22/09/2022 - The new films by Bruno Santamaría Razo, Selman Nacar and Martín Benchimol have shone bright in the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum and WIP sections, respectively

The winners of the San Sebastián International Film Festival’s industry events (© SSIFF)

Fully back to their physical form, the industry events of the San Sebastián International Film Festival finished yesterday with the usual handing out of the awards by the different sections and juries. Once again fostering projects hailing from both the Latin American and European audiovisual industries, and encouraging collaboration between professionals from these regions, the events have been looking to renew their success in bringing projects to fruition. Several award winners from last year’s iteration have had their world premieres this year at Cannes (El agua [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elena López Riera
film profile]), at Toronto (Daughter of Rage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Baumeister
film profile], Vicenta B. [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and at this very festival (Suro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mikel Gurrea
film profile], Carbon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Daughter of Rage, Vicenta B.).

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At the 11th edition of the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, the top prize (endowed with a gross sum of €10,000, awarded to the majority producer) was bestowed upon the project by Mexican director Bruno Santamaría Razo (whose previous films are the documentaries Things We Dare Not Do and Margarita), Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building. The jury, made up of Spanish producer and analyst Pau Brunet, Cuban producer Claudia Calviño and Danish producer Katrin Pors, highlighted its “brave film language that tells of various people's dramas within their surroundings as if they were dancing to the beat of their misfortunes”. The film is a coming-of-age story about a ten-year-old boy grappling with his sexuality while his dad is wrongly diagnosed with HIV and his family grinds to a halt to avoid the boy from being scared. But even if there is good news after this shock, an irreparable rift in the family will already have been created.

Meanwhile, the parallel DALE! Award, handed out by the European Film Agency Directors Association (EFAD) and by the Conference of Ibero-American Audiovisual and Cinematographic Authorities (CAACI), and endowed with €20,000 for the majority producer, also went to Santamaría Razo’s project. The jury singled the feature out “for being a fantastic coming-of-age film blending tragedy and joy, which really connected with us”.

The Artekino International Award (endowed with a gross sum of €6,000 for the majority producer) was given to Madre Pájaro, the new film by Costa Rica’s Sofía Quirós Ubeda, whose first feature, Land of Ashes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], was selected in the 2019 Cannes Critics’ Week.

Lastly, the first-ever Film Center Serbia Award (€3,000 for the majority producer) went to The Fire Doll (La muñeca de fuego) by US-born, Chilean-based filmmaker Niles Atallah, known for his 2017 film Rey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], winner of a Special Jury Prize in IFFR’s Tiger Competition.

As for the work-in-progress sections, Hesitation Wound [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile] by Turkish director Selman Nacar won the WIP Europa Industry Award and subsequently the WIP Europa Award (respectively offering post-production on the film and €10,000 for its producer) in the WIP Europa section. Already a regular at the festival’s industry section, Nacar won this same prize in 2020 with his first feature, Between Two Dawns [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile], selected last year for New Directors. For its part, in WIP Latam, The Castle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martín Benchimol
film profile] by Argentinian filmmaker Martín Benchimol went home with both the WIP Latam Industry Award (which offers post-production on the film) and the Egeda Platino Industria Award for Best WIP Latam (which comes with a gross sum of €30,000 for its producer).

The festival also announced the award winners in the Ikusmira Berriak programmes (see the news), where Bandeira, the new movie by Brazilian filmmaker João Paulo Miranda Maria, who participated in the festival’s 2020 New Directors section with his first film, Memory House [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], emerged triumphant, and the Lau Haizetara Documentary Co-Production Forum, organised by IBAIA (the Association of Basque Independent Audiovisual Producers), in conjunction with the festival.

Here is the full list of award winners:

XI Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum

XI Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum Best Project Award
Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building (Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul) - Bruno Santamaría Razo (Mexico)
Production: Ojo De Vaca S. De R.L.

Dale! (Development Latin America-Europe) Award
Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building (Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul) - Bruno Santamaría Razo (Mexico)
Production: Ojo De Vaca S. De R.L.

Artekino International Prize
Madre Pájaro - Sofía Quirós Ubeda (Costa Rica/Argentina)
Production: Sputnik Films

Film Center Serbia Award
The Fire Doll (La muñeca de fuego) - Niles Atallah (Chile/France)
Production: Globo Rojo Films

WIP Europa

WIP Europa Industry Award + WIP Europa Award
Hesitation Wound [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile] - Selman Nacar (Turkey/France/Romania)
Production: Kuyu Film

WIP Latam

WIP Latam Industry Award
The Castle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martín Benchimol
film profile] - Martín Benchimol (Argentina/France)
Production: Gema Films

Egeda Platino Industria Award for Best WIP Latam
The Castle - Martín Benchimol (Argentina/France)
Production: Gema Films

Projeto Paradiso First Award
A Strange Path (Estranho Caminho) - Guto Parente (Brazil/Portugal)
Production: Tardo Filmes

Projeto Paradiso Second Award
A House In The Country (Casa no campo) - Davi Pretto (Brazil/France/Argentina)
Production: Vulcania Cinema

Ikusmira Berriak

Irusoin Postproduction Award
Bandeira - João Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil/France)
Production: Les Valseurs

Lau Haizetara Foro de Coproducción de Documentales

Ibaia – Bilibin Circular Award
Carapirú: El superviviente - Aner Etxebarria, Pablo Vidal (Spain/France)
Production: Federation Spain

Distribution and Festival Consultancy Treeline Award
El silencio de las hormigas - Francisco Montoro (Spain)
Production: Apnea Films

Ibaia – Elkargi Award
El silencio de las hormigas - Francisco Montoro (Spain)
Production: Apnea Films