The Mexican film Sanctorum, the second feature film by Joshua Gil (La maldad) has win the top award for Best Film in the international competition at the 16th edition of SANFIC, the 2020 Santiago International Film Festival in Chile, taking place online August 16-23.
Set in a small town caught in the crossfire between the military and the cartels, the film follows a small boy and his mother. One day, she does not return from the marijuana fields where she works. The anguished boy asks his grandmother where his mom went. Struck with grief, the grandmother tells him to go into the forest and pray to the natural elements that she returns unharmed. As the soldiers arrive and the villagers prepare for their last stand, the awesome power of nature manifests itself. The film had its world premiere in the Critic’s Week sidebar of the Venice Film Festival and was the winner of the Best Director Award at the Morelia Film Festival.
The SANFIC jury, composed by Chilean actress Paulina García, director Paula Hernández, and Spanish producer and director Álvaro Longoria, gave the Best Actor Award to Alberto Ammann por his performance in the Argentine film Hunter's Silence / El silencio del cazador by Martín De Salvo. Additionally, the Chilean director Theo Court received a Special Mention for Best Director for his film White on White / Blanco en blanco.
The Chilean competition was won by Valentina Reyes with her debut feature Las mujeres de mi casa, and filmmaker Juan Francisco Riumalló was the winner of the Best Director Award for his film Onkel Günter. The Award for Best Actor was presented to Max Salgado for his performance in Piola.
