Two female directors come out on top at D'A

by Alfonso Rivera

08/05/2017 - Israeli filmmaker Hadas Ben Aroya has scooped the top prize in the Talents section with People That Are Not Me, while Germany’s Nele Wohlatz picked up the Critics’ Award for The Future Perfect

Two female directors come out on top at D'A

Israeli filmmaker Hadas Ben Aroya during the awards ceremony (© D’A Film Festival)

The busy and highly applauded D’A Film Festival in Barcelona handed out its awards on Saturday 6 May, after ten intense days of showcasing uninhibited, independent arthouse films. A very feminine stamp was imprinted on the event, as two female directors picked up prizes: Israeli filmmaker Hadas Ben Aroya’s feature debut People That Are Not Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile] went home with the Best Film Award in the Talents section (which comes with €6,000), thanks to her clever analysis of her country’s youth, expressed through a character devised and played by the filmmaker herself (read more on the film here). Meanwhile, the critics’ jury showered its praise on Argentinian-based German artist Nele Wohlatz for The Future Perfect, which was shot in the South American country.

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Another female filmmaker who garnered great acclaim was Carla Simón, who sold out the screening venues for her Summer 1993 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carla Simón
film profile], which brought the event to a close, many days in advance. Another sold-out film was Elena Martín’s Júlia ist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elena Martín
film profile], which is bound to delight anyone who has ever been on an Erasmus year, as this experience is what the film hinges on. Both movies will be released in Spain in June, distributed by Avalon.

Other awards at the 2017 edition of D’A ended up going to Enrique Baró, whose feature debut, La película de nuestra vida [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Enrique Baró
film profile], which was world-premiered at the most recent Seville Film Festival, pocketed a Special Mention from the critics’ jury. The film will go on general release in Spain from 23 June, courtesy of Márgenes Distribución.

Filipino director Lav Diaz was rewarded with the Audience Award, after viewers voted for his The Woman Who Left (the winner of the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice: read the news) over and above its closest competitors during this highly democratic process – namely, 20th Century Woman by Mike Mills (USA), Júlia ist, Free Fire [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by the cheeky Ben Wheatley (UK) and the documentary Converso [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Navarre-born David Arratibel (Spain).