The Brazilian neo-Western film Bacurau by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles was the big winner at the 23rd edition of the Lima International Film Festival by winning the awards for Best Film and Best Director, as well as the Critics’ Award for Best Film. Starring Sônia Braga and Udo Kier, the fourth feature by Mendonça Filho, and first by Dornelles, is about a small town in the Brazilian sertão, named Bacurau, that mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later after her death, its inhabitants notice that their community has vanished from most maps.
The jury gave a Special Mention for Best Film to the Peruvian film Song without a Name / Canción sin nombre by Melina León, which also received a second Special Mention for Best Actress for her protagonist Pamela Mendoza. The award for Best First Film was presented to Mexican director Lila Avilés for her film The Chambermaid / La camarista, while the Uruguayan film The Sharks / Los tiburones by Lucía Garibaldi received a Special Mention in the same category.
In the documentary competition, the top winner for Best Film was the Colombian film La paz by Tomás Pinzón Lucena, and the Chilean film Lemebel by Johanna Reposi Garibaldi received a Special Mention. Other awards include the Best Actress Award to Ilse Salas for her performance in the Mexican film Las niñas bien, and the Best Actor Award to Rodrigo Palacios for the Peruvian film La Bronca.
The Brazilian film The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão / A vida invisivel de Eurídice Gusmão by Karim Aïnouz took home the awards for Best Cinematography and the Audience Award for Best International Film. The Argentine film Submerged Family / Familia sumergida won the award for Best Screenplay, and Claudia Sparrow’s Máxima was the favorite with the local audience winning the Audience Award.
The 23rd edition of the Lima Film Festival took place August 9 - 17.
