Málaga, (EFE).- The “first film” by Estibaliz Urresola, “20,000 species of bees”, has won the Biznaga de Oro for best Spanish film at the Malaga Festival, while the co-production of Panama and Chile “Las daughters”, by Kattia G. Zúñiga, has been the best Ibero-American feature film.
The Silver Biznaga for best director goes to the Chilean Matías Bize for the Chilean-Argentinian co-production “El castigación”, the jury announced this Saturday at the award ceremony, which has awarded its special prize to “Under therapy”. , by Gerardo Herrero, for the work of its actors and actresses.
For the best female performance, the actress from Vigo, María Vázquez, received an award for her work in “Matria”, by Álvaro Gago, and for the best male performance, the actor Alberto Ammann for “Upon entry”, from the Venezuelans Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez.
Work that nation in 2018
During the week, Estibaliz Urresola has marveled in the official section of the Malaga Festival with his first film, “20,000 species of bees”, with which he wants to send a message of light and hope about trans childhood and encourage reflection.
This story, with which he already competed in the last Berlinale, was born in his head in 2018, when a 14-year-old transsexual boy committed suicide in the Basque Country, a fact that was “a small awakening” for Basque society.
“Until then, trans childhoods were not part of the imaginary of the social body. He had to make that decision and he left a letter written that was full of light and hope. He made that decision to make his reality and that of other children visible, and he hoped that those who came after him would have an easier time inhabiting the world freely”, explains the director.
He then began to meet with families who were “going through these processes” and who opened “the doors of their lives and privacy” to get closer to this reality “in a deeper way.”
“I was struck by the fact that the relatives said that those who had made the transition were not so much their children as they were.”
He assures that it was “a delight” to work with the girl Sofía Otero, winner of the Silver Bear for best performance in Berlin for her role as Cocó, 8 years old, whom everyone insists on calling Aitor although she prefers the name Lucía.
Tests only for girls
“When I did the test, I saw a clear and direct communication channel with her, and that she was capable of understanding the nuances and modulations that she proposed to guide the scene,” explains Urresola.
He was clear from the beginning that he only wanted to cast girls for this role and at no time did he think of casting boys, because it seemed to him “an organic and sensible way” to make them “understand what happens if the whole world sees you as child”.
“It’s much more difficult for the adult eye to take in, but the children in the film have treated this very naturally. That tells us about the next generation. In the classroom there are more and more colleagues who have made the transition, and we have a lot to learn in this regard, ”she remarked.
Cocó’s mother is played by Patricia López Arnaiz, who has described such a character as “an enormous pleasure” from “a plastic, beautiful and beautiful script, and also with that naturalistic part that has to do with great emotional intelligence ”.
For her part, Ane Gabarain embodies what she defines as “the freest and least conventional character within this family hive” and highlights “the sensitivity and respect” of the script.
“My character feels different and she recognizes herself a lot with Lucía. The two characters meet and make their transformation together”, says Gabarain, who adds that her role is “poetic, because she has found her place in the world of nature, in beekeeping and apitherapy, and has something ancestral, spiritual and of redemption”. EFE