The official jury of the ninth edition of the D’A Film Festival Barcelona has awarded the 2019 Talents Prize of 10,000 euros for the best film to Familia sumergida by Argentinian director María Alché “for making grief a personal journey in a chaotic and enlightening family context, and achieving such an original and charming perspective on a woman whose life is on hold.” The jury was formed by Andrea Stavenhagen (scheduler), Vanesa Fernández Guerra (of ZINEBI- Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films) and Sergi Pérez (film director and teacher at ESCAC).
The Collective Impulse jury awarded the D’A 2019 OpenECAM Prize, consisting of the provision of the facilities and technical materials of ECAM – School of Cinematography and Audiovisual of the Community of Madrid, to the film Hamada by Eloy Domíguez Serén for “an elegant, bright mise-en-scène that questions the utopia of emigration.” It also granted an honorary mention to the film Young & Beautiful by director Marina Lameiro for “the freshness with which it takes the pulse of a generation from the freedom to make life choices, honesty and sense and humour.” The Collective Impulse jury was made up of María Rubín (head of Spanish movies at Movistar+), Serrana Torres (producer) and Gemma Vidal (head of the La Incubadora feature film development programme at The Screen/ECAM).
The D’A 2019 Movistar+ Prize, involving the acquisition of broadcasting rights by Movistar+ for a sum of €12,000 to one of the movies in the Collective Impulse section, was awarded to Letters to Paul Morrissey by Armand Rovira for “being a hypnotic journey into the depths of some tormented characters that enchants from the very first moment with the demanding beauty of its cinematographic proposal.”
The critics’ jury formed by Vanessa Agudo, Jesús González and Ana Uslenghi awarded the D’A 2019 Critics Prize, presented in collaboration with the Catalan Association of Film Critics and Writers – ACCEC, to Familia sumergida by María Alché. It also granted an honorary mention to the French film Sophia Antipolis by Virgil Vernier.
The Audience Prize for the best film at the festival, awarded on the basis of votes by people attending the sessions, went to the Chinese movie An Elephant Sitting Still by director Hu Bo. The Audience Award for the best film in the Sala Jove D’A section went to animated film Ruben Brandt, Collector by Slovenian director Milorad Krstic. The Audience Prize for the best short film went to Suc de síndria by director Irene Moray.
