San Sebastián Industry Awards: Juan Sebastián Mesa & Tatiana Huezo Among Big Winners

Colombian filmmaker Juan Sebastián Mesa and Salvadoran director Tatiana Huezo were two of the big winners last night at the San Sebastián Film Festival’s industry awards. Scroll down to see the full list of award winners.

Mesa won the WIP LATAM Industry Award with his latest project, Lovers Go Home!. The film follows Alejandra, a single mother who works as a webcam model in a studio in Medellín, and Andrew, a disabled war veteran living in the outskirts of New Jersey. They begin a series of online conversations that range from sexual propositions to trivial challenges, forging a connection that starts with physical intimacy but evolves into a sweet complicity. The official synopsis continues: “Their loneliness clashes when he decides to travel to meet her in person. What begins as an unpleasant encounter eventually becomes an opportunity for them to question who they truly are.”

Mesa is best known for his debut feature, Los nadie (2016), which won the Audience Award at Venice Critics’ Week. He has also directed the short films Kalashnikov (2014) and Tierra mojada (2017). Lovers Go Home! was selected for the 2022 Co-Production Forum at San Sebastián.

Huezo won the EGEDA Platino Industria Award for the best WIP Latam with her film Galerna. The film follows Lúa and Noé, who are tasked with casting non-professional actors for a science fiction film. Working together for the first time, Noé, who comes from a rural background, is skeptical that Lúa, an unemployed actress from the city, is the right person for the job. The official synopsis continues: “Together, they travel to remote locations and make their home in the houses of farmers who take them in. Immersed in an unfamiliar reality, they discover a Mexico that embraces them but also confronts them with their own fears and prejudices, testing their tolerance, resilience, and vulnerability.”

Huezo’s first feature, The Smallest Place (2011), won the Ariel Award for Best Mexican Documentary and was included in the 4+1: Contemporary Mexican Cinema program at San Sebastián. In 2016, she debuted Tempest in the Forum section of the Berlin Film Festival. The film received the Ariel Awards for Best Director and Best Documentary and was nominated for the Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film. In 2023, her film The Echo won the Best Director and Best Documentary awards in the Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival.

See the full list of winners below.

WIP Latam Awards WIP LATAM INDUSTRY AWARD A Contracorriente Films, Deluxe Content Services Spain, Elamedia Estudios, Laserfilm Cine y Video, Nephilim Producciones and Pecera Estudio

Lovers Go Home! Juan Sebastián Mesa (Colombia)Country(ies) of production: Colombia – Spain – Canada – FranceEurope-Latin America Co-Production Forum 2022

EGEDA PLATINO INDUSTRIA AWARD FOR THE BEST WIP LATAM

GalernaTatiana Huezo (El Salvador)Country(ies) of production: Mexico – Spain

WIP Europa Awards WIP EUROPA INDUSTRY AWARD A Contracorriente Films, Deluxe Content Services Spain, Elamedia Estudios, Laserfilm Cine y Video, Nephilim Producciones and Pecera Estudio

Me Fjalë Tjera / In a Manner of Speaking Val Jashari (Kosovo)Country(ies) of production: Kosovo – Montenegro

WIP EUROPA AWARD

XV Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum AwardsXV EUROPE-LATIN AMERICA CO-PRODUCTION FORUM BEST PROJECT AWARD

Los Inexpertos / The AmateursFelipe Solari Yrigoyen (Argentina)Country(ies) of production: Chile – Argentina – Mexico

DALE! AWARD (DEVELOPMENT LATIN AMERICA-EUROPE)

Las ilusiones / The illusionsIngrid Pokropek (Argentina)Country(ies) of production: Argentina – Spain

ARTEKINO INTERNATIONAL PRIZE

El último sonidero / Mourning Sound Selma Cervantes (Mexico)Country(ies) of production: Mexico

Ikusmira Berriak AwardsCASA WABI – ESCINE AWARD

The Spirit Healer is Away for the WeekendInês Nunes (Portugal)Country(ies) of production: Portugal

TANTA AWARD

AkiraEkain Albite (Spain)Country(ies) of production: Spain – Georgia

SIDERAL AWARD

XXII Lau Haizetara Documentary Co-Production Forum AwardsEPE IBAIA-ELKARGI AWARD”HAMAKA / THE HAMMOCK” Alfonso García
Produced by: Basque Films
SpainMUSIC LIBRARY&SFX AWARD”PAJARRACOS / SHADY BIRDS” Zaira Zanguitu
Produced by: Señor y Señora
Spain DOGWOOF AWARD”DIFFERENT COLORS OF SABIR” Safaa Khatib
Produced by: Philistine Films – Ginevra Films
Palestine-Italy