Actualités

As the 2016 Cinéfondation selection is unveiled, let’s talk with last year’s prize winners, looking back at the 2015 Festival and what has happened to them since then.

3 questions to Maria GUSKOVA for her movie The Return of Erkin

How did you react to winning your award at the Festival de Cannes 2015?

The very fact that our film was selected for a competition in Cannes was really cool and surreal. Getting the award was even more of a surprise to me, because there were many good films in competition that I really liked. I was happy to experience this incredible festival with the other film-makers.

What has your award brought you?

Participating in the festival and getting the award at Cannes made the film interesting to many people: festival programmers, distributors, journalists and producers. The film has been screened at different festivals, such as Toronto IFF, AFI Fest, Clermont-Ferrand ISFF, and even got us to Emir Kusturica’s film festival. I never thought that all this could ever happen to me. I am grateful to my team for supporting me and believing in me. I am also thankful to the entire Festival de Cannes team that made all this possible.

Do you have new projects?

 Yes, I am currently working on my next project, which I want to be a feature film.

3 questions to Ian GARRIDO for his movie Victor XX

 
How did you react to winning your award at the Festival de Cannes 2015?
It was an unforgettable moment, I remember I could barely keep my feet on the ground ... I lived that moment with my family and the whole crew. It was the first time we had taken part in an international film festival, and it was a real reward for all the people who made the film. The prize gave us confidence both as a team and as professionals. Here in Spain, it is quite complicated to work in the film industry, and the picture may become bleak for young people like us. Receiving this award has given us an opportunity in a very hard industry.

What has your award brought you?
Everything. We’ve travelled around the world with the short film. I’ve met a lot of film-makers and seen a lot of countries. This year was a great personal experience.
When we were shooting the film, no-one could have told us that this would happen, but yes. It’s true: being awarded a prize in the Cinéfondation selection has been the best stepping stone for the short film and for us

Do you have new projects?
Yes! I am working on several projects, but I’m currently focused on two scripts. Both are set in Almería, in a landscape similar to where we shot VICTOR XX but with different storylines.
Furthermore, over the last few months, we've written a pilot for a TV series, and we've started to shoot a documentary about a community that is about to disappear, also in Almería.