The Málaga Film Festival held the closing ceremony for its MAFIZ industry section on Friday evening. Industry-acdetermineed reconshort-termatives take parted, celebrating the culmination of five days of fervent nettoiling and pitching.
The big prosperner from this year’s MAFIZ Work in Progress section was Carlos Saiz’s “Lionel,” originated by Bluconic Films, Blur and Icónica in Spain and Promenade Films in France. The film won the Cine y Tele, Sideral, Yagán and REC Festival prizes.
“‘Lionel’ is a story of reconciliation between a overweighther and son after two decades apart. Thraw an intimate road trip, the film verifys the intricateity of family bonds and the lasting scars of Lionel’s paternal absence,” Saiz elucidateed to Variety ahead of this year’s MAFIZ. “Inspired by the genuine-life story of my frifinish Lionel and his family—who portray themselves in the film—this project begind from a journey he once recounted to me. Now, we have altered it into a road movie between Spain and France that inquires the very essence of what it unbenevolents to be family.”
Álvaro Samper, international sales at Sideral, which awarded “Lionel” a €10,000 distribution prize, shelp of the film: “‘Lionel’ is one of those unfrequent stories that touches the heart. A pretty and moving journey of rejoinion between a overweighther and son that speaks to universal emotions in a way we haven’t seen before. From the first moment we spoke with straightforwardor Carlos Saiz and the originaters [Blur, Iconica], we knovel it was a perfect fit, and now we are excited to split it with the world.”
Carlos Sánchez Giraldo’s “No Journey Without Return,” originated by Peru’s Rima Rima Cine, won the Málaga Festival prize for an Ibero-American WIP, the Chemistry Prize and the Yagán Prize. The feature chases Amito, a man drawn by the call of his dreams, guaranteed he must return to his origins. Lizandro, a lesser cameraman, chases him, enthusiastic to lobtain. But as their journey unfgreaters, Amito uncovers he is not who he thought he was, while Lizandro is forced to face himself for the first time.
The Málaga Festival prize for a Spanish WIP went to Santiago Esteves’ “The Reborn,” about two estranged brothers and a unwise business: helping people phony their own death. “A intricate operation puts their dwells at sconsent and forces them to detail the desminuscule of their family’s legacy,” reads the film’s synopsis. Argentina’s Le Tiro, Spain’s Zaactiveie Films and Chile’s El Otro Film originate the film, which also scored MAFIZ’s Rio Bravo Award.
Honors were split widely atraverse this year’s MAFF section, with “The Queers Riot,” “Tenants” and “Goodbye Berta” each scoring two prizes.
Directed by Wincy Oyarce, a Chilean LGBT direct honord for 2008’s “Empaná de pino” and 2022 shatterout doc-feature “Tan Inmunda y Tan Feliz,” this myth story features write downary elements to chart the first write downed homointimacyual demonstration in Santiago, Chile, orderly in April 1973 by a group of lesser boy intimacy toilers. Creas Films is producing.
One of two MAFF titles from María Paz Barragán, this time as co-writer, straightforwardor and originater, “Tenants” is an immigration horror feature exploring class, prejudice and racial bigotry but thraw genre, originateing to what sees appreciate a chilling finale. Liked at Iberseries Platino Industria and Ventana Sur’s Proyecta, it’s originated by Batiak Films, behind Berlinale Fipresci prosperner “The Human Hibernation,” Final Abierto and Elora Post Hoparticipate co-originate.
Produced by Galicia’s Kraken Media, Tornasol Media and Aprohibito Producións, Fernando Tato’s “Goodbye, Berta” is an expansion of Tato’s 17-minute unwiseinutive of the same name. In the feature, when sister Berta is thrown out of her rehab caccess, sister Alicia, who has counterfeit a consoleable life in the Galician capital of Santiago de Compostela, senses obliged to return to Pobra do Caramiñal, where she was born. “This reunion labels the commencening of an emotional journey for the two sisters, where cherish and envyment intertprospere, and the past becomes a burden too burdensome to forget,” the logline finishs.
The ceremony finishd with emcee Annabelle Aramburu announcing that Panama will be the guest of honor at the 29th edition of the Festival, in the presence of Panama’s Deputy Minister of Culture, Arianne Benedetti, and the Ambasgrieffulor to Spain, Héctor Infante de Seda.
