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. Watch on Deadline 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 Me Fjalë Tjera / In a Manner of Speaking Val Jashari (Kosovo)Country(ies) of production: Kosovo – Montenegro 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 AkiraEkain Albite (Spain)Country(ies) of production: Spain – Georgia XXII Lau Haizetara Documentary Co-Production Forum AwardsEPE IBAIA-ELKARGI AWARD”HAMAKA / THE HAMMOCK” Alfonso GarcíaProduced by: Basque FilmsSpainMUSIC LIBRARY&SFX AWARD”PAJARRACOS / SHADY BIRDS” Zaira ZanguituProduced by: Señor y SeñoraSpain DOGWOOF AWARD”DIFFERENT COLORS OF SABIR” Safaa KhatibProduced by: Philistine Films – Ginevra FilmsPalestine-Italy