The Mexican film Identifying Features / Sin señas particulares, the debut feature by Fernanda Valadez, was the winner of the Best Film in the Latin Horizon competition at the 68th annual edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival.
Winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience and Screenplay Awards at the Sundance Film Festival, Identifying Features follows middle-aged Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez), who has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., hopeful to find work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth.
At the same time, a young man named Miguel (David Illescas) has returned to Mexico after being deported from the U.S., and eventually his path converges with Magdalena’s. From this simple but urgent premise, director Valadez has crafted a lyrical, suspenseful slow burn, equally constructed of moments of beauty and horror, and which leads to a startling, shattering conclusion.
Valadez’s film was also was the winner of the Spanish Cooperation Award, presented to the to Ibero-American film making the best contribution to human development, the eradication of poverty and the full exercise of human rights.
Additionally, the Argentine film One in a Thousand / Las mil y una by Clarisa Navas, received a Special Mention in the Latin Horizon competition and the documentary film The Mole Agent / El agente topo by Chilean director Maite Alberdi was the winner of the Audience Award for Best European Film.
The 68th edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival took place September 18-26 in Spain.
