The Brazilian drama Pacificado / Pacified, directed by American director Paxton Winters and produced by Darren Aronofsky, was the top winner at the 67th edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival winning three awards: the Golden Shell for Best Film, the Silver Shell for Best Actor presented to Bukassa Kabengele, and the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography.
Set in Rio de Janeiro, the film tells the story of Tati, an introspective 13 year old girl who struggles to connect with her estranged father, Jaca, after he is released from prison in the turbulent wake of the Olympic Games. As Brazilian Pacification Police battle to maintain a tenuous occupation of the surrounding Rio favelas, Tati and Jaca must navigate the clashing forces threatening to derail their hope for the future. Born of a seven-year creative collaboration between the community of 'Morro dos Prazeres' and writer/director, Winters, Pacificado offers a bracingly intimate portrait of a family trying to find peace in the ever-shifting urban battlefield they call home.
The Chilean film Some Beasts / Algunas bestias, the second feature film by Jorge Riquelme Serrano starring Alfredo Castro and Paulina García , was the winner of the New Directors Award. The film tells the story of a family enthusiastically disembarks on a deserted island on Chile’s southern coast with the dream of building a tourist hotel. When the man who brought them across from the continent disappears, the family is trapped on the island. Suffering from the cold, with no water or assurances, the spirits and good manners start fading to reveal the beasts hidden within the family. Second feature film by its director.
The Argentine film Again Once Again, the debut feature by actress Romina Paula, was the top winner for Best Film the Horizontes Latinos competition. The film follows the fiction character of Romina who returns to her family home after having had a child. Separated from the father of Ramón, her son, she takes refuge in the home of her mother, Mónica. There she is submerged in her mother’s pace, and in her own pace as a daughter, as she tries to figure out what she wants. On a visit to Buenos Aires, Romina teaches German, while trying to resume her single life, to go out at night. She wants to know what she was like before the experience of love for her son. She needs to understand who she is, returning to her origins and rebuilding part of the family history.
The Peruvian film La Bronca by Diego and Daniel Vega was presented with a Special Mention in the Horizontes Latinos sidebar. Other Latin American winners at the Spanish film festival are the Argentine documentary Let it Be Law / La ola verde (que sea ley) by Juan Solanas presented with the RTVE - Another Look Award, the Guatemalan film Our Mothes / Nuestras madres by César Díaz winner of the Cooperación Española Award, and the Argentine film The Good Intentions / Las buenas intenciones by Ana García Blaya, winner of the TCM Youth Award.
