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MÁLAGA 2021 Awards

Agustí Villaronga nabs the top spot on the podium at the Málaga Film Festival

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- The Belly of the Sea has gone home with six awards from the 24th edition of the Spanish and Latin American film gathering

Agustí Villaronga nabs the top spot on the podium at the Málaga Film Festival
The winners of the 24th Málaga Film Festival (with Agustí Villaronga second from left in the bottom row) (© Eloy Muñoz)

On Saturday, the 24th Málaga Film Festival gave out its awards, once again handing out a Golden Biznaga for the best Spanish film and another for the best Latin American one. In the former category, it was The Belly of the Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
that took home the top prize, endowed with €10,000. This movie is the most recent work by versatile filmmaker Agustín Villaronga, who is capable of directing cult films such as In a Glass Cage, his hard-hitting feature debut from 1985, or taking on the shoot for the blockbuster Born a King [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
in Saudi Arabia.

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In accordance with the wishes of the jury, chaired by Nora Navas – who received, among other accolades, the Silver Shell for Best Actress at San Sebastián, the Forqué Award and even the Goya Award in 2010 for her role in Black Bread [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, a film by the same director, as luck would have it – Villaronga’s feature ended up scooping a further five prizes: Best Actor (for his regular collaborator Roger Casamajor), Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay (written by the director himself and Alessandro Baricco, on whose novel Ocean Sea the film is based), Best Score and Best Director. The film has also taken part in gatherings of the likes of IFFR and Moscow, where it was popular among the critics, and will get an airing very shortly at the Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest.

With the Special Jury Prize going to Ainhoa Rodríguez’s Mighty Flash [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ainhoa Rodríguez
film profile
]
– which also pocketed the Best Editing Award – it became clear that the jury was firmly throwing its weight behind arthouse cinema, although a more equality-driven list of winners was sorely lacking in its verdicts. Also deserving of awards – on account of them also tackling thorny and uncomfortable issues in great depth – were brave works such as The Consequences [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claudia Pinto Emperador
film profile
]
(Spain/Netherlands/Belgium) by Claudia Pinto (which had to make do with the Silver Biznaga for Best Supporting Actress, for María Romanillos) and 15 Hours (Dominican Republic/Spain) by Catalonian director Judith Colell. On the other hand, for her turn in Ama [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(Spain), Tamara Casellas was crowned Best Actress in the official section.

In the Latin American strand, the winning film ended up being Karnawal [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Juan Pablo Félix, which scooped the Golden Biznaga, while one of the film’s actors, Alfredo Castro, was deemed to be Best Supporting Actor, with the Jury’s Special Mention going to La ciudad de las fieras (Colombia/Ecuador), helmed by Henry Rincón.

In the Zonazine section, which screens the most alternative and gutsy propositions (where Mighty Flash would certainly not have been out of place), Lucas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Álex Montoya
film profile
]
by Álex Montoya (the new title by the director of Asamblea [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) came out on top as Best Spanish Film (plus Best Actor, for Jorge Motos), while the Argentinian production Las motitos by Inés Barrionuevo and Gabriela Vidal emerged as Best Latin American Film (and bagged Best Actress, for Carla Gusolfino).

Furthermore, in the MAFIZ industry sidebar (see the news), the WIP and MAFF gongs ended up going to the following projects: the Cinema 226 Award for Tú no eres yo by Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera; the Aracne DC Award for Mi vacío y yo by Adrián Silvestre (who was competing in the Official Documentary Section of this same festival with Sedimentos [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrián Silvestre
film profile
]
), which also picked up the Abycine and REC Tarragona Awards; the Cineytele – Web del audiovisual Award for Tolyatti Adrift by Laura Sisteró; and the Málaga Film Festival Award for Best Spanish Project for O auto das ánimas by Pablo Lago Dantas, which also pocketed the Fidba Award.

Here is the full list of winners:

Official Section

Golden Biznaga for Best Spanish Film
The Belly of the Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Agustí Villaronga (Spain)

Golden Biznaga for Best Latin American Film
Karnawal [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Juan Pablo Félix (Argentina/Bolivia/Brazil/Chile/Mexico/Norway)

Silver Biznaga – Special Jury Prize
Mighty Flash [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ainhoa Rodríguez
film profile
]
– Ainhoa Rodríguez (Spain)

Special Mention of the Jury
La ciudad de las fieras – Henry Rincón (Colombia/Ecuador)

Silver Biznaga for Best Director
Agustí Villaronga – The Belly of the Sea

Silver Biznaga for Best Actress
Tamara Casellas – Ama [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(Spain)

Silver Biznaga for Best Actor
Roger Casamajor – The Belly of the Sea

Silver Biznaga for Best Supporting Actress
María Romanillos – The Consequences [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claudia Pinto Emperador
film profile
]
(Spain/Netherlands/Belgium)

Silver Biznaga for Best Supporting Actor
Alfredo Castro - Karnawal

Silver Biznaga for Best Screenplay
Agustí Villaronga and Alessandro Baricco – The Belly of the Sea

Silver Biznaga for Best Score
Marcús JGR – The Belly of the Sea

Silver Biznaga for Best Cinematography
Josep María Civit and Blai Tòmas – The Belly of the Sea

Silver Biznaga for Best Editing
José Luis Picado – Mighty Flash

Zonazine section

Silver Biznaga for Best Spanish Film
Lucas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Álex Montoya
film profile
]
– Álex Montoya (Spain)

Silver Biznaga for Best Latin American Film
Las motitos – Inés Barrionuevo and Gabriela Vidal (Argentina)

Silver Biznaga for Best Director
Mauricio Franco Tosso - Samichay, en busca de la felicidad (Peru/Spain)

Silver Biznaga for Best Actress
Carla Gusolfino – Las motitos

Silver Biznaga for Best Actor
Jorge Motos - Lucas

Special Mention of the Jury
The cast of Leading Ladies (Colombia) – Ruth Caudeli

Official Documentary Section

Silver Biznaga for Best Documentary
Bosco - Alicia Cano Menoni (Uruguay/Italy)

Silver Biznaga for Best Director
Mo Scarpelli – El Father Plays Himself [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Venezuela/UK/Italy/USA)

Special Mention of the Jury
On the Other Side [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Iván Guarnizo (Colombia/Spain)

MAFIZ Málaga Festival Industry Zone

Cinema 226 Award
Tú no eres yo - Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera (Spain/Portugal)

Aracne DC Award
Mi vacío y yo - Adrián Silvestre (Spain)

Cineytele - Web del audiovisual Award
Tolyatti Adrift - Laura Sisteró (Spain)

Abycine Award
Mi vacío y yo - Adrián Silvestre

REC Tarragona Award
Mi vacío y yo - Adrián Silvestre

Málaga Film Festival Award for Best Spanish Project
O auto das ánimas - Pablo Lago Dantas (Spain)

Fidba Award
O auto das ánimas - Pablo Lago Dantas

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(Translated from Spanish)

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