- The awards of the International Short Film Festival have recognized the films' The Great Work 'by Álex Lora, and' Secret Seed 'by Jung Yeon Byun
The Benalmádena International Film Festival has finished its 23rd edition with a closing gala in which the talent of the filmmakers was awarded. After a week of projections, presentations and parallel activities, the competition has culminated in the award of the awards to the winners of the category of short films and theManagement Award', given on this occasion to the filmmaker Arantxa Echevarría. The journalist Roberto López has been in charge of conducting the ceremony, accompanied by the live music of 'Duette ', duo formed by the singer Suzzete Moncrief and the guitarist Alonso Zurera.
The closing gala was held on Saturday night in the event hall of the House of Culture of Arroyo de la Honey. During the event, the presenter made a review of the seven days dedicated to cinema in the city, in which film projects of various kinds, both national and international, were exhibited: feature films, short films, animation productions from countries such as Morocco, Madagascar, Croatia, among others.
During the week of FICCAB's celebration, Benalmádena has been visited by well-known film figures such as the Canadian director Atom Egoyan, the Malaysian filmmaker José Antonio Hergueta and the actor Fernando Esteso, those who have been honored and awarded for the Festival.
The first to get on stage was the councilwoman of Culture, Jesica Trujillo, who has expressed their appreciation to the FICCAB team for "their effort to transmit the values of cinema with a programming that has reached different audiences and ages, with activities such as' School goes to cinema '."
For his part, the mayor of Benalmádena, Juan Antonio Lara, has shown his thanks "to each and every one of the people who have made FICCAB possible one more year," and has congratulated the directors, Jaime Noguera and One of the most outstanding moments of the ceremony has occurred when the director Arantxa Echevarría has come on stage to receive the mayor's' Leadership Award 'by hand. "The FICCAB has been consolidating the cinema in our municipality for more than two decades by recognizing large international filmmakers, and each of the winners takes with them a piece of Benalmádena as part of this recognition," Lara highlighted when making the award.
With the Goya to Best Novel Direction for his work 'Carmen y Lola', Arantxa Echevarría has been grateful to FICCAB for rewarding his career as director "I am short-shot, I have made four films and 12 short, by supporting these festivals, you also support my work that has previously been through short-term festivals and I know what it means to be simply selected," he said.
Winners Short-term competition
The other great protagonists of the night have been the award-winning teams of the International Short-Term Competition. The winner of the Best Direction Award in the Official Contest Short Section has been for Alvaro Guzmán for his work 'Your own boss', who has intervened through a video thanking the recognition.
Then the screenwriter Cristina Martín Barcelona has received the award for the best script of the official section by "The Force," who has also been satisfied by the award through a video pointing out that "we have just started the festival circuit and is our first prize for what makes us a special illusion." As for the performance award, actress Celia Freijeiro has received the award for the best interpretation of the official section for its role in the short film "Divine accounts."
The Best Short-Term Award of the Official Contest Section has been for 'The Great Work, ' Álex Lora, who has expressed his appreciation to FICCAB, highlighting the support of the festival and jury organizers, which, in his words, motivates him to continue creating short films. Andrea Jacojak, representative of the Split Film Festival, has been in charge of collecting the award on his behalf.
The second prize was awarded to the film. 'Secret Seed', Director Jung Yeon Byun, who has not been able to attend the ceremony. Instead, Andrea Jercau, a member of the jury, received the award. In his message of thanks, Byun highlighted the quality of the selection of short films to competition and expressed his desire to participate in the FICCAB in person in future editions.
With regard to the Malagasy short films, the jury granted the recognition to the best short.The breakfast of the staff', directed by Javier Gómez Bello. The latter received the prize in person from the Emilia García, Member of Cineclub More Wood, which sponsors the award. Gómez Bello expressed his appreciation to the festival for its support for local cinema and for the courage to award a humorous short film like his.
The ceremony ended with all the winners gathered on stage. The host closed the event by inviting the public to the next edition of the Festival in 2025. After the gala, a special projection was offered with the winning short films.
