Austin’s Cine Las Americas announced the filmmaker award winners following the conclusion of a hugely successful 26th Anniversary edition of the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF). Leading the list of films winning jury prizes were Itandehui Jansen’s Itu Ninu (Where the Cornfields Are) (Best Narrative Feature), and Juan Mejía Botero’s Igualada (Best Documentary Feature). Films taking the Audience Awards were topped by Laura González’s Milonga (Narrative Feature), JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey’s The Strike (Documentary Feature).
Cine Las Americas Executive Director Gabriel Orneles, said, “This year’s edition of CLAIFF kicked off our next quarter century with the great films and enthusiasm from our audiences that have made us a must-see Austin event for the past 25 years. Our award winners were wonderful representatives of the films and filmmakers Cine Las Americas is known for celebrating and oftentimes introducing to audiences here. As we continue to grow, we receive reminders with each screening and interaction with our filmmakers and film fans, why this film festival has become such an important part of the cultural fabric in a city that continues to be a central hub for filmmaking here in Texas and the Southwest.”
Regarding the selection of Itandehui Jansen’s Itu Ninu (Where the Cornfields Are) for the Best Narrative Feature Jury Prize, Jury member Doug Pullen (Director of El Paso Community Foundation’s Plaza Classic Film Festival), cited the Jansen’s edgy yet contemplative sci-fi drama for its masterful imagery and inventive use of indigenous language as the only real means of communication connecting two “climate migrants” with nature and each other.
On the documentary side, the jury described Juan Mejía Botero’s Igualada as “a crucial film that can inspire audiences worldwide with the principles of justice and equality for the most vulnerable communities. The exposure and visibility given to the Afro-descendant community is a great success, given the history of inequality that permeates Latin America. The film’s subject, Colombia’s first Afro-Colombian vice-president Francia Márquez was followed for an impressive length of time. She will no doubt change the future of politics within Colombia and South America.”
Jury prize winners in the Shorts Competition included Nüll García’s Malegro Verte (Good t’see ya) (Best Narrative Short), of which the jury said, “Beautifully acted, written and directed, this film shows how a simple interaction can completely change your life in an instant.” Also chosen by the jury was Medhin Tewolde Serrano Nyanga (Best Documentary Short). Of that film, they remarked, “Nyanga is a unique and creative retelling of a slave in colonial times dreaming of escape. It is a powerful and emotional journey about the desire to be free.”
In the Hecho En Tejas Competition, Sebastian Valdivieso’s Maria took the Jury Prize, about which the jury said, “Benefitting from wonderful performances and subtle yet powerful visual storytelling, Maria reminds us of the potency and emotional complexity that great filmmaking and great filmmakers bring to their audience. It is a tender and authentic film which, like many great films, tackles universal themes through a highly specific experience.” Samuel Díaz Fernández’s Floodplain won the Hecho En Tejas Audience Award.
The jury prize for Best Music Video went to Flaminguettes’ Masa by Jarina De Marco ft. Calacote & mediopicky. The Audience award for Best Music Video went to Pain Lopez and Cesar Safra’s La Danza by Novalima. Milena Mendonça Decourt’s Quem Sabe? (May be?) won the Jury prize for Best Emergencia Youth Film, and Gael Paolo Garza’s Onions received the Audience Award in the Emergencia Youth Film Competition.
Opening Night featured Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn’s festival favorite Going Varsity in Mariachi. Screening at AFS Cinema, which included a mariachi performance outside the theater prior to the screening. Cine Las Americas’ signature programming track, “Hecho en Tejas,” showcasing local filmmaking talent with varied backgrounds via films and videos shot and/or produced in Texas, was, once again, a big hit with the film fans including filmmakers on the Red Carpet and a well-attended screening at Austin’s PBS Media Center Studio. Cine Las Americas’ other popular programming tracks shined as well. Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase and the popular Emergencia celebration of young filmmakers under 19 highlighted the film festival’s ongoing mission of promoting cross-cultural understanding by expanding the regions of the country that are represented in this year’s programs, and foregrounding youth and educator voices in support of inclusive and culturally responsive educational opportunities for all.
Cine Las Americas is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Department. For more information about Cine Las Americas, visit https://cinelasamericas.org/.
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival 2024 Filmmaker Award Winners
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
Itu Ninu (Where the Cornfields Are)
Director: Itandehui Jansen
Countries: Mexico/United Kingdom
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
Milonga
Director: Laura González
Countries: Uruguay/Argentina
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Igualada
Director: Juan Mejía Botero
Countries: Colombia/Mexico
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Strike
Directors: JoeBill Muñoz, Lucas Guilkey
Country: United States
SHORTS COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
Malegro Verte (Good t’see ya)
Director: Nüll García
Country: Spain
JURY AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Nyanga
Director: Medhin Tewolde Serrano
Countries: Mexico
HECHO EN TEJAS COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST HECHO EN TEJAS FILM
Maria
Director: Sebastian Valdivieso
Countries: United States/Ecuador
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST HECHO EN TEJAS FILM
Floodplain
Director: Samuel Díaz Fernández
Country: United States
MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Masa
Director: Flaminguettes
Artist: Jarina De Marco ft. Calacote & mediopicky
Country: Mexico
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST MUSIC VIDEO
La Danza
Directors: Pain Lopez, Cesar Safra
Artist: Novalima
Country: Peru
EMERGENCIA YOUTH FILM COMPETITION
JURY AWARD FOR BEST EMERGENCIA YOUTH FILM
Quem Sabe? (May be?)
Director: Milena Mendonça Decourt
Country: Brazil
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST EMERGENCIA YOUTH FILM
Onions
Director: Gael Paolo Garza
Country: United States
