The winners of the competition were announced during the closing gala held at the Hort del Xocolater. The president of the Fundación Mediterráneo, Luis Boyer, presented the silver palm tree in tribute to his entire career to the versatile Valencian director and actress Rosana Pastor, winner of a Goya award for her role in “Tierra y Libertad”, according to information informed the organization in a statement.
‘Espinas’ is 15 minutes long and stars two of the most renowned actors in the history of Spanish cinema: José Sacristán and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón. This fictional short film, released in June 2021, presents the story of Carmen, a 50-year-old woman who wants to commit suicide.
However, an unexpected message on his mobile prevents him from doing so. Her father, with whom she has barely spoken in a lifetime, asks her to visit him due to an urgent matter. Carmen, who has nothing left to lose, leaves and the reunion will provoke an avalanche of dramatic events and revelations that will change absolutely everything.
FEATURE FILMS
One of the great novelties of this edition was the creation of a category of feature films, in which eight Spanish films competed, the first films of their directors. The film awarded the Fundación Mediterráneo award for Opera Prima feature film is “Tros”, directed by Pau Calpe.
‘Tros’ tells the story of a father and a son against the backdrop of social issues in the countryside. Joan, a grumpy peasant from a rural area of Lleida, tired of having his farm robbed, decides to join the nocturnal patrol of peasants who watch over the land.
The patrolling neighbors are not happy that Joan goes with them, but they accept her when they see that her son Pep, who has returned from town, will accompany her. During the tour, Joan and Pep run into a thief.
For its part, the drama “Free Fall”, directed by the French director Emmanuel Tenenbaum, won the Ciutat d’Elx prize for the best short fiction film. Tenenbaum is a French director and his films have been selected in more than 200 festivals. “Free Fall” is his third short film and his last work before taking the step towards his first feature film.
The prize for best animated short was awarded this year to the film “Loop”, by Argentinian animator Pablo Polledri. This eight-minute short film is a reflection on how societies create organizational systems that require certain behaviors to function in which each individual ends up being part of a gear in a repetitive and exhausting process.
CHOCOLATE GARDEN PRIZE
During the screenings of the short films, the public voted via their mobile phone to choose the winner of the Hort del Xocolater award. This year’s award went to the short film ‘Joselito’ by directors José C. Jiménez Revuelta and Marta Jiménez Revuelta.
This nine-minute short film tells the story of an old electronics genius who can fix everything. The neighbors know him as Joselito and, through his wife, they entrust him with everything that breaks down. Every day, Ms. Joselito goes around the city with her shopping cart to collect broken appliances.
On the other hand, the prize for best documentary went to ‘Espejismos’, directed by Alfonso Palazón. It tells the story of a group of refugees who don’t belong anywhere and dream of returning to where they left, but they don’t know when. It is a search for lost dignity and a meeting to share unrealized projects.
‘The Story of Us All’ by Itxaso Díaz was the short film awarded the Human Rights Short Film Award. This documentary brings together the stories of three Salvadoran women, Elsi, Cinthia and Mariana, who saw their fundamental rights violated when they were accused of a crime of abortion and ultimately, imprisoned for aggravated homicide, when they lost their babies outside the hospital. births.
The Italian production “Diritto di Voto”, by director Gianluca Zonta, won the prize for best European short film. This film presents a futuristic society in which androids are integrated into society. The main argument of the political debate is whether or not to grant them the right to vote. The leaders of the two main parties are called upon to express their official position on the question.
BEST IBERO-AMERICAN SHORT FILM
The prize for the best Ibero-American short film went to the Dominican José Gómez de Vargas and his film “A passage without return”. In this short film, Ricardo, a former gang member, tries to keep his son Joel off the streets, but the legacy he left for his son is stronger than his intentions. Joel rises in the gang’s hierarchy when he defeats Chivo, another gang member desperate for the same goal as Joel.
The short film ‘Miedo’, by director Ángelo Moreno, won the FesCurt award for best short film in the Valencian Community. “Fear” is a drama starring Aina, a 35-year-old mother with a nine-year-old son who, after being widowed, begins to meet a new person. The neighborhood, the problems with her son for not having accepted his new companion and her job will push Aina to her limits.
The Cineclub Luis Buñuel award for best short film by a novelist went to Raquel Guerrero and her short ‘Useless’. In this one, Tito, a neighborhood boy who everyone teases, wants to prove his worth. After various initiation tests, one morning of re-engagement he finds himself spinning in a vacant lot in the neighborhood with his new friends.
Music and drugs accompany the fun until a comment from Tito turns the party into a macabre joke in which he is forced to commit a robbery to complete the initiation ritual.
Finally, the Mobile Film Maker prize for the best short film with a mobile phone was awarded to the Israeli Nahd Bashir and his film “A Dead Sea”. Inspired by a true story, Kamal is an autistic Palestinian who arrives with his sister for the first time at the Dead Sea where he is accused of terrorism.
Organized and sponsored by the Fundación Mediterráneo, the International Independent Film Festival of Elche benefits from the collaboration of the City Council of Elche and the Luis Buñuel Cinema Club of Elche.