The Colombian film The Kings of the World / Los reyes del mundo, the second feature film by Laura Mora was awarded the Golden Shell for Best Film at the 70th edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival. This marks the first time that a Colombian film tops the Spanish Film Festival, and the ninth Latin American production to win the Golden Shell.
Produced by Cristina Gallego (Birds of Passage, and the Oscar-nominated The Embrace of the Serpent), the film follows five Medellín teenagers from the streets on a desperate journey of survival as it portrays with strong poetic undertones the reality of the injustice and exclusion suffered by those who lack basic rights such as a name, a family, a place and a date of birth. Rá, Culebro, Sere, Winny and Nano, five street kids from Medellin, five kings without a kingdom, with no law and no family, are looking for the promised land. The five will embark on a trip to claim a piece of land that Rá inherited after a long process of land restitution.
Other Latin American winners in the official competition at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival were Renata Lerman for Best Supporting Actress in the Argentine film The Substitute / El suplente; while Pornomelancolía by Argentine director Manuel Abramovich was the winner of the Award for Best Cinematography.
The Costa Rican film Tengo sueños eléctricos was the winner of the Horizontes Latinos Award for Best Latin American Film. The debut feature by by Valentina Maurel had its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival last month where it won three awards, for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.
Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985 was the winner of the Audience Award and the Mexican film Noise / Ruido by Natalia Beristain was the winer of the Spanish Cooperation Award, presented to the producer of an Ibero-American film making the best contribution to human development, the eradication of poverty and the full exercise of human rights.
The 2022 edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival took place September 16-24.
