12/03/2018 - The 12th edition of the Navarrese documentary gathering has bestowed its Grand Prize, worth €10,000, upon the film helmed by Jorge Jácome

The award winners at the 2018 edition of Punto de Vista

The Punto de Vista Navarre International Documentary Film Festival, which this year was headed up for the first time by Garbiñe Ortega, brought its 12^th edition to a close on Saturday 10 March by handing out awards to the films that were competing in its Official Section. In accordance with the verdict of the jury – comprising Rebecca Baron, Fran Gayo, Paolo Moretti, Nicolás Pereda and Celine Browez – the Punto de Vista Grand Prize for Best Film, which comes with €10,000, went to the Portuguese short film Flores by Jorge Jácome. The jury described it as “post-apocalyptic and bucolic, unsettling and sensual, traditional and futuristic: it thus blends contradictory elements, and constructs a poetic and personal universe”.

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In addition, the Jean Vigo Award for Best Director – accompanied by €5,000 – was bestowed upon Elohim, or Divine Beings, the Energy of Light as Creation (USA), a movie directed by Nathaniel Dorsky. According to the jury’s statement, “This award represents our appreciation of one entire, singular, unflinchingly committed career path, one of unshakeable faith in the image; very few directors manage like Dorsky to make you feel like the film – his films – are living, breathing beings.” Meanwhile, Optimism (USA) by Deborah Stratman took home the Best Short Film Award (worth €3,000). 

The other winners included Young & Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Spain) by Navarrese director Marina Lameiro, which scooped the Special Audience Award for Best Film (which comes with €1,650); the aforementioned Flores, which bagged the Youth Award for Best Film (€1,500); and O Peixe (Brazil) by Jonathas de Andrade, which earned a Special Jury Mention for Direction.

We should also dedicate a final mention to the Proyecto X Films at this edition. Following their deliberation, the members of the Selection Committee for this call – Martin Pawley, Virginia García de Pino and Marta Selva, who picked apart the three projects that were presented directly by the auteurs behind them (lacasinegra, Dostopos and Zazpi T’erdi) – opted to hand the award to the latter for their project La vía flotante, in recognition of “the exploration it offers of human signals”. In addition, the jury recognised the “enormous effort and interest invested by the collectives that took part”. The result will be presented for all to see next year, at the 13^th edition of Punto de Vista.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Official Awards

Punto de Vista Grand Prize for Best Film 
Flores - Jorge Jácome (Portugal) (short film)

Jean Vigo Award for Best Director 
Elohim, or Divine Beings, the Energy of Light as Creation - Nathaniel Dorsky (USA) (medium-length film)

Best Short Film
Optimism - Deborah Stratman (USA)

Special awards

Special Audience Award for Best Film 
Young & Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Marina Lameiro (Spain)

Youth Award for Best Film 
Flores - Jorge Jácome

Special Jury Mention for Direction 
O peixe - Jonathas de Andrade (Brazil)

Proyecto X Films
La vía flotante - Zazpi T'erdi (Spain)

(Translated from Spanish)