The Spanish film “Tierra Calcinada” was the winner of the 15th Sin del Mar Festival

The event ended with announcing and handing out the awards and noting the winning films, whether fiction or short. The official awards, like those given by the public, all bear the name of Jorge Jelinec, in memory of the journalist and researcher, who was the programmer of this festival that took place in Punta del Este.

The jury of the Official Competition for Feature Films, made up of Dayana Acosta Trindade (Uruguayan journalist and reporter), Teresita Marzano (Uruguay director, journalist and educator) and Sergio Rizzano (Documentary photographer and director, also Uruguay) judged the following results:

The best film at the 15th International Sea Festival, held in Punta del Este, was “Tierra Calcinada” (Spain) by Antonio Ferrer, while the winning Latin American feature film “El naturalista isleño” (Dominican Republic), by Eladio Fernandez and Freddy Geneva.

Special mentions: Best Director, Antonio Ferrer for “Tierra calcinada” (Spain); Best Actress, Sarah Clarke, “The Alchemy of the Spirit” (USA), and Best Actor, Xander Berkeley, for the same film; and Best Original Screenplay, “Alchemy of the Soul” (USA), by Steve Balderson.

The jury for the official competition for short films, composed of Alicia Pedrián (Argentine writer, director, and social psychologist), Jorge Caballero (Uruguay lighting designer, director and technical operator) and Erika Yak (designer and planner for ORT Jewish Agenda of Uruguay) made these decisions:

Festival Best Short Film: “Esmeralda” (Mexico, 2021) by Samantha Orozco, “for being a surprising documentary about the extraordinary true state of ‘El Eterno Enamorado’, a man who becomes obsessed with a model’s girlfriend, after losing his beloved wife.

Best Ibero-American Short Film: Kiss Me Goodbye (Chile, 2022) by Camilo Irazo; Best Short Film from Uruguay: “Hotel Stories” (2022) by Tomás Marichal Urban; Best Documentary Short Film: “Raíces de paz” (USA, 2021), directed by John Michael Schenk and Michael Skinner.

Among the special awards were: Best Director, Pedro Asrouni for “Midnight Glow / Resplandor de midnight” (Portugal, 2022); Best Actress, Daniela Muñoz, “Deep in the Swamp” (Columbia, 2021) by Camilo Cortes; Best Actor: Matias Alzueta “Ave Fénix” (Argentina, 2022), written by Karina Greenstein; and Best Screenplay, Txema Ballano for Herederos (Spain, 2020); Best Animated Feature: “Cecilia” (Brazil, 2021), Daniel Veloso.

As for the audience awards, the best feature film was “Flows” (Brazil) directed by Bruno Rico. Best Short Film at the Festival “El Aleph” (Argentina), directed by Hugo Ignacio Cabrera; And the best short film in Uruguay “Hora del Te” by Rosana Bossio and Javier Cabezudo.