The family was focused at tonight’s San Sebastián Film Fective Awards ceremony as a ju judge led by Spanish director Ja Bayona to reward many heart-driven films centered around parent-child relationships. Bayona, a Barcelona native of credits that includes “Orphanage” and “Snow Society,” also kept things close to home as half of the ju-decided awards went to Spanish productions.
The most important of them was “Sunday.” This is the third feature of Spanish writer-director Arauda Luis de Azua, filming Golden Shell as the best film. For the third year in a row, the Spanish festival has become its home ground, following Jaione Cambolda’s “Raihorn” and Albert Serra’s documentary “After of Sol.” Popular with local viewers, “Sunday” continues at a deep personal intersection with the 17-year-old girl, tearing between her hopes of attending college and her own desire to be a nun.
Belgian Auther Joachimra Foss has won twice, and is the best screenplay of “Six Days of Spring” along with the best director and co-writers Chloe DuPont Chel and Paul Ismael. It is a gentle pace change for Lafos, best known for his more emotionally tragic domestic drama, as he admitted in his acceptance speech. “It was my first time trying to oversee a souvenir, and that was a real joy for me,” he said.
Haidara had to be pleased with the director’s praise as the ju-degree gender neutral award for the other two performances was shared between the other two performances. Spanish television veteran Jose Ramon Sorois is a 76-year-old gay man who retreated to his closet after reuniting with Jose Mari Goenaga’s marginalized daughter. And Zhao Xiaohong, a big-screen newcomer in China, has influenced Qin Xiaoyu’s turn in “Her Heartbeat,” and is building a new relationship with her son 10 years later after killing her husband.
The Supporting Performance Award welcomed Argentinean actor Camila Platers for a legal drama about the real-life incident of a woman imprisoned for murder after director Dolores Fonzie suffered murder and a national breeding rights campaign in which her story was inspired through Argentina for her wrench performance in the title role of “Belém.” Recently tapped as a submission to Argentina’s international feature Oscars, Fonji’s film is one of the festival’s biggest crowds and appears to be a favourite of a wide audience following its world premiere in San Sebastian.
Spanish film director Jose Luis Guerin was awarded a special jury award for his humanistic community portrait “Good Valley Story,” while another Spanish title, Alberto Rodriguez’s brother and sister drama “Los Tigress,” filmed the best cinema shoot for DP Pau Esteb.
As is often the case with Jona’s ju judge San Sebastian, directors Gear Coppola and Laura Carreira, actors Mark Strong, Zhou Dongyu and Lali Esposito, and producer Anne-Dominique Toussaint, have chosen to reward the massive title of the massive man-name “Angel” in Claire Dennis’ competition. “Couture” and Edward Berger’s romp “Ballad of a Small Player,” starring Colin Farrell, left the festival empty-handed.
Two of the other competitive sections of the festival have added winners to the hardware for this year’s major festival. Seven months after winning the Silver Bear in Berlin for her mysterious adult fairy tale “The Ice Tower,” French director Lucile Hadjihalilović received the top prize for the festival-oriented Zabaltegi-Tabakalera competition with the same film. Colombian director Simon Mesa Soto followed suit by earning certain UN respect for his dark literary comedy “Poet” at Cannes and the highest honor in San Sebastian’s Latin Horizons program.
However, in the festival’s new directorial competition, Marco Muller’s ju judge handed the award to the world premiere of San Sebastian.
Meanwhile, the festival’s Audience Award went to Tunisian director Benchania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” an emotionally panmeling docudrama that utilizes real-life audio of a young Palestinian girl killed in one of Israeli Israeli attacks last year. The victory was hardly a surprise. The Benchania film praised Jennifer Lawrence, a big juj award winner in Venice earlier this month, who left the audience in a flood of tears, and all of Jennifer Lawrence, who won the Donostia Award Honor Award at a festival marked by pro-Palestinian protests on the red carpet, for feeling tonight’s statement.
