The FlixOlé-URJC Chair presents the III Spanish Cinema Research Awards

At the Film Academy headquarters, the FlixOlé-URJC Chair This Monday, it presented the Spanish Cinema Research Awards in what was the third edition of these awards that recognize the research and dissemination work of audiovisuals developed by students, teachers and communication professionals.

The event, presented by the journalist from Antena 3 Noticias, Lucia Piñar, has brought together numerous personalities from the film and academic sectors.

The founder of the FlixOlé platform, Enrique Cerezo, highlighted the good reception of the contest and how it acquires greater relevance with each edition, doubling the proposals presented with respect to the previous gala. “We contribute to this sector growing in our country, to facing the constant changes and challenges that filming a film entails and, of course, to valuing our rich cinematographic legacy,” he stressed during his speech.

The awards ceremony began with the director of the chair, the researcher and professor at the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC), Mario Rajas, highlighting the purpose of these awards: “These awards allow new generations to enter the exciting world of research on the history, narrative or aesthetics of our cinema.”

Immediately afterwards, the academic prizes were awarded, awarded to Sofia Huerva, Best TFG for your project Evolution of product placement in the Spanish film panorama; a Aramis Guerrero, Best TFM for Acceptance and creativity: illness in the cinema of Pedro Almodóvar, being the producer and co-creator of El Deseo who presented him with the statuette; to Esther Algarra, Best Doctoral Thesis by The Spanish musical short and medium-length film in the 1930s; already Josetxo Cerdán y Lucia Rodriguez Garcia, authors of the Best Scientific Article for the project The future belongs to women because the past belongs to men. The recovery of Nadia Werba's cinema in Spain (1965-1967).

Journalistic awards

After the delivery of the academic awards, and after a musical interlude by the singer Felipe Lara and the guitarist Pablo San Nicasio Ramos, the ceremony gave way to the recognition of the journalistic, audiovisual and multimedia proposals that have contributed to the promotion of Spanish cinema. The head of Culture of Cadena SER, Pepa Blanes, was the first to take the microphone when she received the Emerging Media statuette from filmmaker Paula Ortiz for the podcast she directs, Cinema in La SER. "This award is for a person connected with the most celestial of communication and who makes the lights of the imagination reach the public. She is a woman who opens the way and who believes that cinema is a transforming element of the world," Ortiz stressed about the winner. Blanes was followed by his professional colleague, María Sanz, who came up to collect the Specialized Article award for her publication Especial Film Commission in Cinemanía magazine. “Thank you for putting the focus on this less visible part of the industry,” said the protagonist.

The awards were then presented to best books. Thus, the award for Best Research Book went to the critic and historian, Carlos F. Heredero, for its publication Iceberg Borau. The hidden voice of a filmmaker. Also a journalist and writer, Fernando Lara, awarded the statuette, dedicating a few words to it: "It is very easy to give this award, because Heredero is the best. It is an exemplary book." For his part, Heredero thanked the recognition, remembering the figure of José Luis Borau and his “immense legacy.”

The president of the Film Academy, Fernando Méndez-Leite, took the floor moments later to announce the winner of Best Spanish Film Book, this being the director Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón for his autobiographical novel Life and Wonders. Méndez-Leite took the opportunity to introduce the book: "They are memoirs that relate aspects of Manuel's understanding with the reality that surrounds him. Throughout these pages he recounts moments of the Spain that he has lived in, focusing on his childhood, his union struggles, his time at the Film School." “His cinematographic work is extraordinary,” continued the presenter, who closed his speech by encouraging the filmmaker to make a new film. For his part, Gutiérrez Aragón declared: "I like to be with the film family again and these awards are a great opportunity. Cinema goes much further than films and I am glad that the University deals with cinema."

The statuette for Best Event was presented by the producer José Luis García-Berlanga to the exhibition with which CaixaForum has honored the legacy of his father, the director Luis Gª Berlanga: Interior Berlanga. “This is a wonderful exhibition, with personal material from a lifetime, cataloged and digitized by The Foundation so that it can be enjoyed,” said García-Berlanga. The coordinator of the winning project, Lavinia Mayer Rodà, collected the award accompanied by Noelia Sastre, from Filmoteca Española.

Moments later, the new category of these awards was released with the recognition of Best Audiovisual Research. The same was awarded to the director Miguel Olid for his documentary Summers, el rebelde (2024). "Documentary cinema would not be what it is if it were not for the work of many people. 'Summersphobia' made me believe that there was a story to tell. I dedicate this award to all the people who research Spanish cinema," said the author.

Once the presenter, also a film director, gave way to him. Andrea Jaurrieta, stood at the lectern to pronounce the name of the winner for the Professional Career. "I was very excited when they asked me to present this award because I have grown up with Film Days, and it is an honor to give the award as a spectator and as a filmmaker. People in my town knew that I made a film because it came out on Film Days," the author said and then invited Gerardo Sanchez to collect the award. After a game of film relations, he declared that if he had obtained this award it is thanks to working with “talented people” and launched a plea: “We hope to feed other generations of filmmakers.”

The RTVE television program Neighborhood Cinema, presented Inés Ballester and directed by Machús Osinaga, closed the ceremony. Cerezo was in charge of presenting this award: "It is a public service in itself. Because, in addition to entertaining, it gives visibility to a cinema that is unfairly reviled on many occasions. Thanks to this space, we relive experiences, emotions and memories, while at the same time our film culture is disseminated and promoted." "When we started this, they still called these Spanish films. Over time, cinema and our program have evolved, and we have a program with its own perspective," said Ballester, who was followed by Machús Osinaga, who took the opportunity to remember the team behind the television space "that teaches us why we are like that."