Málaga Festival Concludes with Top Honors for 'El jardín que soñamos'

The 29th Málaga Festival has wrapped up, celebrating a diverse range of stories and highlighting new voices in Ibero-American cinema.

The award for Best Documentary went to El mapa para tocarte, directed by Mercedes Afonso. The film, which features twelve years of intimate footage documenting life with autism spectrum disorder and PANDAS syndrome, carries deep personal significance; the director is currently enduring a difficult time following the disappearance of her son, Airam, in La Palma this past February.

In the feature film categories, Yo no moriré de amor, directed by Marta Matute, was named Best Spanish Film. The Golden Biznaga for Best Ibero-American Film was awarded to El jardín que soñamos, directed by Joaquín del Paso. That film dominated the awards, also taking home prizes for Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography. The Special Jury Prize went to Ian de la Rosa for Iván & Hadoum, who was also recognized for the film’s screenplay.

Acting honors went to leads Nicolás Zárate and Júlia Mascort, with special mentions for Silver Chicón and Ángeles Pradal. Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards were given to Tomás del Estal and María Magdalena Sanizo. Additionally, Hangar rojo, directed by Juan Pablo Sallato, won both the Critics' Jury award and the Audience Award.

The ZonaZine section named La carn by Joan Porcel the best Spanish film, while Oca by Karla Badillo and We Are The Jungle by Gwai Lou were recognized for their direction in the Ibero-American category.

A wide variety of other formats were also celebrated: the documentary Como todo mortal by María Molina Peiró, and short films Los días azules, Talk me, Pinchu es así, and Las desqueridas were honored across the fiction, animation, and local Málaga production categories. Finally, Les enfants vont bien received recognition in the Mosaico section, rounding out a festival that showcased the latest trends in Spanish-language cinema.