13-19 November 2017

L'Alternativa 2017

Prizewinners

Festival Prize for Best Feature Film in l’Alternativa Official

The jury for Best Feature Film in the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, made up of Eugenio Canevari, Carlota Moseguí and Joan Sala, met on 17 November 2017 and agreed unanimously to award the Festival Prize for Best Feature Film to A Fábrica de Nada by Pedro Pinho. Through multiple registers and eschewing any empty, condescending idealisations, this film undertakes a powerful exploration of the ways we might overcome the devastating effects of the rampant capitalism that currently holds sway over Europe.

The jury also awarded a Special Mention to Taste of Cement, by Ziad Kalthoum, a deeply personal, poetic and highly relevant account of a major contemporary issue expressed in breathtaking form.

Festival Prize for Best Short Film in l’Alternativa Official

The jury for Best Short Film in the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, made up of Núria Aidelman, Ana Pfaff and Marcel Pié Barba, met on 17 November 2017 and agreed unanimously to award the Festival Prize for Best Short Film to La Bonne Éducation by Gu Yu, for the director’s ability to accompany Peipei and express in the barest of terms her isolation and feeling of being out of place in an unwelcoming and destructive environment. A delicate, heartbreaking film.

Critics Award for Best Feature Film in l’Alternativa Official

The jury for the Critics Award for Best Feature Film in the Official Section at the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, made up of Carlos Balbuena, Víctor Blanes and Marina Laboreo, met on 17 November 2017 and agreed unanimously to award the Critics Award to El mar nos mira de lejos, by Manuel Muñoz Rivas, a fascinating exploration of a landscape thanks to its visual evocation of time and respectful treatment of the people who live there.

The jury also awarded a Special Mention to El mar la mar, by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki, for its daring form and narrative structure when exploring the delicate reality of borderlands.

Don Quixote Prize for Best Feature Film in l'Alternativa Official

The jury for the Don Quixote Prize for Best Feature Film in the Official Section at the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, made up of Juan Manuel García Ferrer, Emilia Mazik and Nanjundiaha Shashidhara, met on 17 November 2017 and agreed unanimously to award the Don Quixote Prize to Taste of Cement, by Ziad Kalthoum, a film that combines a personal viewpoint with a global context, as well as a piece of art with a political message. These oppositions are beautifully described through metaphors of construction and destruction.

GAC Award for Best Screenplay in l'Alternativa Panorama

The jury for the GAC Award for Best Screenplay in l'Alternativa Panorama at the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, made up of Blanca Escoda Agustí, Daniel Naranjo Sotomayor and Núria Parera Ciuró, met on 17 November 2017 and agreed unanimously to award the GAC Award for Best Screenplay to Rapa das Bestas by Jaione Camborda Coll, for its powerful expression of a very specific subject without any fear of close-ups or in any way holding back from the story. And for extrapolating this to the rest of society by showing how brutality can become a show and revealing the human thirst for power.

The jury also awarded a Special Mention to Areka by Atxur Animazio Taldea, whose choice of technique expands the concept of history by adding an extra interpretative layer of collective historical memory.

Filmic Crater-Lab Award in l'Alternativa Panorama/Hall

The jury for the Filmic Crater-Lab Award in l'Alternativa Panorama and Hall at the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, made up of Diana Toucedo and Albert Triviño Massó, met on 17 November 2017 and agreed unanimously to award the Filmic Crater-Lab Award to Rapa das Bestas by Jaione Camborda Coll. This documentary film weaves an atavistic and ancestral story with rhythmic, emotional images full of human and animal strength. Bursting with life, this account makes striking use of analogue means to forge an intensely expressive narrative.

Residency Award in l'Alternativa Panorama

The jury for the Residency Award in l'Alternativa Panorama at the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, made up of Sesi Bergeret, Pere Ginard and Tess Renaudo, met on 17 November 2017 and agreed unanimously to award the Residency Award to El mundanal ruido by David Muñoz.

Audience Award for Best Short Film in l’Alternativa Official

The Audience Award at the 24th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, l’Alternativa, goes to the film J'aime les filles by Diane Obomsawin.

Antaviana–Mentoring Projects Prize in l’Alternativa Professionals

L’Alternativa Professionals and Antaviana Films have awarded the Antaviana–Mentoring Projects Prize to the film La casa del artista by Ione Atenea, for bursting a time bubble and presenting an entire universe within a house, a microcosm where spectators can sneak into Rosita and Antonio’s past lives and ask themselves what will remain of us once we are no longer here.

#AccióCurt Award for Best Short Film in CIMA CAT CURTS

The jury for the #AccióCurt Award for Best Short Film in CIMA CAT CURTS, made up of filmmaker and Cima Catalunya representative Neus Ballús, Marvin & Wayne distributor Pablo Menéndez, and Marta Morales from Eclaire Digital, decided unanimously to award the #AccióCurt Award to Vera by Laura Rubirola.

The jury also awarded a Special Mention to Les últimes mares, by Carme Puche.