San Sebastian Industry Awards: ’Most People Die on Sundays,’ ‘Mannequins’ Win Double
Iair Said’s “Most People Die On Sundays” and Michael Fetter Nathansky’s “Mannequins” took two prizes each as Daniela Abad Lombana’s “These Were All Fields,” also triumphed Wednesday at San Sebastian Festival’s prize ceremony for winners at its main industry competitions: the Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum and WIP Latin America and WIP Europa pix-in-post showcases.
Also among winners at the Forum were two high-profile Argentine projects, Bárbara Sarasola-Day’s “Little War” and Lucila Mariani’s “The Days Off.”
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Meanwhile, Naomi Pacifique’s “After the Night, the Night” headed home home with the trophy at San Sebastián’s development program Ikusmira Berriak, seen as a pivotal young talent residency in Spain.
Said’s second film uses a sweet and sour comedy tone to follow the vicissitudes of a young homosexual Jew when he has to go home to face his father’s last days. Prizes galore go to the winning film, ranging from sound mixing, digital effects, translation, and subtitle localization, to post-production coordination, sound design, and guaranteed release in Spain. It also picked up the Egeda Platino Industria Award for best WIP Latam title, carrying a €30,000 ($31,800) cash prize to the lead producer.
The talented Aenne Schwarz (“All Good”) stars in Michael Fetter’s “Mannequins.” A romantic drama set against a social backdrop about the magic of falling in love and the painful process of falling out in one of Europe’s biggest mining areas, the project participated in the Cutting Edge Talent Camp of Mannheim-Heidelberg, winning both WIP Europa awards putting Fetter Nathansky on a roll, having co-scripted Sophie Linnenbaum’s Karlovy Vary 2022 hit “The Ordinaries.”
Tasked with selecting standout projects from a strong field in the Europe-Latin America Co-Pro Forum were Frédéric Cornet, managing and artistic director of Belgium’s Cinema Galeries; Basque-based producer Izaskun Arandia, and Maru Garzón, artistic director of the Los Cabos Film Festival in Mexico.
Their pick for best project was “These Were All Fields,” set up at Medellín’s La Selva Cine, a producer on Laura Mora’s 2022 San Sebastian winner “The Kings of the World.” It tells the story of a teenager who has to face the truth about her father’s hidden life, while building a relationship with her mother for the first time – all set against the backdrop of Colombia’s terrible violence of the ‘90s.
Further accolades at the Forum went to Sarasola-Day’s “Little War” and Lucila Mariani’s “The Days Off.” The latest as a director from Sarasola-Day, having produced the current San Sebastian competition title “Puan,” her film is set in 1982 at an Anglo-Argentine community in Argentina, as the Falklands War is about to unfold. Judy, 55, dying from cancer, determines to pass on in times of war, the “weapons” she believes her little granddaughter will need for life after she is gone. Their film is inspired by Sarasola-Day’s own grandmother.
Lead produced by Paula Zyngierman and Leandro Listorti’s MaravillaCine in Buenos Aires, Lucilla Mariani’s debut turns on a cousin telling Bego (11), who’s at a summer camp, that she can switch realities by shifting, a viral technique on TikTok. However, when everyone around her faints and falls ill, she begins to realize that things might be more complicated than just an internet trend.
Leaving San Sebastian with the Ikusmira Berriak Award for “After the Night, the Night” was Swiss-Dutch multi-disciplinary artist Naomi Panique. Exploring monogamy, Amsterdam, and all facets of relationships, it is slated to be delivered in 2025. Until then, it will be taking this boost to develop the project to go as far and as well they can.
SAN SEBASTIAN INDUSTRY AWARDS 2023
WIP LATAM
WIP Latam Industry Award
€10,000 ($10,600) to the lead producer
“Most People Die On Sundays” (“Los Domingos Mueren Más Personas,” Iair Said, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland)
Egeda Platino Industria Award
Carrying a €30,000 ($31,800) cash prize to the lead producer“Most People Die On Sundays,”
WIP EUROPA
WIP Europa Industry Award
“Mannequins,” (Michael Fetter Nathansky, Germany)
WIP Europa Award
“Mannequins”
IKUSMIRA BERRIAK AWARD
Irusoin Post-Production Award
“After the Night, the Night” (Naomi Pacifique, Switzerland, Netherlands)
12th EUROPE-LATIN AMERICA CO-PRODUCTION FORUM AWARDS
Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum Award
“These Were All Fields,” (“Todo Esto Eran Mangas,” Daniela Abad Lombana, La Selva Cine, Colombia)
Dale! Award for Latin America-Europe Development
“Little War,” (Barbara Sarasola-Day, Pucará Cine, Argentina, Netherlands)
Artekino International Prize
“The Days Off,” (“Los Días Libres,” Lucila Mariani, MaravillaCine, Argentina)
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