Abdellatif Kechiche’s Cannes winner will receive critics prize at San Sebastian.

Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d’Adèle – Chapitre 1&2) has been named Best Film of the Year by The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).

The prize will be awarded to director Abdellatif Kechiche and producer Brahim Chiouaat the opening gala of the 61st San Sebastian Festival on Sept 20, where the film will screen that evening.

The film, about the passionate relationship between two young women, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The FIPRESCI prize gathers votes cast by 245 critics worldwide, members of FIPRESCI, for titles premiered during the previous 12 months.

The FIPRESCI Grand Prix has previously gone to films by Pedro Almodóvar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jafar Panahi, Kim Ki-duk, Aki Kaurismäki, Nuri Bulge Ceylan, Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Haneke, Cristian Mungiu, Roman Polanski and Terrence Malick.