02/11/2021 - In addition, the Valladolid International Film Festival has handed the Silver Spike to the Spanish title The Odd-Job Men by Neus Ballús, also crowned with the Audience Award

Last Film Show (India/France), a film directed by Pan Nalin, has gone home with the Golden Spike from the 66^th Valladolid International Film Festival – Seminci. The feature is a tribute to celluloid, starting with the story of a boy whose life is turned upside down when he sees a film for the very first time. “It’s a struggle to make movies that have significance and substance, and in the case of this specific project, it was difficult to secure the funding and distribution,” remarked the Indian filmmaker.

The Silver Spike – the second-most-important prize at the gathering – went to the Spanish movie The Odd-Job Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Neus Ballús
film profile] by Neus Ballús, a film based on real-life situations that portrays the day-to-day life of three workmen from a small plumbing and electrical company. “I wanted to convey the fact that we have to think about how to coexist, and about how we’ll be able to get along with each other – or not – from our respective different realities. I was scared on many occasions during the process; I thought we had been too ambitious, but I’m happy that I didn’t throw in the towel, I took a long-term view and I took a risk,” explained the director, who also picked up the Audience Award in the Official Section.

Switzerland’s Fred Baillif earned himself the Ribera del Duero Award for Best Director for The Fam [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fred Baillif
film profile], which also picked up the Award for Best Editing and a Special Jury Mention acknowledging the acting performances of the cast. Yuriy Borisov was deemed to be Best Actor for his turn in Compartment No. 6 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile] by Juho Kuosmanen, while the Best Actress Award was bestowed upon Yllka Gashi for Hive [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Blerta Basholli
interview: Yllka Gashi
film profile] by Blerta Basholli.

The Pilar Miró Award for Best New Director went to Iran’s Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam for Ballad of a White Cow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while master of the seventh art Paul Schrader picked up the Award for Best Screenplay for The Card Counter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. The Award for Best Cinematography was handed to Akiko Ashizawa for Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Indonesian helmer Edwin.

The international jury, chaired by Indian-Canadian director Deepa Mehta, and also made up of Spanish thesp Marta Etura, critic from El País Elsa Fernández-Santos, Argentinian film historian Alberto García Ferrer and his fellow countryman Javier Porta Fouz, the director of the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival, gave the Golden to Spike for Best Short Film to Affairs of the Art (UK/Canada), helmed by Joanna Quinn. This work also made off with the Award for Best European Short Film, which means that it automatically becomes a candidate for the European Film Awards. The Silver Spike in this category was claimed by My Last Adventure by Argentina’s Ramiro Sonzini and Ezequiel Salinas.

The FIPRESCI Award from the International Critics went to The Worst Person in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] by Norway’s Joachim Trier, which also went home with the Youth Jury Award in the Official Section. The movie was also deemed deserving of the Blogos de Oro Award.

Here is the full list of winners:

Official Section

Features

Golden Spike
Last Film Show - Pan Nalin (India/France)

Silver Spike
The Odd-Job Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Neus Ballús
film profile] - Neus Ballús (Spain)

Ribera del Duero Award for Best Director
Fred Baillif - The Fam [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fred Baillif
film profile] (Switzerland)

Pilar Miró Award for Best New Director
Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam - Ballad of a White Cow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Iran/France)

Best Actor
Yuriy Borisov - Compartment No. 6 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile] (Finland/Germany/Estonia/Russia)

Best Actress
Yllka Gashi - Hive [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Blerta Basholli
interview: Yllka Gashi
film profile] (Kosovo/Switzerland/Albania/North Macedonia)

Special Jury Mention for Acting Performances
The cast of The Fam

Best Screenplay
Paul Schrader - The Card Counter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (USA/UK/China)

Best Cinematography
Akiko Ashizawa - Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Indonesia/Singapore/Germany)

José Salcedo Award for Best Editing
Fred Baillif - The Fam

Short films

Golden Spike
Affairs of the Art - Joanna Quinn (UK/Canada)

Best European Short Film
Affairs of the Art - Joanna Quinn 

Silver Spike
My Last Adventure - Ramiro Sonzini and Ezequiel Salinas (Argentina)

Meeting Point section

Features

Best Feature
La Traviata, My Brothers and I [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Yohan Manca (France)

Short films

Best European Short Film
The Criminals - Serhat Karaaslan (France/Romania/Turkey)
Special Mention
Nuits sans sommeil - Jérémy van der Haegan (Belgium)

A Night of Spanish Shorts Award
Las infantas - Andrea H Catalá (Spain)
Special Mention
Intentando - Juan Manuel Montilla “El Langui” (Spain)

Time of History section

First Prize (ex aequo)
My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan - Phil Grabsky and Shoaib Sharifi (UK)
Writing with Fire - Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh (India)

Second Prize
Corsini interpreta a Blomberg y Maciel - Mariano Llinás (Argentina)

Best Short Film
When We Were Bullies - Jay Rosenblatt (Germany/USA)
Special Mention
La gàbia - Adán Aliaga (Spain)

Other awards

Audience Award in the Official Section
The Odd-Job Men - Neus Ballús

Audience Award in the Meeting Point Section
La Traviata, My Brothers and I - Yohan Manca

Audience Award in the Time of History Section
Luchadoras [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Paola Calvo and Patrick Jasim (Germany/Mexico)

FIPRESCI Award in the Official Section
The Worst Person in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] - Joachim Trier (Norway/France/Sweden/Denmark)

Youth Jury Award in the Official Section
The Worst Person in the World - Joachim Trier

Youth Jury Award in the Time of History Section
Persona non grata [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lisa Jespersen
film profile] - Lisa Jespersen (Denmark)
Special Mention
The Dorm - Roman Vasyanov (Russia)

Blogos de Oro Award
The Worst Person in the World - Joachim Trier

Green Spike
Animal [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Cyril Dion (France)
Special Mention
I Am So Sorry [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Zhao Liang (France/Hong Kong/Netherlands)

Rainbow Spike
Sediments [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrián Silvestre
film profile] - Adrián Silvestre (Spain)

FUNDOS Award
Hive - Blerta Basholli
Writing with Fire - Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

(Translated from Spanish)