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FESTIVALS / AWARDS Spain

Schoolgirls comes out on top at the 26th Forqué Awards

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- Pilar Palomero’s feature debut has scooped the Spanish producers’ prize for the best fiction film of 2020, thus gaining a strong foothold in the awards race that has just kicked off

Schoolgirls comes out on top at the 26th Forqué Awards
Producer Valérie Delpierre picking up the Forqué Award for Best Fiction Feature for Schoolgirls

On Saturday 16 January, the ceremony for the 26th edition of the José María Forqué Film Awards (handed out by EGEDA, an organisation that manages Spanish audiovisual producers’ rights) was held in the IFEMA Palacio Municipal in Madrid, with less than half of its usual number of audience members, in accordance with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Indeed, only the nominees themselves were in attendance, alongside a clutch of industry guests and a handful of officials, such as Minister of Culture José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes. The big winner was Schoolgirls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pilar Palomero
film profile
]
, the feature debut by Pilar Palomero, which trounced its rivals in the Best Fiction Feature of 2020 category – namely, Rosa’s Wedding [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a comedy-drama by Icíar Bollaín; Adú [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, an African drama by Salvador Calvo; and Akelarre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pablo Agüero
film profile
]
, a period film directed by Argentina’s Pablo Agüero.

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Javier Cámara (who was also in the running for the same prize in the series category for Vamos Juan) was deemed Best Actor in a Film for his turn in The People Upstairs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cesc Gay
film profile
]
, an adaptation of the stage play by Cesc Gay. Patricia López Arnáiz – who is currently shooting La cima (see the news) – surprised onlookers by beating the two favourites for Best Actress in a Film, Kiti Mánver (in the running with One Careful Owner [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) and Candela Peña (nominated for Rosa’s Wedding), thanks to her performance in Ane Is Missing [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Pérez Sañudo
film profile
]
. The fourth hopeful in this category was young Andrea Fandos, the star of Schoolgirls.

At another point, the president of EGEDA, Enrique Cerezo – who asserted that Saturday night was a way to pay tribute to Spanish society, which proved itself so courageous during the year of the pandemic, with heroes from the public health, farming and cleaning sectors announcing the award winners, flanked by well-known faces – came out on stage to praise the work of Beatriz de la Gándara and Fernando Colomo, who were honoured with the EGEDA Gold Medal for their production careers.

In the Best Documentary Feature category, the victor was The Year of the Discovery [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Luis López Carrasco; New Order [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a co-production between France and Mexico helmed by Michel Franco, was crowned Best Latin American Film; and the short film Yalla by Spanish-based Italian director Carlo D’Ursi also made off with the prize in its respective category on a night that kicked off the Spanish film awards season. In addition, One for All [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Ilundain
film profile
]
by David Ilundain picked up the Film and Values-based Education Award.

Last but not least, this year, the Forqués introduced the Best Series Award, which saw Riot Police [+see also:
series review
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
series profile
]
 come out on top (winning out over Veneno [+see also:
series review
series profile
]
, Money Heist and Patria [+see also:
series review
series profile
]
), and in the acting category, it was Elena Irureta (for Patria) and Hovik Keuchkerian (for his turn in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s series) who came up on stage to collect their trophies.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Best Fiction Feature
Schoolgirls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pilar Palomero
film profile
]
Pilar Palomero

Best Actress
Patricia López Arnaiz – Ane Is Missing [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Pérez Sañudo
film profile
]

Best Actor
Javier Cámara – The People Upstairs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cesc Gay
film profile
]

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

Best Short Film
Yalla – Carlo D’Ursi

Best Latin American Film
New Order [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Michel Franco (Mexico/France)

Film and Values-based Education Award
One for All [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Ilundain
film profile
]
David Ilundain

Best Series
Riot Police [+see also:
series review
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
series profile
]
Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Best Actress in a Series
Elena Irureta – Patria [+see also:
series review
series profile
]

Best Actor in a Series
Hovik Keuchkerian – Riot Police

EGEDA Gold Medal
Beatriz de la Gándara and Fernando Colomo

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(Translated from Spanish)

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