'The Mastermind' and 'Magallanes', Golden Spikes ex Aequo of the 70th Seminci

The 70th edition of the Valladolid International Film Week (Seminci) has concluded with the awards ceremony at its traditional Closing Gala, whose highest recognition, the Golden Spike, has been awarded to 'The Mastermind' and 'Magallanes'.

The jury of the Official Section has awarded the Golden Spike equally a The Mastermind, by the American filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, already Magellan, from the Filipino master Base Wash, a film in which Albert Serra and Montse Triola participate as co-producers and which reflects on colonialism and history through the figure of the Portuguese navigator. While Reichardt deconstructs genre cinema with an intimate look at human fragility, Base Wash deploys an aesthetic and temporal proposal that critically rereads colonial history. The decision of the jury, composed of Elena Lopez Riera, Laurentina Guidotti, Serge Toubiana, John Peter Rodrigues and Mihai Chirilov, to award the Golden Spike ex aequo is not unprecedented in the history of Seminci; Throughout its seven decades, it has happened three times: 1963, 1971 and 1984.

On The Mastermind, the jury has noted that the film "with elegance and irony deconstructs the rules of the genre to reveal what is hidden behind the action: desire, illusion and failure. Through a narrative that plays with the conventions of heist cinema, Kelly Reichardt unfolds an intimate look at human fragility and perseverance.” For his part, Magellan, of Base Wash, has been awarded because “it allows us to immerse ourselves in the past from the present, rereading colonial history from a complex and critical perspective.” The jury also highlighted its “extraordinary aesthetic, photographic and temporal proposal” and its “narrative ambition, its formal rigor and its unique way of articulating historical reflection with the cinematographic experience.”

The Silver Spike has fallen into Silent Friend, of Ildiko Enyedi, a film that also wins the Spike Award Verde for his “comforting look at a world in crisis.” “Silent Friend “reveals, with a powerful narrative, the theme of silent communication, the relationship between human beings and non-human life forms, and the invisible that permeates reality,” the jury stated.

Winners of the Official Section of the 70th edition of the Seminci

The Ribera del Duero Award for best address has been awarded to Argentine filmmakers Ezequiel Salinas and Ramiro Sonzini by The night is already leaving, recognizing the joint work of these two Argentine filmmakers “who with tenderness and lucidity remind us of the power of cinema as a space for encounter and political resistance.” This award underlines the duo's ability to “celebrate cinephilia, friendship and love as collective gestures that invite us to continue believing in the power of fiction in such an adverse time for audiovisual creation in contemporary Argentina” that has captivated the jury of the Official Section.

In it interpretative section, the winners have been Eva Victor for his work in Sorry, Baby, a film he also directed, and Harry Melling by Pillion, by Harry Lighton. Both "brilliantly support two bittersweet dramas full of touches of humor. They humanize these films and explode their emotional core, transforming the cinematographic experience into the pure pleasure of a sensitive narrative." The jury has also awarded a special mention in this section to the trio of non-professional actors Lionel Corral Bernal, Lionel Corral y Alicia Corral Bernal by Lionel, of Carlos Saiz, recognizing the work of this family that stars in a film where the line between fiction and reality blurs: “Their fiery chemistry and their performances of deep emotional sincerity turned this story of late reconciliation into a powerful and moving journey.”

The award for best photography has fallen into Christopher Blauvelt (The Mastermind) “for the refinement of its atmospheres, the light compositions that accompany an aesthetic vision in perfect harmony with the narrative.” Fernando Franco and Begoña Arostegui have won the Miguel Delibes Award for best script by Subsoil, a recognition of its conception as “a ticking time bomb full of shocking twists and quiet revelations that skillfully defies public expectations.” AND Nili Feller has received the José Salcedo Award al best assembly by Yes, a work that the jury defined as “both a puzzle and a mental challenge” that, thanks to Nili Feller's “brilliant and precise editing, invites us to immerse ourselves in the abysmal universe of one of the most fascinating and daring contemporary filmmakers.”

Meeting Point, Alchemies and Story Time

The section jury Meeting point, formed by Ivette Liang, Frederick Louis and Adrian Orr, has chosen as the award-winning feature film Meeting Point a Laughter and the razor, by Pedro Pinho. The jury highlighted his “exercise of freedom and rebellion to challenge formulas, structures and ethical and aesthetic fears so common in the current film industry”, and his ability to reflect on “the historical power relations between Europe and its colonies from the body, desire and contradictions of its protagonist”.

He FUNDS Special Award has fallen on the Spanish Last night I conquered Thebes, by Gabriel Azorín, a film that “offers a look at masculinity from tenderness and vulnerability, with a formal and emotional freedom that turns every moment into an experience of discovery.” Furthermore, the filmmaker Alex Poukin the new one has won ESCAC Award to the best direction of a first or second film by Reading, while the jury has also awarded a special mention to Nino, by Pauline Loquès.

The jury of Alchemies, made up of Yuri Ancarani, Maria Antón Cabot and Victoria Marotta, has granted the Alchemy Grand Prize a Flower, by Leonor Noivo, highlighting that it shows “with great sensitivity how the wounds of colonialism do not only belong to the past, but continue today in more silent forms.” The film tells the story of Filipino women forced to leave their country to serve as domestic workers in the West, “a work that forces us to look at what we often prefer not to see.” They have also decided to distinguish with a special mention to Memory of Princess Mumbi, of Damien Hauser.

