29/10/2018 - The movie by Canada’s Philippe Lesage has won the Golden Spike plus the Best Director and Actor gongs at the 63rd Valladolid International Film Week

The 63^rd edition of the Seminci (Valladolid International Film Week) drew to a close on Saturday 27 October with an awards ceremony that was largely dominated by a Canadian film about sexual and emotional awakenings, but which didn’t particularly enthuse either the audience or the press. Thus Genesis snagged the Golden Spike for Best Film in the Official Section, while its director, Philippe Lesage, was crowned Best Director and Théodore Pellerin, who stars in it, was named Best Actor by the jury chaired by Portugal’s Miguel Gomes.

The long-running Valladolid-based festival split its second prize, the Silver Spike, between the US title The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Desiree Akhavan and In the Aisles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Franz Rogowski
interview: Thomas Stuber
film profile], the third feature by Germany’s Thomas Stuber (sales for which are handled by Beta Cinema; it will be released in Spain by Surtsey Films in 2019).  

The remaining trophies in the Official Section were bestowed upon European productions or co-productions: Best New Director went to Bulgaria’s Milko Lazarov, for Ága [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milko Lazarov
film profile] (Bulgaria/Germany/France); Best Actress to Halldóra Geirhardsdóttir for her turn in Woman at War [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
film profile] (France/Iceland/Ukraine), directed by Benedikt Erlingsson (set to be brought out in Spanish theatres by Avalon on 12 April 2019); and the Miguel Delibes Award for Best Screenplay to Denmark’s The Guilty [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gustav Möller
film profile] by Gustav Möller, who penned the script alongside Emil Nygaard Albertsen (Caramel Films will release the movie in Spain on 23 November). Meanwhile, the Award for Best Cinematography was bestowed upon Hideho Urata for his work on the Singaporean-French-Dutch co-production A Land Imagined [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Yeo Siew Hua, which scooped the Golden Leopard at the most recent Locarno Film Festival. In the short-film category, Cadáver exquisito by France’s Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy took home the Golden Spike and the Best European Short Film Award, while the Silver Spike ended up going to the Polish production Tremors by Dawid Bodzak.

Of note among the rest of the winners across the other sections was the triumph of The Return [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Malene Choi (Denmark/South Korea) in Meeting Point (which screens debut and sophomore works); First Prize in the History Time documentary section went to the feature To the Four Winds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Michel Toesca (France), while Second Prize was given to Our New President by Maxim Pozdorovkin (USA/Russia); and in the sidebar dedicated to Spanish documentaries, Doc España, the top prize was granted to Dying to Tell [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Hernán Zin, which will shortly be taking part in the 15^th Seville European Film Festival, before it goes on general release on 22 November.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Official Section

Golden Spike for Best Film 
Genesis – Philippe Lesage (Canada)

Silver Spike 
In the Aisles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Franz Rogowski
interview: Thomas Stuber
film profile] – Thomas Stuber (Germany/Austria)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post - Desiree Akhavan (USA)

Best Director Award
Philippe Lesage - Genesis

Pilar Miró Award for Best New Director 
Milko Lazarov - Ága [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milko Lazarov
film profile] (Bulgaria/Germany/France)

Best Actress Award 
Halldóra Geirhardsdóttir – Woman at War [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
film profile] (France/Iceland/Ukraine)

Best Actor Award 
Théodore Pellerin – Genesis

Miguel Delibes Award for Best Screenplay 
Gustav Möller, Emil Nygaard Albertsen - The Guilty [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gustav Möller
film profile] (Denmark)

Best Cinematography Award
Hideho Urata – A Land Imagined [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Singapore/France/Netherlands)

Audience Award 
My Masterpiece [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gastón Duprat
film profile] - Gastón Duprat (Argentina/Spain)

Meeting Point section

Best Film 
The Return [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Malene Choi (Denmark/South Korea)

History Time section

First Prize 
To the Four Winds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Michel Toesca (France)

Second Prize 
Our New President - Maxim Pozdorovkin (USA/Russia)

DOC España section
Best Film 
Dying to Tell [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Hernán Zin (Spain)

(Translated from Spanish)