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SEVILLE 2020 Awards

Malmkrog pockets Seville’s Golden Giraldillo for Best Film

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- Cristi Puiu’s garrulous movie, set in 19th-century Russia, has also scooped the Award for Best Screenplay at the Spanish gathering, which was heavily affected by the pandemic

Malmkrog pockets Seville’s Golden Giraldillo for Best Film
Malmkrog by Cristi Puiu

On Saturday 14 November, the winners’ list of the 17th edition of the Seville European Film Festival was revealed, after the Spanish gathering unspooled under the “new normal” conditions dictated by the COVID-19 crisis. On a total of two occasions, the programming team was forced to draw up a new screening schedule and to adapt it to the new time restrictions imposed by the health authorities. Nevertheless, the festival pressed on – without any guests from outside the confines of the city – with its industry activities and its habitual announcement of the EFA nominees (see the news), splitting the presentations of Spanish films between the Andalusian city and Madrid (in addition to its screenings via the Filmin platform), and with its most loyal audience members coming along in person to sample its delightful banquet of select films from across the continent. Standing out among them all was Malmkrog [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristi Puiu
film profile
]
by Cristi Puiu, a very long (200 minutes) production involving six countries, boasting never-ending scenes and constant dialogue, which took home the Golden Giraldillo for Best Feature in the Official Section as well as the Best Screenplay Award.

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The jury of the Official Section – made up of producer Rosa Bosch (Broken Silence [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), distributor and director of the D’A Festival in Barcelona Carlos R Ríos, Portuguese producer Luis Urbano (Technoboss [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Nicolau
film profile
]
), and French producer and actor Frédéric Niedermayer (Venus and Fleur) – also decided to hand its Grand Prize to another film in which, again, the characters are certainly not averse to talking: the extremely lengthy documentary (another 200 minutes) The Year of the Discovery [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, directed by Murcia native Luis López Carrasco. Incidentally, the title was released in Spanish theatres last Friday.

In the acting categories, it was Petra Martínez – for her work in the intimate That Was Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damián París and Rosa Garcí…
interview: David Martín de los Santos
film profile
]
– and Alsény Bathily – in the fantastical French production Gagarin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Tr…
film profile
]
– who took home the trophies. Two awards in the Official Section were bestowed upon the latest magical romantic drama by Christian Petzold, Undine [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile
]
(Best Directing and Best Editing, courtesy of Bettina Böhler), while Italian helmer Gianfranco Rosi saw his work as DoP on his latest non-fiction film, Notturno [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
, rewarded with a trophy.

Other sections saw the triumph of the Greek production Apples [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christos Nikou
film profile
]
by Christos Nikou (The New Waves), the sensitive French-Danish documentary Little Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sébastien Lifshitz
film profile
]
by Sébastien Lifshitz and Nueve Sevillas, directed by the resilient Gonzalo García Pelayo and Pedro G Romero (both movies shared the top prize in The New Waves – Non-fiction section). Also worth mentioning are other gongs such as the Special Award for Best Director of a European First or Second Feature (which had its national or world premiere at the Seville-based gathering), which went to the post-modern and dialogue-free giallo flick Name Above Title by rising Portuguese talent Carlos Conceiçao (Serpentarius [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), and the Special Award for Best Director of a Spanish Film (which had its national or world premiere at Seville), which was bestowed upon Nación [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Margarita Ledo Andión
film profile
]
by Galician filmmaker Margarita Ledo.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Official Section

Golden Giraldillo for Best Film
Malmkrog [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristi Puiu
film profile
]
– Cristi Puiu (Romania/Serbia/Switzerland/Sweden/Bosnia and Herzegovina/North Macedonia)

Grand Jury Prize
The Year of the Discovery [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Luis López Carrasco (Spain/Switzerland)

Best Director
Christian Petzold – Undine [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile
]
(Germany/France) 

Best Screenplay
Malmkrog – Cristi Pitiu

Best Actress
Petra Martínez – That Was Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damián París and Rosa Garcí…
interview: David Martín de los Santos
film profile
]
(Spain/Belgium)

Best Actor
Alsény Bathily - Gagarin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Tr…
film profile
]
(France)

Best Cinematography
Gianfranco Rosi - Notturno [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
(Italy/Germany/France)

Best Editor
Bettina Böhler – Undine

The New Waves section

Best Film
Apples [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christos Nikou
film profile
]
– Christos Nikou (Greece/Poland/Slovenia)

Special Award
Conference [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan I Tverdovsky
film profile
]
– Ivan I Tverdovskiy (Russia/Estonia/UK/Italy)

Award for Direction
Pa’trás, ni pa’tomar impulso – Lupe Pérez García (Spain)

The New Waves Non-fiction section

Best Film
Little Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sébastien Lifshitz
film profile
]
– Sébastien Lifshitz (France/Denmark)
Nueve Sevillas – Gonzalo García Pelayo and Pedro G Romero (Spain)

Permanent Revolutions section

Best Film
Time of Moulting [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Sabrina Mertens (Germany)
Special Mention
Los inocentes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillermo Benet
film profile
]
– Guillermo Benet (Spain)

Other awards

Special Award for Best Direction of a European First or Second Feature (which had its national or world premiere at the Seville Film Festival)
Name Above Title – Carlos Conceiçao (Portugal)

Special Award for Best Direction of a Spanish Film (which had its national or world premiere at the Seville Film Festival)
Nación [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Margarita Ledo Andión
film profile
]
– Margarita Ledo

Audience Award in the Extraordinary Histories section. Special Screen
200 Meters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ameen Nayfeh
film profile
]
– Ameen Nayfeh (Palestine/Jordan/Italy/Qatar/Sweden)

Audience Grand Prize, EFA Selection
Persian Lessons [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leonie Benesch
film profile
]
– Vadim Perelman (Russia/Germany/Belarus)

Best Film in the Andalusian Panorama section
Ojalá mañana – Ignacio G Merlo

Rosario Valpuesta Award for Best Short Film in Andalusian Panorama
Of Hearts and Castles – Rubén Navarro

Rosario Valpuesta Special Prize for the Artistic Category of Short Film in Andalusian Panorama
Silencio sísmico – Sandor M Salas

13th University of Seville European Film Award for Screenplay for a Fictional Short
Chavales de la paz – Sandra Romero Acevedo

13th University of Seville European Film Award for Screenplay for a Non-fiction Short
Los oscuros – Jorge Castrillo

ASECAN Award for Best Film in the Official Section
That Was Life – David Martín de los Santos

AAMMA Women in Focus Award
Fucking with Nobody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hannaleena Hauru
film profile
]
- Hannaleena Hauru (Finland)

Ocaña Award for Freedom
Little Girl – Sébastien Lifshitz

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(Translated from Spanish)

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