– Nicolás Pereda’s film wins the Golden Lady Harimaguada for Best Feature Film, while the Silver Lady Harimaguada goes to How to Divorce During the War
The jury and the award winners at the 25th Las Palmas Film Festival
Last Saturday, the awards for the 25th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival were announced. Everything Else Is Noise, a co-production between Mexico, Germany and Canada directed by Nicolás Pereda and recently screened in the Berlinale Forum, won the Golden Lady Harimaguada for Best Film in the festival’s Official Section. The jury, made up of Barbara Gasser, Jean-Michel Frodon and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, stated that it is “a very creative filmic proposal to intertwine human relations, mainly between genders and generations, with artistic issues and with cinematic devices. The use of light, of frame, and of sound provides a humoristic yet moving composition embodied by remarkable actresses.” The Silver Lady Harimaguada went to How to Divorce During the War, by Lithuanian director Andrius Blaževičius, which recently won an award at Sundance. The jury highlighted how the film “mirrors the agony and impact of an outside conflict with the out of control spinning consequences of personal and professional decisions.”
The ceremony also recognised actress Danielle Brooks, star of the American feature film If I Go Will They Miss Me by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, with the Best Performance Award. A special mention to was awarded Eva Kostic, from Kosara Mitić’s debut film 17, which also won the Audience Award, as it “brings us, with great sensitivity and honesty, closer to invisible wounds, to the bonds forged in the most difficult moments, and to the strength that emerges even in the midst of pain.”
The Youth Jury for the Panorama Spain section awarded its prize to The Dashed Lines, by Anxos Fazáns, “for telling a story through silence, for addressing visibility with tenderness, and for its exquisite use of music”. A special mention also went to the documentary Sucia, by Bàrbara Mestanza and Marc Pujolar, “for the importance of its message. its radical honesty and commitment”.
Finally, in the Canarias Cinema section, the jury comprising Pilar Martínez-Vasseur and Ana Lombardía, awarded the Richard Leacock Award for Best Feature Film to Dance of the Living, by José Alayón, because it “introduces us to a grieving process through a family story and the metaphor of Canarian traditional wrestling”.
In the film festival’s industry section (read more), Karl Marx, Luanda, by Kiluanji Kia Henda (Angola) won the Almost-Finished Films Award at the ninth edition of MECAS, worth €8,000. The expert jury made up of Kimberly González (Andec Filmtechnik), Mercedes Abarca (IFFR), Peter Stephen (Music Library & SFX), Vicky Wong (TIFF Cinematheque) and Pedro Fernandes Duarte (Primera Idade), praised it “for its dynamic and emotional exploration of a part of history unfamiliar to many of us, and for doing so with a subtle sense of humour.”
Meanwhile, the Festival Strategy Award was presented by Quentin Worthington to La belleza by Marina Lameiro (Spain). Marton Tarkovy awarded the Editing Consultation prize to two films: Las antigüedades by Manque La Banca (Argentina) and Point and Shoot by Antonia Hollmann (Colombia). Finally, the Music Library & SFX Award went to Al futuro by Paz Fábrega (Costa Rica/Spain/Uruguay).
The awards:
Official Section
Golden Lady Harimaguada
Everything Else Is Noise – Nicolás Pereda (Mexico/Germany/Canada)
Silver Lady Harimaguada
How to Divorce During the War – Andrius Blaževičius (Lithuania/Czech Republic/Luxembourg/Ireland)
Best Performance Award
Danielle Brooks – If I Go Will They Miss Me (United States)
Special Mention
Eva Kostic – 17 (North Macedonia/Serbia/Slovenia).
Best Short Film Award
Heartbeat – Jay Rosenblatt & Stephanie Rapp (United States)
Special Mention
Honey, My Love, So Sweet – JT Trinidad (Philippines)
Audience Award
17 – Kosara Mitić
Panorama Spain
Panorama Spain Award
The Dashed Lines – Anxos Fazáns (Spain)
Special Jury Mention
Sucia – Bárbara Mestanza, Marc Pujolar (Spain)
Canarias Cinema
Richard Leacock Award for Best Feature Film
Dance of the Living – José Alayón (Spain/Colombia)
Richard Leacock Award for Best Short Film
Somos islas – Marta Torrecilla (Spain)
Digital Distribution Award 104
Somos islas – Marta Torrecilla
CIMA Award
Emma Tusell, editor of Dance of the Living
Special Mention
Marta Torrecilla – Somos islas
MECAS
Almost-Finished Films Award
Karl Marx, Luanda – Kiluanji Kia Henda (Angola)
Production: Uika Filmes
Festival Strategy Award
La Belleza – Marina Lameiro (Spain)
Production: Hiruk Filmak
Editing Consultation Award
Las antiguedades – Manque La Banca (Argentina)
Production: Pionera Cine, Un Puma
Point and Shoot – Antonia Hollman (Colombia)
Production: Invasión Cine
Music Library & SFX Award
Al futuro – Paz Fábrega (Costa Rica/Spain/Uruguay)
Production: Temporal Films, Edna Cinema, La Mayor
(Translated from Spanish)
