XVIII Vinaròs Agustí Comes International Short Film Festival – And the winners are …

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Finally, the winners of the 18th edition of the Vinaròs Agustí Comes International Short Film Festival was announced last Saturday. The presenter Noemí Polls conducted a ceremony with pleasant surprises such as the presence of the two directors of the winning short films together with an actor in one of the winner films and an actress of the other.

The gala kicked off with the screening of 12 flashes of the 12 finalist short films that opted for the jury prize and the public prize, apart from the 5 that were screened out of competition for the Macedonia section.

Both prizes consisted of an economic endowment of € 1,000 each and a sculpture, unique piece, by Lukas Ulmi.

The jury prize was unveiled by Daniel Gascó, film critic and president of the jury this year. After reading a careful and accurate record full of clues about the winning work, he revealed that the winning short film was The Trip. This magnificent short film moved those who had not seen it and allowed to detect more details to those who already saw it in the JJ cinema. Mr. Manuel Molinos Borras, president of the Caixa Vinaròs Foundation, proceeded to deliver the award to the excited director Jang Sung Won who dared to say his words of thanks in Spanish. The actress Yuri Bae was also present.

This edition was once again a resounding success of the public whose massive influx to JJ Cinema caused long queues and many people were unable to enter into several sessions. Recalling that the capacity of the cinema is 425 people, it was indicated that the influx of the public in the official section had exceeded 1,275 people. These spectators determined with their vote the winner of this year’s audience award that has been for Pizza. This comedy of just 8 minutes, with 2 protagonists in a small space and few resources used an elaborate and comical dialogue to prevail over the other 11 proposals. They went to collect the prize Aitor De Kintana, director of the short film, and Edu Carcamo, who is the actor whose character ordered a pizza. Curiously, the actors in this short film have the same names in real life as in fiction.

Mr. Marc Albella, acting mayor of the city and tourism councilor, presented the jury award to Aitor de Kintana and Edu Carcamo.

Without subtracting any merit to this short film, because it has them all, it should be considered that it was favored by a festival with many dramatic stories that increased the desire for comedy by the public. Surely the fact of being screened on the last day of the official section and along with other very dramatic content has contributed to its choice. In any case, an outstanding short film that knows how to take advantage of a situation and limited resources with imagination, leaving the viewer with a lot of food for thinking. Other short films with greater resources aren’t able to go so far.

In short, another great ceremony that ends with the slogan phrase: «As long as there are people are wishing to make short films and people wanting to see them, the Vinaròs Agustí Comes International Short Film Festival will continue to exist.» We hope that this desire continues to increase.