16/11/2019 - Pietro Marcello’s spectacular movie has dominated the Official Section, where the enchanting Technoboss was also singled out, while Abou Leila and Zumiriki came out on top in their respective strands

The director of Martin Eden, Pietro Marcello, during his visit to the Seville Film Festival (© Festival de Sevilla)

“Thank you for awarding a daring, necessary and libertarian film about a man who runs away from his own life through culture but ends up being taken prisoner by the culture industry.” With these words, and via video link, Italian director Pietro Marcello expressed his gratitude for his well-deserved Golden Giraldillo from the 16th Seville European Film Festival, for his latest movie, the incredible and inspired Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile], which transposes the Jack London novel of the same name to an Italian setting.

On Saturday, under the watchful eye of the city’s Torre del Oro landmark, the festival unveiled not only its top prize, but the entire list of award winners. In the official section, the jury, made up of the director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mirsad Purivatra, Romanian producer Ada Solomon, French filmmaker Serge Bozon, and Spanish directors Elías León Siminiani and Lucía Alemany, also decided to single out the enchanting and edgy musical comedy Technoboss [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Nicolau
film profile] by Portugal’s João Nicolau, which took home the Grand Jury Award. From among this year’s very strong selection of movies, the jury also chose to confer prizes upon the dazzling works by Nadav Lapid (Best Direction for Synonyms [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nadav Lapid
film profile]), Corneliu Porumboiu (Best Screenplay for The Whistlers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Corneliu Porumboiu
film profile]) and Valentyn Vasyanovych (Best Cinematography for Atlantis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valentyn Vasyanovych
film profile]), while the acting gongs aptly went to North Macedonia’s Zorica Nusheva for God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Labina Mitevska
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] and Spaniard Marta Nieto for Madre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile], ex aequo, as well as Italy’s Pierfrancesco Favino for his turn in The Traitor [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
film profile].

Besides the Official Section, the jam-packed The New Waves section shone the spotlight on the hard-hitting feature debut by French-Algerian director Amin Sidi-Boumédiène, Abou Leila [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], in the fiction category, and the unclassifiable and inspiring sophomore effort by Navarre native Oskar Alegria, Zumiriki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Oskar Alegría
film profile], in the non-fiction category. In addition, and somewhat surprisingly, first-time Basque director Jaione Camborda scooped the Best Direction Award in the former strand with her Galician movie Arima [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaione Camborda
film profile].

The festival also announced the winner of its Audience Award, which went to And Then We Danced [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Levan Akin
interview: Levan Gelbakhiani
film profile] by Levan Akin, which also took home the Ocaña Award to Freedom (meanwhile, it is currently having a hard time getting screenings in the director’s native country, Georgia, on account of its topic revolving around homosexuality). The task of closing the gathering, which is increasingly finding favour with local audiences, was entrusted to Adiós [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Cabezas
film profile] by Paco Cabezas, a thriller set coincidentally in Seville itself, which was presented at the most recent San Sebastián Film Festival.

Here is the list of the main award winners:

Official Section

Golden Giraldillo
Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile] – Pietro Marcello (Italy/France/Germany)

Grand Jury Award
Technoboss [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Nicolau
film profile] – João Nicolau (Portugal/France)

Best Direction
Nadav Lapid – Synonyms [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nadav Lapid
film profile] (France/Israel/Germany)

Best Screenplay
The Whistlers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Corneliu Porumboiu
film profile] – Corneliu Porumboiu (Romania/France/Germany)

Best Actress (ex aequo)
Zorica Nusheva – God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Labina Mitevska
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] (North Macedonia/Belgium/Slovenia/Croatia/France)
Marta Nieto - Madre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile] (Spain/France)

Best Actor
Pierfrancesco Favino – The Traitor [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
film profile] (Italy/France/Germany/Brazil)

Best Cinematography
Valentyn Vasyanovych – Atlantis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valentyn Vasyanovych
film profile] (Ukraine)

The New Waves

Best Film
Abou Leila [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Amin Sidi-Boumédiène (Algeria/France)

Special Prize
A Russian Youth [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Alexander Zolotukhin (Russia)

Award to the Direction
Jaione Camborda – Arima [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaione Camborda
film profile] (Spain)

The New Waves Non-Fiction

Best Film
Zumiriki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Oskar Alegría
film profile] – Oskar Alegria (Spain)

Special Mention
Space Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter
film profile] - Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter (Austria/Germany)

Permanent Revolutions

Best Film
Bait [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mark Jenkin
film profile] - Mark Jenkin (UK)

Other awards

Deluxe Award
Barzakh [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Alejandro Salgado (Spain)

Europa Junior Award
The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lorenzo Mattotti
film profile] – Lorenzo Mattotti (France/Italy)

Cinephiles of the Future Award
School Life [+see also:
trailer
interview: Zita Hanrot
film profile] – Grand Corps Malade, Mehdi Idir (France)

Audience Award - EFA Selection
And Then We Danced [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Levan Akin
interview: Levan Gelbakhiani
film profile] – Levan Akin (Sweden/Georgia/France)

Eurimages Award for Best European Co-Production
It Must Be Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elia Suleiman
film profile] – Elia Suleiman (France/Germany/Canada/Turkey/Qatar)

Rosario Valpuesta Award - Best Short Film Andalusian Panorama
Litoral – Juanjo Rueda

Rosario Valpuesta Special Award - Best Direction in a Short Film Andalusian Panorama
Carlos Violadé – Foreigner

ASECAN Award for Best Film in the Official Section
Sibyl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile] – Justine Triet (France)

CICAE Award – Best First Film The New Waves + Permanent Revolutions
Take Me Somewhere Nice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ena Sendijarević
film profile] – Ena Sendijarevic (Netherlands/Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Ocaña Award to Freedom
And Then We Danced – Levan Akin

Women in Focus Award for Best Film in the Official Section
God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya – Teona Strugar Mitevska

(Translated from Spanish)