The film by the Colombian director Laura Mora, “The Kings of the World” took home the Golden Shell for Best Picture at the San Sebastian Film Festivalbeing the third consecutive year that a female director has won the festival’s top prize.
The film is Laura Mora’s second and is a drama that portrays the development of a group of street kids from Medellin in a raw and unsentimental way. It revolves around your adventure from the city to the jungle, looking for ancestral lands.
“The Kings of the World” proved popular with critics, but still not the most obvious choice for victory, in a festival with the likes of Sebastian Lelio, Hong Sangsoo and Christophe Honoré.
Laura Mora had already been under the radar with the premiere of her first feature film, in 2017, “Kill Jesus”which earned him an Honorable Mention in San Sebastián, in the New Directors category.
Below is the full list of winners:
OFFICIAL SELECTION AWARDS
Golden Shell for Best Picture: “Los reyes del mundo”, Laura Mora
Special Jury Prize: “Runner”, Marian Mathias
Silver Shell for Best Director: “A Hundred Flowers”, Genki Kawamura
Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance (ex-aequo): “La Maternal”, Carla Quílez; “Winter Boy”, Paul Kircher
Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance: “The Substitute”, Renata Lerman
Best Screenplay: “A Woman”, Wang Chao
Best Cinematography: “Pornomelancholy”, Manuel Abramovich
OTHER OFFICIAL AWARDS
New Directors Award: “Spare Keys”, Jeanne Aslan and Paul Saintillan
New Directors Award (Honorable Mention): “On Either Side of the Pond”, Parth Saurabh
Horizontes Latinos Award: “I Have Electric Dreams”, Valentina Maurel
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Prize: “Godland”, Hlynur Pálmason
Audience Award for Best Film: “Argentina, 1985”, Santiago Miter
Audience Award for Best European Film: “The Beasts”, Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Spanish Cooperation Award: “Noise”, Karla Moreno, María José Córdova
RTVE Prize Another Look: “El Sostre Groc”, Isabel Coixet
RTVE Another Look Award (Honorable Mention): “Corsage”, Marie Kreutzer
Irizar Basque Award: “Suro”, Mikel Gurrea
Irizar Basque Award (Special Mention): “To Books and Women I Sing”, Maria Elorza
TCM Youth Award: “To Books and Women I Sing”, Maria Elorza
OTHER AWARDS
Euskadi Prize Basque Country Agenda 2030: “Tori and Lokita”, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Dunio Asaya Award: “Tobacco Barns”, Rocio Mesa
Asaya Award (Honorable Mention): “El Sostre Groc”, Isabel Coixet
FIPRESCI Award: “Suro”, Mikel Gurrea
Feroz Zinemaldia Award: “The Kings of the World”, Laura Mora
Euskal Gidoigileen Elkartea Award: “Suro”, Mikel Gurrea and Francisco Kosterlitz
Sebastiane Award: “Something You Said Last Night”, Luis de Filippis
Lurra Greenpeace Award: “Alcarras”, Carla Simon
SIGNIS Award: “Los reyes del mundo”, Laura Mora
SIGNIS Award (Honorable Mention): “Runner”, Marian Mathias