26/09/2024 - Francisco Lezama’s The Two Landscapes, Daniel Hendler’s A Loose End and Sarah Miro Fischer’s Blue Marks have grabbed the festival’s most important industry awards

The winners of the San Sebastián Industry awards (© Pablo Cifuentes/SSIFF)

The 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival handed out its industry awards last night, once again devoting all of its efforts to encouraging Latin American and European professionals to work together, and to helping them finish their projects. Some of last year’s winners have gone on to premiere at A-list festivals this year, such as Michael Fetter Nathansky’s Every You Every Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Fetter Nathansky
film profile], which won the WIP Europa Industry Award and premiered in the Berlinale’s Panorama and has now screened in San Sebastián’s Zabaltegi-Tabakalera, and Iair Said’s Most People Die on Sundays [+see also:
film review
film profile], which won the WIP Latam Industry Award and premiered in the Cannes’ ACID section, before returning to San Sebastián for a selection in Horizontes Latinos.

The top prize (endowed with a gross sum of €10,000, awarded to the majority producer) of the 13th edition of the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum went to The Two Landscapes by Francisco Lezama, winner of this year's Berlinale Golden Bear for Best Short Film for An Odd Turn. Comprising Spanish cultural manager Isona Admetlla, Argentinian curator Flor Schapiro and Uruguayan producer Micaela Solé, the jury decided to reward this film, a co-production between Argentina (Ignacio Ceroi for Pionera Cine) and Brazil (Julia Alves for Quarta Feira) about an upper-middle-class woman who officiates in the church as Minister of the Holy Communion in a rural town where conversions to evangelism are changing deeply rooted customs and rituals. The film also received the 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 €10,000 for the majority producer.

For its part, the Artekino International Award (endowed with a gross sum of €6,000 for the majority producer) was given to Mariana Saffon Ramírez’s Mar de Leva, a co-production between Colombia (Franco Lolli for Evidencia Films) and France (Julie Billy for June Films) about a woman who has to deal with her father's impending death and the consequences of the divorce of her lover.

As for the work-in-progress sections, 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 went to Sarah Miro Fischer’s The Good Sister [+see also:
film review
interview: Sarah Miro Fischer & Marie …
film profile], a German project being produced by Janna Fodor and Nina Bayer-Seel for the Deutsche Film und Fernsekhkademie and Lukas Koll for Arkanum (see the news).

Meanwhile, in WIP Latam, the WIP Latam Industry Award (which offers post-production on the film) went to A Loose End, the new project by Uruguayan actor-director Daniel Hendler (Lost Embrace [+see also:
trailer
film profile], 15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbour [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), a co-production between Micaela Solé for Uruguay's Cordon Films and Ezequiel Borovinsky for Argentina's Wanka Cine, which follows an Argentinian police constable who crosses the border to Uruguay while on the run from the other police officers on his trail. The Egeda Platino Industria Award for Best WIP Latam (which comes with a gross sum of €30,000 for its producer) went to Cuerpo Celeste by Chilean filmmaker Nayra Ilic, a co-production between Fernando Bascuñán for Chile's Planta, Luigi Chimienti and Alessandro Amato for Italy's Dispàrte, Úrsula Budnik for Chile's Horamágica, and Florencia Rodríguez and Dominga Ortuzar for Chile's Oro Films.

Lastly, accolades were also given out in the Ikusmira Berriak programme (read report), with €10,000 in MG for international distribution from Sideral going to Dear Bastiano (Caro Bastiano) by Basque filmmaker Maria Elorza, and in 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:

Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum

Best Project Award
The Two Landscapes - Francisco Lezama (Argentina/Brazil)
Producer: Pionera Films

DALE! (Latin America-Europe Development) Award
The Two Landscapes - Francisco Lezama

Artekino International Prize
Mar de Leva - Mariana Saffon Ramírez (Colombia/France)
Producer: Evidencia Films

Ventana Sur invitation
Tropical Malaise - Jorge Cadena (Switzerland/France)
Producer: Goldeneggproduction

WIP Europa

WIP Europa Industry Award + WIP Europa Award
The Good Sister [+see also:
film review
interview: Sarah Miro Fischer & Marie …
film profile] – Sarah Miro Fischer (Germany)
Producers: Deutsche Film und Fernsekhkademie, Arkanum

WIP Latam

WIP Latam Industry Award
A Loose End – Daniel Hendler (Uruguay/Argentina)
Producers: Cordon Films, Wanka Cine

Egeda Platino Industria Award for Best WIP Latam
Cuerpo Celeste – Nayra Ilic (Chile/Italy)
Producers: Planta, Dispàrte

Ikusmira Berriak

Sideral Award
Dear Bastiano (Caro Bastiano) - Maria Elorza (Spain)
Producer: Garabi Films

Casa Wabi-Escine Award
Senda - Mikele Landa Eiguren (Spain)

Lau Haizetara Documentary Co-Production Forum

Music Library Award
La noche de la infancia - Xixi Sofía Ye Chen (China/Spain)
Producers: LaCima Producciones, The South Project, La Fábrica Nocturna

Dogwoof Award
Barrabás - Daniel Martínez-Quintanilla (Spain/Peru)
Producers: Muyuna, SUICAfilms, Associated Press

Ibaia – Elkargi Award
Barrabás - Daniel Martínez-Quintanilla

Ibaia – Bilibin Circular Award
El niño y el tiburón – Lucía Flórez (Spain/Peru)
Producers: El Taller.pe, Cabo Sur

Preciosa Media Consultancy Award
El niño y el tiburón – Lucía Flórez

DOCSBarcelona invitation
Hay algo en el silencio - Patricia Pérez (Spain/France/Serbia)
Producers: La Terraza Films, Free Media, Les Valseurs, Set Sail Films

FIPADOC Biarritz invitation
Barrabás - Daniel Martínez-Quintanilla