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Bitter Money scoops the Golden Lady Harimaguada

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- The French-Chinese production directed by Wang Bing has taken the top prize at the revitalised, bold and particularly crowded 17th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival

Bitter Money scoops the Golden Lady Harimaguada
Bitter Money by Wang Bing

“A stylistically precise, immersive and devastating portrait of a Chinese dream that descends into a nightmare”: this is how the jury of the 17th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival described the winner of its top prize – the Fundación Cajamar Canarias Golden Lady Harimaguada – the film Bitter Money [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(France/China), directed by Wang Bing. Second place went to Argentina: Kékszakállú by Gastón Solnicki, deemed “a mysterious object born in Bluebeard’s castle”, snagged the Silver Lady Harimaguada.

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In the acting categories, the winners were Congolese actress Véronique Tshanda Beya, who pocketed Best Actress for her lead performance in Felicity [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Gomis
film profile
]
(France/Germany/Belgium/Lebanon/Senegal) by Alain Gomis, while Best Actor went to Adam Horovitz for his work in Golden Exits (USA) by Alex Ross Perry. Charo Santos-Cocio earned a Special Mention of the Jury for her turn in The Woman Who Left, directed by Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz.

Another French co-production, this time with Japan, Koji Fukada’s Harmonium [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, received most of the votes cast by the abundant audience who attended the gathering, which came to a close on Sunday 9 April. Meanwhile, in the Canarias Cinema section, The Vanished Dream by Juan S Betancor was named Best Feature Film, while the distribution awards were bestowed upon Sub Terrae by Nayra Sanz and Julie [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Alba González de Molina.

Lastly, at the first MECAS – International Film Market of Almost-finished Films, whose prize (€8,000, intended for post-production or distribution at festivals) was being fought over by eight films nearing completion, the Spanish documentary  Mudar la piel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(working title: Mi espía íntimo) by so-far editor Cristóbal Fernández (The Sea Stares at Us from Afar [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Manuel Muñoz Rivas
film profile
]
) and Ana Schulz came out on top. Produced by Señoryseñora and Labyrint Films, it is slated for release in February 2018.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 2017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival:

Official section

Golden Lady Harimaguada
Bitter Money [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Wang Bing (France/China)

Silver Lady Harimaguada
Kékszakállú – Gastón Solnicki (Argentina)

Best Actress
Véronique Tshanda Beya – Felicity [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Gomis
film profile
]
(France/Germany/Belgium/Lebanon/Senegal)

Best Actor
Adam Horovitz - Golden Exits (USA)

Special Mention of the Jury for Acting
Charo Santos-Cocio – The Woman Who Left (Philippines)

Audience Award
Harmonium [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Koji Fukada (Japan/France)

Canarias Cinema section

Richard Leacock Award for Best Feature Film
The Vanished Dream – Juan S Betancor

Digital 104 Distribution Award
Sub Terrae – Nayra Sanz

Canary Island Connection International Distribution Award
Julie [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Alba González de Molina

MECAS Award
Mudar la piel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Cristóbal Fernández and Ana Schulz (Spain)

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(Translated from Spanish)

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