The legendary Franco-Greek filmmaker Costa-Gavras receives this year's Honorary Giraldillo for six decades of daring, committed, deeply human and transformative cinema, with The Confession being no exception. Based on the true story of Artur London, a member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party forced to betray his friends and colleagues, this gripping thriller exposes the Stalinist purges employed to persecute political dissidents during the notorious Prague Trials of 1952. The film meticulously portrays London’s crescendo of moral destruction as he is falsely accused of espionage for the United States. Subjected to torture and deprivation, he ultimately confesses to crimes he didn’t commit, memorising a false confession under duress. A year after the release of Z, Costa-Gavras remained committed to denouncing all forms of totalitarianism. Yves Montand delivers one of the finest performances of his career in this direct, intimate portrayal of one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century through the eyes of a lost and broken man.