BAFICI, the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival, announced this morning the winners for its 15th edition. The film La Paz (pictured) by Santiago Loza was awarded the prized for Best Film in the Argentinean cinema competition, while Raúl Perrone won the prize for Best Director for his film P3ND3J05. El loro y el cisne / The Parrot and the Swan by Alejo Moguillansky, received a Special Jury Mention.
Loza's La Paz tells the story of Liso, a young man from the upper middle class, who has been released from a psychiatric clinic. He lives with his parents, who treat him like a child. His attempts to revive old relationships fail. The only solace he finds is that which emerges from his friendship with Sonia, their Bolivian maid, and his visits to his grandmother. Loza's film also received the Argentine Film Critics Association Award.
In the official competition, two Argentinean films received awards: Jazmín López's Leones was awarded with the Special Jury Prize, while the leading actresses of Matías Piñeiro's Viola (pictured), María Villar, Agustina Muñoz, Elisa Carricajo and Romina Paula, were awarded the Best Actress prize. The British film Berberian Sound Studio by Peter Strickland was the top winner of the competition.
Chilean film Joven y alocada / Young and Wild by Marialy Rivas won the prize for Best Film in the Avant-Garde and Genre section of the festival. The winners in the local short film competition were the Argentine films 9 vacunas / 9 Vaccines by Iair Said and Yo y Maru 2012 / Me and Maru 2012 by Juan Renau. The Audience Award went to the Argentinean film Ramón Ayala by Marcos López.
BAFICI, which took place April 10-21 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is one of the leading film festivals in Latin America.