On the other hand, Federico Veiroj has conquered the History Time Grand Prize con Way to way, a film that the jury, made up of Manuel Asín, Alexander Horwath and Feyrouz Serhal, has defined as “with many faces, where the flexibility of home video over the decades proves ideal for capturing the nuances and contradictions of a visceral relationship, made up of equal parts disappointment, rage, admiration and love.”

He History Time Special Award has recognized Vladlena Sandu for Memory, “a fable about violence where splinters of memory crystallize, giving rise to a cinematographic landscape as poetic and evocative as it is disturbing and grotesque.” Notes of a True Criminal, by Alexander Rodnyansky and Andriy Alferov, receives a special mention for “raising questions about ethics and ambivalence in the production of images across generations”

Finally, in this same section, the DOC Award. Spain has received it Candela Sotos by Yrupẽ, with special mention for The Crabs, by Rubén Seca, “a precise record of a sore not yet healed in Spanish lives and public discourse.”

Other awards from the 70th Seminci

He Pilar Miró Award to the best new spanish address, selected by journalists Conxita Casanovas, Miguel Anxo Fernández and Felipe Rodríguez, has recognized the debut of Lucía Aleñar in Stranger. The adaptation of Camila Lackberg's character Super Charlie, of Jon Holmberg, has been chosen by the Primary students who award the received the Miniminci Award, while the prize Young Seminci has received it Good Boy, of Red Komasa.

The jury of short films, formed by Begoña Arostegui, Andrius Blaževičius and Daniel Vadocky, has awarded the Golden Spike to Living Stones, of Jancsó Jakob Ladányi, “an exceptionally well-written and realized dark story that tackles a difficult subject with almost surgical precision and masterfully blurs the line between dream and reality.” The Silver Spikes they have received them Dog Alone, by Marta Reis Andrade, and No Skate!, by Guil Sela, while the award for best European short film has fallen into Mercy, de Hedda Mjøen.

In the Official Section of Spanish Short Films, Almost September, of Lucia G. Romero, has won first prize for “solid direction, an excellent cast and outstanding performances turn this story into a unique cinematic experience, full of unexpected twists and emotional depth.” The jury has also decided to award a special mention to Abortion Party, of Julia Mellen. Darshan, of Alberto Allica, has risen with the Castilla y León Award in Short “for its good technical execution and outstanding performances.” Finally, the new award Movistar Plus+ Short Project receives it The body in question, of Maria Herrera.

Between Dreams and Hope of Farnoosh Samadi has been recognized with the Rainbow Spike Award, awarded by a jury composed of Yolanda Rodríguez, Karu Borge and Alejandro Marín. The jury highlighted that the film "represents a reality that cinema has rarely made visible to us: the reality of trans men" and that "it fights to preserve its young people, to tell different stories and rejects violence resulting from social and religious conditions." The jury of the Green Spike, formed by Cristina Casado, Manuel Planelles and José Manuel Rodríguez, has decided to grant, in addition to the Spike to Silent Friend, an honorable mention to Hair, paper, water, of Nicolas Graux and Truong Minh Quy, “for focusing our gaze on the indigenous peoples who live on the frontier of the environmental crisis, protecting all of Humanity with their ancestral knowledge.” For its part, the jury of the FIPRESCI award, formed by critics Loreta Gandolfi, Giusepe Sedia y Elsa Tébar, has distinguished Two prosecutors, from the Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa as the most valued film in the Official Section.

In the International Official Section, Hamnet, of Chloe Zhao, has risen with the Audience Award, while, in the Meeting Point Section, viewers chose A Sad and Beautiful World, by Cyril Aris, as his favorite. The view of the new generations represented by the nine members of the Young Jury has awarded its prize in the Official Section to The blue path, of Gabriel Mascaro, and in Meeting Point, a Wild Foxes, of Valéry Carnoy.

In short films, the Young Jury has awarded Ali, of Adnan Al Rajeev, in the international category, and Instructions for cooking a chicken underground, of Olivia Delcán and Nacho Sánchez, in Spanish. In the section of Castilla y León in Short, 15 days with 15 years, by Dacio de las Heras, has taken the prize.

Finally, during the 70th Seeds, the first edition of the La Meseta Distribution Award, which recognizes the best promotional campaigns for the release of arthouse films. The award jury, made up of Piluca Baquero, Gregorio Belinchón, y Juan Manuel Guimeráns, has recognized the campaign presented by the distributor Sidereal to The chronology of water, by Kristen Stewart, for “the clarity of its communication strategy, the viability of its development and the precision with which it defines its target audience, evidencing a professional vision consistent with its cinematographic potential.”

The campaigns of The good daughter, by Júlia de Paz, performed by Avalon and MadAvenue, and The love that remains, film by Hlynur Pálmason distributed in Spain by elastic, who have worked with the Revolutionary agency have also been awarded. Along with the winners, the jury has recognized with a special mention the quality of the campaign presented by Beta Fiction to Rounds, by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.