The San Sebastian Film Festival today announced the winners of its 73rd edition, highlighting two Latin American standouts. The Colombian feature A Poet / Un Poeta by Simón Mesa Soto won the Horizontes Latino Award for Best Latin American Film, while Argentine actress Camila Plaate earned the Silver Shell for Best Supporting Actress in the international competition for her performance in the title role of Belén by Dolores Fonzi.
A Poet, winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes, stars Ubeimar Rios as Óscar Restrepo, a man whose obsession with poetry has brought him little recognition. Aging and erratic, he has become the cliché of a poet in the shadows—until he encounters a humble teenager and nurtures her talent. Yet introducing her to the literary world may not be the salvation he imagines.
Inspired by true events, Belén follows attorney Soledad Deza as she defends a young woman unjustly imprisoned for an alleged abortion. Facing a corrupt legal system and a hostile society, the two women fight for dignity and survival. As the case gains visibility, it ignites a women’s movement that resonates across Argentina.
Two other Latin American films received Special Mentions in the Horizontes Latinos competition: the Ecuadorean drama The Ivy / Hiedra by Ana Cristina Barragán and the Uruguayan existential comedy A Loose End / Un Cabo Suelto by Daniel Hendler.
Additional Latin American winners include the Chilean queer drama The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo / La misteriosa mirada del flamenco by Diego Céspedes, recipient of the Dama Youth Award; and the Argentine films The Currents / Las corrientes by Milagros Mumenthaler, winner of the RTVE–Another Look Award, and Belén, which earned a Special Mention in the same category.
The 73rd edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival took place September 19–27 in Spain.