The complete list of winners below:
Official Choice Award
Golden Shell for the Best Film: “Sunday”, Arauda Luis de Azua
Special Jue Award: “Good Valley Story”, Josel Isgerin
Silver Shell for the Best Director: “Six Days of Spring” Joachimra Fos
Silver Shell for Best Reading Performance: (Ekuo) “Her Heart Beats in That Cage”, Zhao Xiaohong. “Maspalomas,” Jose Ramon Soroyce
Silver shell for best support performance: “Belen”, Camilla Prato
Best Cinematography Award: “Los Tigress,” Poe Esteve
Best Screenplay for the Jury: “Six Days of Spring,” Joachim Lafos, Chloe Dupontchel, Paul Ismael
Other official awards
New Director Award: “Zero Gravity”, Emily Sarundo
Special mention: “Aro Berria”, Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe
Horizontes Latinos Award: “A Poet”, Simón Mesa Soto
Special mention: “Ivy,” Anna Christina Barragan. “A relaxed end” Daniel Hendler
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award: “The Ice Tower”, Lucile Hadjihalilović
Special mention: “Two Joanne Riveradas,” Paula Thomas Marquez. “Blue Heron” Sophie Romvari
Best Film Audience Award: “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, Kaouther Ben Hania
Audience Award for Best Film in Europe: Little Amelie, Mileys Varadenia
Irizar Basque Film Award: “Sundays”, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
Cooking Zinema Award: “Mam”, Nan Feix
Rtve Another Look Award: “The Currents”, Milagros Mumenthaler
Special mention: “Belén”, Dolores Fonji
Spanish Cooperation Award: “Good Valley Story”, Josel Isgerin
Previously announced awards
Nested Mediapro Studio Awards: “How to Listen to the Fountain”, Eva Sajanova
Special mention: “The old bull knows, or has learned once” Milan Kumar
Movistar Plus+ Best Short Film Award: “The Solitude of the Lizard”, InêsNunes
Tabakalera Best Short Film: “Life is, and not,” Renia Friedrich
Euskadi Basque Country 2030 Agenda Award: “The Voice of Hind Rajab” by Kaouther Ben Hania
Zinemaldia Startup Challenge Best Spanish Project: Quickets, Felipe Ortiz
Zinemaldia Startup Challenge Best European Project: Fire Masks, a novel designed with 3D technology, Raoul Peltier
ZINEMALDIA Startup Challenge Special Reference for Entrepreneurship: Quickets, Felipe Ortiz
WIP Latam Industry Award: “Flies”, Fernando Eimbcke
Egeda Platino Industry Award for Best WIP Latam: “We’re Already 5,” Esteban Hoyos Garcia, Juan Miguel Gelacio Ramirez
WIP Europa Industry Award: “February, 7 Days”, Tatjana Moutchnik
WIP Europa Award: “February, 7 Days”, Tatjana Moutchnik
XIII Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum Best Project Award: “Don’t Let Me Die by Yourself” by Francisco Rodriguez Tia
Dale! Award: “The next thing is my death,” Laura Baumeister
Artekino International Award: “La Piel DelLéon”, Alvaro Brechner
Ikusmira Berriak Award: “La Koreana, un Poemaferromagnéticade luz y mememeia”, Joana Moya Blanco
Casa Wabi-Escine Award: “Don’t let me die alone” by Francisco Rodriguez Tia
QCINEMA Award: “My Death Will Continue” by Laura Baumeister
Music Library & SFX Award: “Mariana X BHP” and Rennan Frumian
EuroRegional Documentary Award: “Altxaliliak”, Maia Iribarne Olhagarai
Epe-Ibaia-Elkargi Award: “La increible Historia de unapelículaque no hemos visto barrabas”, Claudia Chávez Levano, Christine Mladic Janney
Eusko Label Micro Short Film Award: “Hatsa”, Josu Ozaita Azpiroz
Runner-up: “Gatz Harana”, Saioa Miguel
