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The 3rd International Environmental Film Festival (FINCA) announces its winners


24 de JUNE, 2016

IMD
On Wednesday June 8, during an inspiring closing ceremony, the highly anticipated list of winners of the 3rd International Environmental Film Festival (FINCA), organized by the Instituto Multimedia DerHumALC (IMD), was announced. Categories included: International Feature Films, International Short Films and Latin American Documentary Films, in addition to the Audience Award, the INCAA TV Award, the RAFMA Award and Mention, the Memoria en Movimiento (Memory in Motion) award granted by Centro Cultural Haroldo Conti and the SIGNIS mentions.

The Alianza Francesa auditorium was the venue chosen to host the closing ceremony of this 3rd edition of FINCA, which featured a tribute to Berta Cáceres, a Lenca indigenous community leader and noted human rights advocate, feminist and environmentalist. Berta was murdered on March 3 this year after getting the largest dam builder in the world to withdraw from the development of a hydroelectric project. Her son Salvador attended our closing ceremony to share part of her legacy through a moving speech.

Nora Cortiñas, one of the mothers of Plaza de Mayo and a symbol of struggle and commitment, was among the inspirational women who took the stage to address the special guests of this third edition, Vandana Shiva and Marie-Monique Robin.

A total of 56 films from 24 countries were screened over the course of a week and at different venues, and we were honored with the presence of 19 international guests who shared with us this full week devoted to the environment. The handbook ¿Cómo hacer festivales con compromiso social? (How to Organize Festivals Based on Social Commitment) was finally released, and venues as prestigious as the School of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), the Argentine Senate and the Margarita Xirgu theater hosted some of the various activities of the Festival. This year, over 10,000 festival goers went to see our films, including the Greater Buenos Aires and Córdoba venues, with nearly 90 volunteers assisting the different areas and showing utmost commitment.

Going back to the awards, the film deemed worthy of the First Prize in the Feature Films Official Competition by a jury made up of Mário Jorge Branquinho, Damián Verzeñassi and Marcelo Burd was Sacrée Croissance! (Good Old Growth!), by Marie-Monique Robin (France), who took home US$ 2,000 as well as a statuette made by Eduardo Spindola of La Boca Reciclante. The honorable mention in that category went to La tierra Roja (The Red Earth), by Diego Martínez Vignatti, whereas the German film La buena vida (The Good Life), by Jens Schanze, was recognized in the Horizontes Energéticos section.

The Paraguayan short Antolina, by Miguel Ángel Agüero, took home US$ 1000 and the first prize in the International Short Films Official Competition, awarded by a jury made up of Hernán Vilchez, Miryam Gorban and Marcos Pastor. The Brazilian film Castillo y el armado (Castillo and the Catfish), by Pedro Harres, received the honorable mention in this category.

Jurors Soledad Barruti, Juan Baldana and Cristina Martín announced the winners within the new category Latin American Documentary Film, with the first prize being awarded to Quinuera (Bolivia), by Ariel Soto, also recognized by HD Argentina as the best film in DCP format and winner of Spindola’s sculpture, and the honorable mention going to Retornan (They Return), from Colombia, directed by Sebastián Mejía and Alice Tabard.

The Audience Award, resulting from comments, assessments and ratings contributed by festival goers throughout the week, went to Hija de la laguna (Daughter of the Lake), by Ernesto Cabellos (Peru). Daughter... also received an honorable mention from the SIGNIS jury (Aylee Ibañez, Adrián Baccaro, Daniel Galizzi).

Both SIGNIS and the Argentinian Network of Audiovisual Festivals and Exhibitions (RAFMA) granted a special mention to the Argentine short film Ecosistema (Ecosystem), by Iara Udijara and Tomás Raimondo. The Chilean documentary film Cuando respiro (When I Breathe), directed by María Isabel Coti Donoso, was also recognized by SIGNIS in the second place.

Incaa TV, the Argentine Film Institute TV network, recognized the documentary by Argentinian director Pablo Piovano El costo humano de los agrotóxicos (The Human Cost of Agrotoxins), while another Argentine film, Transhumancia (Transhumance), from director María Bagnat, received two awards: Memoria en Movimiento, from Centro Cultural Haroldo Conti, and the RAFMA distinction.

As the evening came to an end, the director of FINCA, Florencia Santucho, came up on stage once again to say a few words before the final closing act, a live performance by the band Subite al Bondi, the perfect finale for this true celebration.

Once again, the International Environmental Film Festival (FINCA) staff wants to thank everyone involved, all the directors and the many volunteers and translators who took part in this transformative edition of our Festival, looking forward to the next one.

Read more about FINCA:

http://www.imd.org.ar/finca
http://www.facebook.com/FestivalFINCA
http://twitter.com/FestivalFINCA

By Agustina Crespo
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