Courtesy of Ringo Media
The Barcelona-set “La nit no fa vigília” and the Argentinian film “Hidden City” (“Ciudad Oculta”) won the Malaga Festival Work in Progress awards for Spanish and Latin American projects on Friday.
“La nit no fa vigília” (which roughly translates to “The Night Does Not Keep Watch”) centers on a young man who lives with and cares for his aging, frail grandmother, but still finds time for a nocturnal social life . It was among the front-runners who won at the award ceremony.
A joint project of a student collective consisting of Laura Corominas Espelt, Laura Serra Solé, Clara Serrano Llorens, Gerard Simó Gimeno, Ariadna Ulldemolins Abad and Pau Vall Capdet, “La nit no fa vigília” also won the industry magazine Cine y Tele award.
Francisco Bouza’s “Hidden City” follows a young soccer player in Buenos Aires who must go on a journey through the city of the dead to deal with the loss of a friend.
The projects were among a large number of award winners who participated in this year’s Malaga WIP program and Malaga Festival Fund & Co-Production Event (MAFF).
Víctor Iriarte’s “Sobre Todo de Noche”, which revolves around two women who meet for the first time, one who was forced to give up her child for adoption when she was young, the other the parent who adopted and raised the boy, won the Aracne Digital Cinema award for post-production services as well as the Latido Films distribution award.
Two films received the Yagán Films award for sound production: Juan Pablo Polanco and César Jaimes’ hybrid film “Carropasajero,” which follows indigenous Wayuú people on the Colombian-Venezuelan border and a woman who returns to her native land to meet her family after years of exile; and Agustín Toscano’s Argentinian documentary “I Trust You” (“En Vos Confio”), about two women who met in a convent, gave up their habits to live their love in secret and adopted a daughter only to later be accused of criminals.
“I Trust You” also received the LatAmcinema.com Award for Latin American Projects.
Juan Agustín Carbonere’s Argentinian film “The Saint” (“El Santo”), about a healer of humble origins who builds a cult following through his use of bizarre and disturbing techniques, won the Damita Joe distribution award.
“The Saint” also won the Music Library Award along with Jenifer de la Rosa’s autobiographical documentary “Hija del Volcán” (“Daughter of the Volcano”), a Spanish-Mexican co-production.
MAFF awards
The awards at Malaga’s MAFF co-production and financing forum were spread across the board. Produced by Sergy Moreno, Spaniard Ana Ortiz’s feature film “Firefly Glades” (“El claro de las luciérnagas”), a horror-tinged thriller, won the Cántico Producciones Awards first prize, while Jô Serfaty and Clarissa Guarilha’s Brazilian work “Borda do” Mundo ” took second prize.
Aeden O ́Connor Agurcia and Ana Isabel Martins Palacios’ “Cae el Sol,” a Honduran-Mexican-Guatemalan-Norwegian project, received the Bolivia Lab Industry Prize in July.
The ECAM award for participation in an incubator program at Madrid’s film school this fall went to “Borda do Mundo.”
“4Eber,” a Peruvian-Mexican project by Ximena Valdivia Salas and Illari Orccotoma Mendoza, received the Santiago Film Festival’s Sanfic Award, consisting of an invitation to participate in a production lab set for August in the Chilean capital.
Meanwhile, the film distribution award for festivals went to Ariel Gutiérrez and Víctor Léycegui’s Mexican work “Toda una vida” and Francesca Canepa Sarmiento and Enid Marie Campos León’s Peruvian project “La Otra Orilla”.
The three Chord/Music Library winners were: Arima Leon and Daute Campos’ Spanish project “Tal Vez,” which received the Women Screen Industry award; Christian Lagos Soto and Maximiliano Bolados’ Chilean project “Mothers of October”, which took the Ibero-American prize; and Marilina Calós and Soledad San Julian’s Argentinian work “Moxos”, which won the Latin American prize.
Elamedia-Sideral international distribution award went to Rakesh Narwani’s Spanish project “El Gran Bazar de Mis Padres,” also part of 2023’s Netflix-Dama diversity program, Cambio de Plano.