The International Film Festival Of Calzada De Calatrava Closes A Successful And Historic Eleventh Edition

The Rafael Serrano Cultural Centre welcomes with expectation the awards ceremony and puts the finishing touch to eleven intense days marked by the high participation of an audience devoted to the varied, innovative and diverse programme

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Calzada de Calatrava, 18 August 2024. The finishing touch to an unforgettable eleventh edition of an International Film Festival of Calzada de Calatrava which is consolidating and marking a before and after thanks to the high participation of both locals and tourists coming from different geographical points. Thus, the Rafael Serrano Cultural Centre of the town hosted yesterday the closing ceremony with the exciting awarding of ‘statuettes’ to the best feature films and short films, granted both by the jury and the audience. A moment full of emotions that brought to the stage, one by one, the representatives of the feature films and short films screened during these days to collect their ‘statuettes’, being aware that they were selected for the competition among more than half a thousand works presented in this edition.

Thus, the Colombian feature film ‘Del otro lado del jardín’ won the ‘statuette’ as best film after the jury’s decision, while the audience awarded the prize to ‘Reflejos en una habitación’, as best film. These two awards joined a long list of awards for best actress and actor, direction, screenplay, soundtrack and photography, as well as the awards for the best short films in the four categories, both from the audience and the jury.

The mayoress of Calzada de Calatrava and director of the XI Calzada de Calatrava International Film Festival, Gema García, presided over the exciting and fun final act accompanied by the provincial delegate of Sustainable Development, Casto Sánchez; the technical director of the festival, Hernán Valdés; and the artistic director of the festival, Blas López, as well as the municipal corporation, directors, actresses, actors, producers and producers of the feature films and short films selected for the competition, cinematographic works that have been very positively valued by all the spectators during the days of screening.

The luxury of the closing gala for the XI Calzada de Calatrava International Film Festival was the presence of directors, directors, actresses, actors, products and producers of the feature films and short films, who wanted to know first-hand Calzada de Calatrava and especially its festival. This allows to create a meeting point between the real protagonists, who with their work and performance in the film industry allow the public to have a great time.

The ceremony, which was conducted by the comedian and monologuist José Boto, counted on the incredible staging of the Fontanar Cultural Association of Calzada de Calatrava, who delighted the audience with an elaborate performance. The artist Anna Dukke and the magician Matute Xen also dazzled young and old to make the final gala a real spectacle.

Gema García she emphasised that this eleventh edition “has been characterised by the very high quality of the works selected and screened at the festival, out of a total of 550 feature and short films that were submitted to the competition”, as well as by “the incredible and important participation of the associative fabric of Calzada de Calatrava, with entities and associations involved in the development of the festival”.

ón of the streets near the Almod family homeóvar, where I livedómany añshe told Pedro Almodóvar’s mother “the truth is that the work carried out by the neighbours has been impressive“, the participationón of the mmmusic band’s theatre group that alsoéenlivened the closing gala which shows that “Calzada de Calatrava is truly a cinema town“. In additionás, he thanked añor más the support of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha to the Calzada de Calatrava Film Festival, “but in a very considerable way in this editionóóííñor launch a cultural project with internationalífeatures“.

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For his part, the provincial delegate for Sustainable Development, Casto Sánchez, underlined “the ésuccess“of the Calzada de Calatrava Film Festival, which“recognises, an editionón más, the talent of the creators, their commitment to gender equalityénero and the attractions of the land“. In this sense, Sánchez explained that this festival constitutes, “a tourist offerísingular feature in the heartón of Campo de Calatrava, which boosts inland tourism“. In additionás, “it is an economicstimulusfor smallñlocal businesses and hospitalityía local economic returnóóof approximately 300.300,000 euros, with an approximate attendance of 2,000 spectators“. A Film Festival that has counted on the “economic support and backingómicro“of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, since “culture is an opportunity for rural areas“, recognising the organisationón “his talent, initiative and ability to set up cultural projects on an international level, such as this festival“.

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Prize-winners in the Feature Film category

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• Best Film for The Other Side of the Garden. (Professional Jury Award)

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• Best Film for Reflections in a Room. (Audience Award)

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• Best Director for Gustavo Ramos for his work on Feet in the Sand. (Professional Jury Award)

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• Best Actress for Adriana Ozores for her performance in the feature film Reflejos en una habitación and also for Marina Merlino for her role in ‘Las Preñadas’. (Professional Jury Award)

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• Best Actorfor Willy Semler for his role in El fantasma. and for Julián Román for his exercise in Del otro lado del jardín. (Professional Jury Award)

• (Professional Jury Award)

• Best Screenplay for Emanuel Díez and Juan Pablo Doménech for their feature film El fantasma. (Professional Jury Award)

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• Best Photography for Matías Castillo for his work in the feature film Las Preñadas. (Professional Jury Award)

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• Best Soundtrackfor Tomi M. Mir for his soundtrack for the feature film The Other Side of the Garden. (Professional Jury Award)

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• Special Jury Mention to Liz Lobato for her Castilian-Manchegan film Tierra de nuestras madres. (Professional Jury Award)

Prize winners in the short film category

• Best Documentary Short Film for También lo siento, by Ignacio Marín. (Professional Jury Award)

• I am also sorry.

• Best Short Fiction in a Humorous Tonefor El trono, by Lucía Jiménez. (Professional Jury Award)

  The Throne

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• Best Short Film Hiparquia for The Strategists, by Fabricio Centorbi. (Professional Jury Award)

• Best Short Film Made in Castilla-La Mancha for Evanescente, by Gala Gracia and Guillermo Garavito Amado. (Professional Jury Award)

• Evanescente

Best Documentary Shortfor Schugurensky, self-portrait, by Guillermo García Ramos (People’s Choice Award)

• Best Short Fiction in a Humorous Tonefor La piscina vacía, by Pablo Conde. (Audience Award)

  Publicity Award)

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• Best Short Film Hipparchy for Antes de que se poña o sol, by Nani Matos. (Audience Award)

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• Best Short Film Made in Castilla-La Mancha for La paz de los cementerios, by Raquel Troyano Audience Award)

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