Despite the peculiar conditions of this 2020 edition, the San Sebastián International Film Festival managed to host a successful platform and series of events dedicated to professionals working on their projects. This year saw the first editions of the WIP Latam (which replaced the traditional Films in Progress section, organised in partnership with the Cinélatino Festival in Toulouse) and WIP Europa (which emerged as an evolution of Glocal in Progress) work-in-progress programmes, alongside the ninth Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, which continues strengthening bridges between the film industries of both continents.

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While the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum took place entirely online, WIP Latam and WIP Europa unspooled as hybrid events, hosting physical screenings at the festival and offering online access in collaboration with Cinando. During the awards ceremony, participants accepted their awards via video call.

The ninth edition of the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum saw the triumph of the new project by Argentina’s Benjamín Naishtat (winner of three awards in the Golden Shell competition in 2018 with Rojo [+leggi anche:
recensione
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intervista: Benjamín Naishtat
scheda film]). The jury, which included producers Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza, Nadia Turincev and Olmo Figueredo, decided to bestow its €10,000 award upon the project entitled Pobres pibes, “for its brilliant critique on capitalism and the normalisation of the fascism stoked by populist leaders”.

The parallel awards handed out by Eurimages, and the European Film Agency Directors Association (EFAD) and the Conference of Ibero-American Audiovisual and Cinematographic Authorities (CAACI) (which come with €20,000 each), went to Riders by Argentina’s Martín Rejtman (Two Gun Shots [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]) and Who Killed Narciso? by Paraguay’s Marcelo Martinessi (The Heiresses [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]), respectively. Eurimages picked Rejtman’s title on account of it being “an international project that tackles a very topical issue from the point of view of a committed artist, whose singular perspective is used to shed light on a pressing topic, not often seen on film”. Rejtman expressed his gratitude for the prize, particularly because of its timely nature, as the movie is scheduled to start filming next week. At the same time, the newly named DALE! Award was bestowed upon Martinessi’s project “for its potential to position the Paraguayan film industry at an international level, with a portrait of another time that makes us reflect on our present”. Martinessi said, “Paraguay has a very complex history, and this film will allow us to get close to its luminaries, to people who dreamed differently and dared to dance to another rhythm”. Lastly, the Artekino International Prize went to The Day of My Beast by Colombia’s Camila Beltrán.

As for the work-in-progress sections, Argentina is also to be found on the winners' list of WIP Latam, while WIP Europa was conquered by Turkey. The post-production award (encompassing everything up to obtaining a DCP subtitled in English and its distribution in Spain) in WIP Latam went to Dusk Stone, the new project by Iván Fund (selected in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard with The Lips), with the Egeda Platino Industria Award (€30,000) going to The Employer and the Employee [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Uruguay’s Manuel Nieto. Between Two Dawns [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Selman Nacar
scheda film], directed by Selman Nacar, was the Turkish-French-Romanian co-production that emerged triumphant in the WIP Europa section, receiving the post-production award and the €10,000 prize offered by the festival, which come as one package.

The Irusoin Post-Production Award at the Ikusmira Berriak film development lab, which took place as normal (see the news), went to the Chilean project The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, directed by Diego Céspedes.

Lastly, the Zinemaldia Startup Challenge went online with a presentation of the five projects it had selected: apps Cinesmart (Spain) and The Fifth Wall (Germany), artificial intelligence solutions PromoMii (UK) and Visualyst (Norway), and blockchain technology system Filmchain (UK). The €10,000 award went to Filmchain.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum

Best Project Award
Pobres pibes - Benjamín Naishtat (Argentina)

Dale! Award (EFAD+CAACI Award)
Who Killed Narciso? (¿Quién Mató A Narciso?) - Marcelo Martinessi (Paraguay/Germany/France)

Eurimages Co-production Development Award
Riders - Martín Rejtman (Argentina/Portugal)

Artekino International Prize
The Day of My Beast (El día de mi bestia) - Camila Beltrán (Colombia/France)

WIP Latam

WIP Latam Industry Award
Dusk Stone (Piedra noche) - Iván Fund (Argentina/Chile)

Egeda Platino Industria Award for Best WIP Latam
The Employer and the Employee [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - Manuel Nieto (Uruguay/Argentina/Brazil/France)

WIP Europa

WIP Europa Industry Award + WIP Europa Award
Between Two Dawns [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Selman Nacar
scheda film] - Selman Nacar (Turkey/France/Romania)

Ikusmira Berriak

Irusoin Post-Production Award
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (La misteriosa mirada del flamenco) - Diego Céspedes (Chile)

Zinemaldia Startup Challenge

Zinemaldia Startup Challenge Award
Filmchain (UK)