The 12^th edition of the Al Este Festival in Lima (Peru) drew to a close last week. After another online iteration, the gathering dedicated to Central and Eastern European movies and the region’s film industry handed out its prizes to some of the titles that were made available to Peruvian households via the El Ekran platform up until yesterday, 27 June.

The Al Este Jaguar for Best Film in the Official Competition, handed out by a jury made up of director Sol Berruezo, programmer Laura Alderete, actress Jely Reátegui, programmer Claudio Pereira, and actress, theatre director and cultural affairs director Marisol Palacios, ended up going to Spiral [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], a co-production by Hungary and Romania helmed by Cecília Felméri. The movie centres on a man and a woman, biology teachers who leave the city behind to go and live on the shores of a lake, where they strike up a mysterious relationship with nature and with themselves. Eventually, the film morphs into a metaphor on couples and the circle of life. The picture has already picked up prizes at various European festivals that it has taken part in, such as Warsaw and Thessaloniki. Alongside that film, the documentaries Nemesis [+leggi anche:
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As for the Competición Itinerante (lit. “Travelling Competition”), which was assessed by a jury made up of documentarians Iryna Tsilyk (The Earth Is Blue as an Orange [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Iryna Tsilyk
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intervista: Dea Gjinovci
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Lastly, as is customary, the other sections of the festival (Emerging Peru and ExperimentAlEste) shone the spotlight on young talents from the country and the wider region, making way for the new generation of up-and-coming auteurs in the local industry.

The gathering also hosted a series of master classes with renowned European directors (see the news) and the third iteration of the EsteLAB (see the news), with a selection of projects by filmmakers hailing from the region. All in all, more than 70 projects, including both features and shorts, were presented virtually, encompassing fiction titles, documentaries, animations and experimental ventures, in addition to special events such as a concert/screening of the Czechoslovakian flick Ecstasy (Gustav Machatý, 1933) accompanied by a live score.

Here is the full list of winners:

Official Al Este Competition

Best Film
Spiral [+leggi anche:
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Special Mentions
Nemesis [+leggi anche:
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Dead Souls' Vacation - Keko Chelidze (Georgia)

Press Jury Award
A New Shift [+leggi anche:
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Special Mention
Nemesis - Thomas Imbach

Travelling Competition

Best Film
Soldier’s Women - Patricia Wiesse Risso (Peru)

Special Mention
I Comete – A Corsican Summer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pascal Tagnati
scheda film] - Pascal Tagnati (France)

Youth Jury Award
Soldier’s Women - Patricia Wiesse Risso
Special Mention
Balada para niños muertos - Jorge Navas (Colombia)

Emerging Peru Competition

Best Film
Pasaje de ida - Victor Augusto Mendívil (Peru) (short film)

Special Mention
El barbero - Bruno Rey (Peru/Argentina) (short film)

ExperimentAlEste Competition

Best Film
Donde crece la hierba que te esconde - Patricia Bueno Risso (Peru) (short film)

Special Mentions
Fixion - Sebastián Quispe Robles (Peru) (short film)
Cartas desde el primer piso - Josefina León Ausejo (Peru/Switzerland) (short film)