A great surprise last Saturday in Madrid: 20,000 Species of Bees [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Estíbaliz Urresola
fiche film], the first feature film directed by Estibaliz Urresola, won the award for Best Fiction Feature Film at the 29th José María Forqué Awards (awarded by EGEDA, the Spanish producers' association), beating serious contenders such as Close Your Eyes [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], by the master Víctor Erice; Society of the Snow [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : J.A. Bayona
fiche film], a super production by Juan Antonio Bayona; and Upon Entry [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Alejandro Rojas et Juan Se…
fiche film], the acclaimed debut from Juan Sebastián Vásquez and Alejandro Rojas.

In addition to this recognition, the film by the Basque filmmaker (who last year won Best Short Film with Cuerdas at the Forqué Awards) won the award for Cinema and Education in Values. After being presented at the last Berlinale (with an award for its leading actress Sofía Otero), triumphing at the Malaga Festival and being nominated for the European Parliament's LUX Audience Award (read more), this drama about child transsexuality is the favourite for the next Goya, the Spanish Film Academy's trophies to be awarded on 10 February (read more).

The Forqué for Best Female Performance went to Malena Alterio for her work in Something Is About to Happen [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Antonio Méndez Esparza
fiche film] and Best Male Performance to David Verdaguer for his reincarnation of the comedian Eugenio in Jokes & Cigarettes. Also nominated in these categories were Blanca Portillo (for Teresa [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film]), Laia Costa (Un amor [+lire aussi :
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interview : Isabel Coixet
fiche film]) and María Vázquez (Matria [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Alvaro Gago
fiche film]), while in the men's category, Alberto Ammann (Upon Entry), Hovik Keuchkerian (winner at San Sebastián for Un amor) and Manolo Solo (Close Your Eyes) were also up for the award.

New for this year’s Forqué Awards, the award for Best Animated Feature Film, where the nominees included They Shot the Piano Player [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
fiche film] (by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal), Sultana's Dream [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Isabel Herguera
fiche film] (Isabel Herguera), Mummies (Juan Jesús García Galocha) and Robot Dreams [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] (Pablo Berger), which finally won, as it did in the same category at the recent European Film Awards (read more).

Also, the new Audience Award crowned Javier Fesser's Championext [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] as the most acclaimed feature film by cinema-goers.  Juan Mariné. Un siglo de cine, by María Luisa Pujol, which looks at the life and work of the historic cinematographer (who will be honoured at the 2024 Goya Awards with an Honorary Statuette), won the Forqué for Best Documentary Feature, while the award for Best Short Film went to Aunque es de noche, by Guillermo García López, which enjoyed its premiere at Cannes. In the Best Latin American Film of 2023 category, the moving Chilean documentary The Eternal Memory won the award, which was collected by its director Maite Alberdi.

But, without a doubt, the other winning title at the Forqué 2023 Awards was La Mesías [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche série], by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, which won Best Fiction Series, Best Male Performance in a Series for Roger Casamajor and Best Female Performance in a Series for Lola Dueñas.

EGEDA, an organisation that manages audiovisual producers' rights, created these awards in order to showcase the importance of the Spanish audiovisual industry, promoting the role of producers and rewarding the best Spanish productions each year for their technical and artistic values. During the awards ceremony, Enrique Cerezo, president of EGEDA, awarded the Gold Medal to film producer Eduardo Campoy.

The award-winners:

Best Fiction Feature Film
20,000 Species of Bees [+lire aussi :
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interview : Estíbaliz Urresola
fiche film] – Estibaliz Urresola

Best Female Performance in Film
Malena Alterio – Something Is About to Happen [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Antonio Méndez Esparza
fiche film] (Spain/Romania)

Best Male Performance in Film
David Verdaguer – Jokes & Cigarettes

Best Documentary Feature Film
Juan Mariné. Un siglo de cine - María Luisa Pujol

Best Short Film
Aunque es de noche - Guillermo García López (Spain/France)

Best Latin American Film
The Eternal Memory – Maite Alberdi (Chile)

Audience Award
Championext [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] – Javier Fesser

Best Animated Feature Film
Robot Dreams [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
fiche film] – Pablo Berger (Spain/France)

Cinema and Education in Values
20,000 Species of Bees – Estibaliz Urresola

Best Series
La Mesías [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche série] – Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi

Best Female Performance in a Series
Lola Dueñas – La Mesías

Best Male Performance in a Series
Roger Casamajor – La Mesías

EGEDA Gold Medal
Eduardo Campoy