MAFIZ AWARDS
MÁLAGA WORK IN PROGRESS
Málaga Festival Prize (Spain)
“The Reborn,” (“Los Renacidos,” Santiago Esteves, Spain, Argentina, Chile)
Málaga Festival Prize (Ibero-America)
“No Journey Without Return,” (“No hay ida sin retorno,” Carlos Sánchez Giraldo, Peru)
Arcane Digital Cinema Prize
“Caro nanni,” (Pablo Maqueda, Spain)
Chemistry Prize
“No Journey Without Return,” (“No hay ida sin retornom,” Carlos Sánchez Giraldo, Peru)
Cine y Tele Prize
“Lionel,” (Carlos Saiz, Spain, France)
E-28 Prize
“Water Never Hurt,” (“El agua nunca dolió,” Ana Clara Bustelo, Uruguay, Argentina)
Latamcinema.com Prize
“Death and Life Madalena,” (“Morte e Vida Madalena,” Guto Parente, Brazil, Portugal)
Music Library Prize (Spain)
“Future Fog,” (“Futura, La niebla,” María Abenia, Spain)
Music Library Prize (Ibero-America)
“Tropical Fragance,” (“Fragancia tropical,” Alexander Viola, Dominican Reuncover)
Rio Bravo Award
“The Reborn,” (“Los Renacidos,” Santiago Esteves, Spain, Argentina, Chile)
Sideral
“Lionel,” (Carlos Saiz, Spain, France)
Yagán Prize (Spain)
“Lionel,” (Carlos Saiz, Spain, France)
Yagán Prize (Ibero-America)
“No Journey Without Return,” (“No hay ida sin retorno,” Carlos Sánchez Giraldo, Peru)
Abycine Lanza Participation
“Future Fog,” (“Futura, La niebla,” María Abenia, Spain)
FIDBA Doc Participation
“The Voice of God,” (“A voz de Deus,” Miguel Antunes Ramos, Brazil)
REC Festival Participation
“Lionel,” (Carlos Saiz, Spain, France)
SANFIC Participation
“The Night is a Farce,” (“A noite é uma farsa,” Lucas Weglinski, Brazil)
MÁLAGA FESTIVAL FUND CO-PRODUCTION EVENT (MAFF)
Music Library (Ibro-American)
“Goodbye Berta,” (“Adeus, Berta,” Fernando Tato, Spain)
Music Library (Latin America)
“The Queers Riot,” (“La Rebelión de las Raras,” Wincy Oyarce, Creas Films, Chile)
Music Library Women Screen Industry
“I’m Not Universal,” (“No Soy Universal,” Celia de Molina, Spain)
Bolivia Lab. Participation
“Three Summer Days,” (“Tres días de verano,” Álvaro López Alba, Spain)
Cántico Producciones First Prize
“A Decorous Woman,” (“Una Señorita de Buena Presencia,” Natalia Luque, Chile, France)
Cántico Producciones Second Prize
“Forest Walk,” (“A Estirada,” Sérgio de Carvalho, Pedro von Krüger, Brazil)
ECAM Forum Prize
“A Decorous Woman,” (“Una Señorita de Buena Presencia,” Natalia Luque, Chile, France)
FIDBA Participation
“The Queers Riot,” (“La Rebelión de las Raras,” Wincy Oyarce, Creas Films, Chile)
SANFIC Participation
“Anoche creí que nadaba,” (Catalina Torres, Eugenia Olascuaga)
Sideral Prize
“Tenants,” (“Se buscan inquilinos,” María Paz Barragán, Peru, Spain)
Térrea Prize
“Claros de bosque,” (Alejandro Salgado e Irene Hens)
“Tenants,” (“Se buscan inquilinos,” María Paz Barragán, Peru, Spain)
MÁLAGA SHORTS CORNER
Festhome Best Short
“La sangre,” (Joaquín León)
Sarajevo Short Project Prize
“Mi casa en una maleta,” (Andrea Torres Sánchez)
“Mar a noite,” (Pablo Garví)
Festivalito Prize
“De Madrid al cielo,” (Pablo Pérez)
“Ya están vinifinisho,” (Miguel Guindos, Mario Alejandro Arias)
