The 19^th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival (22-31 March) has revealed the names of the winners of its various competitions after bringing its third MECAS (International Market Dedicated to Almost-finished Films) to a close (see the news).

A total of 12 movies were presented before the official section jury, made up of Eva Vila (Penélope [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rita Azevedo Gomes
scheda film] by Lisbon native Rita Azevedo Gomes, for “the auteur’s rigour, lucidity and sensitivity in allowing classicism and modernity to co-exist in an unusual historical story”.

In addition, the Chinese feature The Fragile House by Lin Zi scooped the second prize, or the Silver Lady Harimaguada. The jury also bestowed a Special Mention upon the Lesothan-Qatari co-production Mother, I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, which was recently acquired by international sales agent Stray Dogs. The Best Actor Award was granted to the three male leads in By the Grace of God [+leggi anche:
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Q&A: François Ozon
scheda film] by François Ozon: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet and Swann Arlaud. The Best Actress gong was also split between two thesps: it went to Snezana Bogdanović for her performance in Stitches [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Miroslav Terzić
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The gathering also boasted a special competition dedicated to productions from the Canary Islands, called Canarias Cinema, the jury for which – comprising Andrea Guzmán, Annamaria Scaramella and Manuel Zapata – gave the Richard Leacock Award for Best Feature to the Spanish-French-German co-production The Hidden City [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Víctor Moreno
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Finally, the short-film competition jury crowned Emmanuel Marre’s effort D’un château l’autre and bestowed a Special Mention upon Blessed Land by Pham Ngoc Lan. The prize given out by Canarian audiovisual production house Digital 104 Film Distribution went to the short film Mi profesora de salsa by Rafael Navarro Miñón. The Association of Female Filmmakers and Women in Audiovisual Media (CIMA) opted to award the screenwriter of Stitches, Elma Tataragic, as well as its lead actress, Snezana Bogdanovich. Stitches also picked up the Audience Award. 

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Feature-film Competition

Golden Lady Harimaguada
The Portuguese Woman [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rita Azevedo Gomes
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Silver Lady Harimaguada
The Fragile House – Lin Zi (China)

Best Actor Award
Melvil Poupaud, Denis Menochet, Swann Arlaud – By the Grace of God [+leggi anche:
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Q&A: François Ozon
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Best Actress Award (split)
Snezana Bogdanovich – Stitches [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Miroslav Terzić
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Zita Hanrot – Paul Sanchez Is Back! [+leggi anche:
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Jury Special Mention
Mother I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You – Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (Lesotho/Qatar)

Short-film Competition

Best International Short Film Award
D’un château l’autre – Emmanuel Marre (France/Belgium)

Special Mention for Best International Short Film
Blessed Land – Pham Ngoc Lan (Vietnam)

Canarias Cinema Competition

Richard Leacock Award for Best Feature
The Hidden City [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Víctor Moreno
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Richard Leacock Award for Best Feature Special Mention
Searching for Oscar [+leggi anche:
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Richard Leacock Award for Best Short Film
300 Todo incluido – Pablo Fajardo (Spain)

Digital 104 Film Distribution International Distribution Award
Mi profesora de salsa – Rafael Navarro Miñón (Spain)

Other prizes

CIMA Awards
Elma Tataragic, Snezana Bogdanovich – Stitches

Audience Award 
Stitches – Miroslav Terzic