrounding it.

What is Tender Loving Care about?

Set in contemporary London, Tender Loving Care centres on two close friends working in social services.

Amy, played by Kate O’Flynn, moves back in with her best friend Rosie, played by Alice Bailey Johnson, after a relationship ends.

Their professional lives involve caring for people dealing with difficult circumstances, while Amy’s parents face problems of their own.

Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson play Amy’s mother and father.

The British Council’s official UK Films listing describes the film as a comedy drama concerned with friendship, family and the pressures surrounding people whose work involves looking after others.

A major British production

Tender Loving Care was filmed in London earlier this year.

The production reunites Leigh with several long-term collaborators, including composer Gary Yershon, costume designer Jacqueline Durran, casting director Nina Gold and producer Georgina Lowe.

Film4 co-financed the project alongside several production partners, while StudioCanal is handling its UK distribution.

For Leigh, the San Sebastián victory adds another major international festival prize to a career that has included some of the most recognised British films of the past several decades.

His previous work includes Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky, Mr. Turner and 2024’s Hard Truths.

London audiences will see it next

UK audiences will not have to wait until its general cinema release to see the film.

Tender Loving Care is part of the 2026 BFI London Film Festival programme, with screenings scheduled for 15, 17 and 18 October.

The BFI describes the film as a compassionate portrait of contemporary urban life, following Amy and Rosie through work, family and relationships.

A wider UK and Ireland cinema release is planned through StudioCanal for 12 February 2027.

That gives the film several months to continue its festival run before reaching cinemas more widely.

A strong weekend for British cinema

The Tender Loving Care Golden Shell win is particularly notable because the film did not leave San Sebastián with a single isolated prize.

Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Leading Performance represent recognition for the production, Leigh’s writing and one of its central performances.

The official festival announcement placed it clearly at the centre of this year’s winners, ahead of a programme featuring filmmakers and productions from across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

For British audiences, the next opportunity comes in London this October.

By then, Tender Loving Care will arrive not simply as Mike Leigh’s latest film, but as the winner of one of European cinema’s major festival prizes.