Marbella Film Festival Awards

THE Marbella Film Festival concluded on Sunday October 5 with a glamorous gala dinner awards ceremony at the Andalucia Plaza Hotel near Puerto Banus. Jose Luis Hernandez,the Concejal de Turismo (tourism and culture councillor) from Marbella Town Hall joined the dinner, with a host of producers, directors, actors, and film industry pundits.

Dinner was serenaded throughout and then singer/actor Stephen Cline went on stage to give the audience a burst of ‘Georgia on my Mind’ before the lights were turned up, then clips of the nominated films were shown on screen and all the participants waited in anticipation for the results of the voting process to be counted.

Although over fifty films were presented at the film festival, the winners were chosen from the three best films in each category. Nominees went into four different categories, Short Film under ten minutes, Short Film, Feature Film, Documentary and Animation. The results were as follows:

Feature Film Nominees:  The Wingman                 Almost Married        Si-O-Se-Pol             

The winner was Almost Married. English production, written and directed by Ben Cookson. The story revolves around Kyle, who returns from his stag-do with a sexually transmitted disease. He has to avoid any form of sexual contact with his bride-to-be until the disease is cleared up. This humorous movie took four years to make.

Short Film under ten minutes Nominees:   Ruslan     First Love       A Sea Tale

The winner was A Sea Tale. An Italian production, screen written and directed by Dario Di Viesto. The tale of an old fisherman who finds a live fish inside the guts of a bigger dead fish, which he relates to his own life.

Short Film Nominees:   Arrangement of Thrones       Picture Perfect       5 Ways to Die

The winner was 5 Ways to Die. A Cypriot production, directed by Daina Papadaki. A Man explores different ways to die, struggling to achieve the best result.

Documentary Nominees:  Positive Hell                 Ice Bear              Zero Tolerance

The winner was Ice Bear. 29 mins. English production, directed by Oliver Parker and produced by Mary Hare. This beautifully filmed documentary captures the spirit of the Arctic, through the eyes of the Sculptor Mark Coreth.

Animated Film Nominees: The Dream of the Grandmaster   Los Rosales               Theodor the Wolf        

The winner was The Dream of the Grandmaster. 20 mins. Spanish production, directed by Jorge M Rodrigo. A man sets out to play chess against a computer and the challenge evolves into a story of chasing dreams.

The after award speeches ended with the acknowledgment that Marbella, with all its beautiful infrastructure, scenery and diverse landscape, has the capability to become a renowned location for film makers and the possibility of becoming Europe’s largest independent film festival.

Congratulations to the Marbella Film Festival for a very successful few days this year and to all the people from around the world, who took time to join in this incredible annual event. Next year the Marbella Film Festival will return to host a very special event to celebrate its 10^th Anniversary.