Lamberto Guerra, actor and president of the Union of Actors of the Canary Islands, was the master of ceremonies at the closing gala that filled the Insular Theater of Lanzarote to celebrate the awards ceremony of the XIV Lanzarote International Film Festival (FICL2014). The best short documentary went to "Minerita", the national one to "Ephemeral", the international one to "Locked Up" and the animation one to "Kaly Live Dub Allaxis".
The night began with the group "Take it easy", which gave the musical welcome to a gala that was filled with color and eclecticism with an overture dedicated to Lanzarote. A sensitive journey through the natural elements that make up this territory, channeled through the movements of the dancers Acerina Hernández and Keyla Hernández, with the electric guitar of Boris Hernández, the timple of Salvador Hernández, the chácaras and limpets of Roberto F. Perdomo and the percussion of Judith Morales and Samuel Peña.
The producer Puy Oria, the actress Hiba Abouk and the photographer Javier Alonso took the stage to present the award for "Best Short Documentary", which unanimously went to "Minerita", an "incredible story with a wonderful photograph", which tells the harsh daily life of Bolivian miners and also won the Audience Award.
Raúl de la Fuente from Pamplona (Goya for Best Short Documentary this year), took the stage to collect the award. "All my respect for the protagonists who are true heroines, because they not only survive the work in the mine; also to the violence of men, from whom they defend themselves with stones and dynamite", explained the filmmaker. "I've only been at the Festival for a day and a half, and I've felt happy," he said. Fifteen years earlier, he was on the island to shoot a video clip for the singer Rosana.
In addition, the jury also had a special mention for the documentary "The Executioner's Tears", an exciting story of Layth Abdulamir and a short "full of precision and efficiency".
A "movie" relationship with the island
The jury of the "National Fiction Short Films" category, made up of the actor Lluís Homar, the artistic director and decorator Teresa Díe and the actress Natalia Verbeke, were clear and called the director Diego Modino to collect the award for "Ephemeral". "A magical short, of enormous beauty, with incredible sensitivity and masterful direction. Diego Modino gives us 18 minutes of absolute pleasure and poetry", said the actress Natalia Verbeke.
Modino said he felt "astonished" by the words of the jury: "It is an honor to receive this award from such an illustrious jury and with the 'short films' with which I competed. Thank you very much for the welcome. The last time I came was for the filming of a movie. I am delighted that my connection with this island is cinema", he indicated. Likewise, "Das Kind", by Manu Gómez, received a special mention and the Festival audience awarded "A Better Place", by Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera.
The filmmaker Montxo Armendáriz, the stage director Iñigo Castanedo and the actor Unax Ugalde presented the award for "Best International Fiction Short Film", which went to "Locked Up", by Bugsy Steel, for its "excellent interpretations, its ingenious plot and its surprising ending". The protagonist actor of the short, Ross Armstrong, collected the award, who said he was "stunned by the quality of the winning works and with which we have competed". "It is an honor and an incredible pleasure to be at this Festival", he added. The Audience Award in this category went to "The Parakeets", a short by Julie Voisin.
This year, the FICL2014 premiered a category for "Best Animated Short Film" and did so in style. The plastic artist Marina Anaya, the designer Sebastián Gil and the actress Aura Garrido were in charge of deliberating and deciding this category. "Kaly Live Dub Allaxis" won the award for Best Animated Short Film at FICL2014 for its "freshness and modernity, as well as for a perfect combination with music". The French filmmaker Thomas Fourniret (Wasaru) was present at the gala through a video and stated that the award had been "a great surprise".
The jury of this newly released category wanted to give two special mentions to "Big Shot", by Maurice Huvelin, "a very simple, very funny story with an amazing technique" and "La Bete", by Vladimir Mavounia-Kouka "because it crosses the borders of the genre to introduce dance and video art, transmitting a deeply committed and beautiful story", pointed out Aura Garrido. The public awarded its prize to "Rabbit and deer", by Péter Vácz.
The gala ended with an emotional dedication to a brilliant Canarian director and screenwriter who passed away a few months ago. "This year we have lost not only a brilliant filmmaker but also a friend to many of us", said Lamberto Guerra, before the auditorium burst into applause. "We want to dedicate this gala to Dunia Ayaso. One way or another, we will continue to enjoy her spirit", he indicated.
The movie of the night ended with the screening of a small "making off" of the Festival. The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, described the fourteenth edition of the Festival as a "resounding success", which has received more than 2,400 short films "generating great expectation". The box office figures are conclusive: "More than 10,000 people have passed through this room in these two weeks and it is no coincidence; this is a festival designed to reach the entire population", explained San Ginés.
The next closing, in Jameos
The president wanted to give a very special thanks to the twelve professionals who have been part of the jury this year. "We live off our image and their presence here, altruistically, helps us to position Lanzarote as a natural set", argued the president. "I say goodbye with a wish: that the closing of the next edition of the Festival be held in the auditorium of the Jameos del Agua. The commitment and commitment of the institutions are assured", he affirmed.
The director of the Festival, Ismael Curbelo, began his speech without preamble and with spontaneity: "You don't know how happy it makes us that the room is like this", he said referring to the practically complete capacity of the venue. His gratitude was for those "big children" who make extraordinary things possible, for the jury, for the sponsors and for the spectators. "Without some of them, the Festival would be impossible", he stressed.
Among the authorities present, in addition to the president of the Cabildo and the councilor of the organizing area of the event, Emma Cabrera; were the vice president of the Island Corporation, Joaquín Caraballo; the first deputy mayor of the Arrecife City Council, José Montelongo; the Councilor for Culture, Eva de Anta; and the Councilor for Commerce and Tourism, Rafael Juan González.
