The Permanent Picture [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Laura Ferrés
scheda film], a co-production between France and Spain by feature newcomer Laura Ferrés (who triumphed at the 2017 Cannes Critics' Week and won the Goya for her short film Los deshederados), has won the Golden Spike at the 68th Seminci - Valladolid International Film Week, which concluded last Saturday 28 October, led for the first time by José Luis Cienfuegos.

“We have chosen a film that is imbued with captivating themes, is deeply reflective, lyrical, and remarkably captures the very essence of humanity", according to the International Jury (made up of Spanish filmmaker Meritxell Colell, British producer Mike Goodridge, Indian director Pan Nalin, director of Caimán magazine Jara Yáñez and Argentinian director, producer and teacher Iván Granovsky). The jury also awarded the Silver Spike to Alice Rohrwacher's fourth feature film La quimera [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] as it "evokes magical feelings while pushing the limits of the art form of cinema, through a gaze that enchantingly perceives both life and death, human beings and also spirits, often dissolving the boundary between reality and fantasy".

The German Angela Schanelec won the Ribera del Duero award for Best Director for her film Music [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]. The jury, which also recognised the austere beauty of Ivan Marković's shots with the award for Best Cinematography, praised "his unique gaze and the way he approaches stories like a composer who plays at hiding the emotion inside his images to let it burst out in the most moving and beautiful way". And from a veteran to another newcomer, British Molly Manning Walker, who arrived in Valladolid after her triumph in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, now wins the Pilar Miró award for Best New Director for How to Have Sex [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Molly Manning Walker
scheda film].

In the acting category, Léa Seydoux was named Best Actress for The Beast [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bertrand Bonello
scheda film], by Bertrand Bonello, while Dave Turner was recognised as Best Actor for The Old Oak [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], the audience's favourite film by Ken Loach, who decided to award their prize to an old festival acquaintance. The Italian master Marco Bellocchio won the Miguel Delibes Award for Best Screenplay for Kidnapped [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]; and the José Salcedo Award for Best Editing went to the German Gesa Jäger for her work on The Teachers' Lounge [+leggi anche:
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intervista: İlker Çatak
intervista: Leonie Benesch
scheda film], by İlker Çatak, nominated for the next LUX Audience Award.

The International Critics' Prize (FIPRESCI) has applauded Spanish director Víctor Iriarte's fiction debut with Foremost by Night [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Víctor Iriarte
scheda film], which tackles the trauma of stolen babies. The Golden Spike for Short Film went to Wander to Wonder, a detailed stop motion piece by one of the great promises of European animation, Nina Gantz. And Marina Alberti, granddaughter of the poet Rafael Alberti and the writer María Teresa León, won the Silver Spike for Aitana, a tribute to her mother, whose name gives the short film its title.

Finally, it is worth noting that part of the audience present, both at the reading of the morning list of winners and at the closing gala in the evening, showed their dissatisfaction with the prizes awarded for best director and best film with the famous, dreaded and characteristic protest from the audience at this veteran festival.

The list of winners:

Official Feature Film Section

Golden Spike
The Permanent Image [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Laura Ferrés
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Silver Spike
La quimera [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Alice Rohrwacher (Italy/France/Switzerland)

Ribera del Duero Award for Best Director
Angela Schanelec - Music [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Germany/France/Serbia)

Pilar Miró Award for Best New Director
How to Have Sex [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Molly Manning Walker
scheda film] - Molly Manning Walker (United Kingdom/Greece/Belgium)

Best Male Performance
Dave Turne - The Old Oak [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (United Kingdom/France/Belgium)

Best Female Performance
Léa Seydoux - The Beast [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bertrand Bonello
scheda film] (France/Canada)

Miguel Delibes Award for Best Screenplay
Marco Bellocchio, Susanna Nicchiarelli - Kidnapping [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] (Italy/Germany/France)

Best Cinematography
Ivan Marković - Music 

José Salcedo Award for Best Editing
Gesa Jäger – The Teachers' Lounge [+leggi anche:
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intervista: İlker Çatak
intervista: Leonie Benesch
scheda film] (Germany)

Official Short Film Section

Golden Spike for Best Short Film
Wander to Wonder - Nina Gantz (Netherlands/Belgium/France/United Kingdom)

Silver Spike
Aitana – Marina Alberti (Spain)

Short Film Nominated for the European Film Awards 2024
Ardent Other - Alice Brygo (France)

Meeting Point Section

Best Feature Film Award
Gasoline Rainbow - Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross (United States)

Special Jury Prize
Arthur & Diana [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sara Summa
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Special Mention
Animal [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sofia Exarchou
scheda film] - Sofia Exarchou (Greece/Austria/Romania)

Award for Best Foreign Short Film
Nocturnal Burger - Reema Maya (India/United States)

Foreign Short Film Mention
Heartbreak Hotel - Emma Axelroud Bernard, Toujours Panthère (France)

La Noche del Corto Español Award
Meteoro – Víctor Moreno (Spain)

Time of History Section

First Prize
Between Revolutions [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Vlad Petri
scheda film] - Vlad Petri (Romania/Croatia/Qatar/Iran)

Second Prize
Retratos fantasmas - Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil)

Best Short Film
Ours - Morgane Frund (Switzerland)

Alchemies Section

Alchemies Award
Femme [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon P…
scheda film] - Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping (United Kingdom)

DOC. Section Spain

Best Film
Zinzindurrukarratz - Oskar Alegria (Spain)

Other Awards

Audience Award Official Section
The Old Oak – Ken Loach

Audience Award Meeting Point Section
Muyeres – Marta Lallana (Spain)

Audience Award Time of History Section
The Mother of All Lies - Asmae El Moudir (Morocco/Saudi Arabia/Qatar/Egypt)

Young Seminci Award
The Movie Teller [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lone Scherfig
scheda film] - Lone Scherfig (Spain/France/Chile)

Young Jury Prize in the Official Section
How to Have Sex - Molly Manning Walker

Young Jury Prize in the Meeting Point Section
One Last Evening [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lukas Nathrath
scheda film] - Lukas Nathrath (Germany)
Special Mention
Hello Dankness - Soda Jerk (Australia)

Rainbow Spike Award
All of Us Strangers [+leggi anche:
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Special Mention
On the Go [+leggi anche:
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intervista: María Gisèle Royo, Julia d…
scheda film] - María Gisèle Royo, Julia De Castro (Spain)

Green Spike
Muyeres – Marta Lallana
Special Mention
Trenc D´Alba - Anna Llargués (Spain)

FIPRESCI Award
Foremost by Night [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Víctor Iriarte
scheda film] – Víctor Iriarte (Spain/Portugal/France)

Fundos Award
A batalha da rua Maria Antônia - Vera Egito (Brazil)

Castilla y León Short Films Award
El rey de la semana – David Pérez Sañudo (Spain)