CANCUN, April 21 (from Europa Press special envoy Francisco Serrano) –
The Platino Awards gala in Riviera Maya (Mexico) concluded this Saturday, April 20 after a ceremony lasting more than two hours in which JA Bayona and ‘La Sociedad de la Nieve’ were the great winners of one night , marked by slight criticism of the situation of Argentine cinema, and in which Spain has swept a total of 16 awards from the 23 awarded categories.
Bayona’s production has collected a total of six awards in the seven categories to which it aspired. Among them, JA Bayona has collected the award for Best Director and Best Ibero-American Fiction Film. The filmmaker has supported Argentine culture and has defended that cinema is a “tool of expression” and that being against cinema is “being against your own country.”
“Cinema is a tool of expression. To be against cinema is to be against your own country. Argentina, here we are. You are not alone. Up with Argentine cinema,” he claimed when he collected the statuette for best director.
JA Bayona dedicated the award to his parents, whom he thanked for the “education and culture” received. “Today I am here thanks to them. I come from a humble place. My parents did not have the freedom to choose whether to study or work. My mother started working at the age of 9 and my father at 15. For them the education and culture of their children,” he said.
Later, when collecting the statuette for Best Ibero-American Fiction Film, Bayona acknowledged that releasing the film has been “difficult” and praised the fact that it had more than 250 million viewers, which made it the third film most viewed of the year and the most viewed Spanish film on Netflix. “We have to do things differently to change the rules of the game. We have all the tools to do it and we also have the public we have to seduce. We have the talent to do it. It has been a pleasure to return to Spain to rediscover my essence as director,” he stated.
The film’s first awards have arrived after the halfway point of the gala. The first of them was in Best Editing and was followed by the statuettes in the photography direction category; sound direction.
The actresses Majida Issa and Esmeralda Pimentel have been the two in charge of presenting the XI Platinum Awards, which began punctually at 8:00 p.m. local time and have returned to Mexico after three editions held in Madrid due to the pandemic. In the opening speech, the presenters have claimed “cultural freedom” in Argentina and have praised Spanish as the common language of many countries, in addition to pointing out that it is the first time that two women have taken charge of the event. “Women up,” they have emphasized.
Among the winners, ‘20,000 species of bees’ also stood out, which has won three awards – in addition to one more in the acting category -: Best script, Best debut film and the award for cinema and education in values. In the first of them, its director Estíbaliz Urresola has praised the diversity of the Basque Country and that is reflected in the Platinum Awards. “I come from the Basque Country, a territory where up to three languages are spoken and which is divided by a border. I feel part of the diversity that these awards encompass, where there are so many cuisines, cultures and people,” she stated.
When she collected the award for Best First Fiction Feature, the director asked that women stop being “objectified” and urged to “change” the narratives.
In the category of Best Animated Film, ‘Robot dreams’ by Pablo Berger has won the statuette, as it did at the Goya Awards or the Forqué Awards, and in his speech he wished “a long life” to Ibero-American cinema. The film has also won Platinum for Best Original Score.
The Spanish successes have been replicated throughout almost the entire gala, such as in the category of best female performance, which went to Laia Costa, who was not able to attend the gala, something that has been repeated among some winners, while Enzo Vogrincic (‘The Snow Society’) has won the award for best male performance.
The Spanish triumph has continued in the female category for supporting a miniseries or television series, where Carmen Machi has won the award for her role in ‘La Mesías’, by Los Javis, although she did not attend the gala due to her professional commitments. In the male category, Argentine actor Andy Chango has won the award for best actor in a miniseries or television series and has stressed that culture is being “killed” in Argentina. “The world is dying and the culture that we love so much will no longer exist,” he commented.
Lola Dueñas has also been awarded for her role as Montserrat in ‘La Mesías’ in the category of Best Female Performance in a Miniseries or TV Series, and has dedicated it to her two “jewels”, in reference to Los Javis.
The national success has continued with José Coronado, Platinum winner for best supporting male performance in ‘Cerrar los Ojos’ and with Ane Gabarain, Best supporting female performance, for ‘20,000 species of bees’, both actors have not been able to attend Quote. Spain has also repeated its success in the Best Ibero-American Fiction Comedy Category, with the film ‘Bajoterapia’, by Gerardo Herrero.
Among the rest of the winners, filmmaker Daniel Burman has won the Platinum for Best Creator of a Series or Teleserye for ‘Iosi, the repentant spy’, which tells the story of an Argentine intelligence agent who infiltrates the Jewish community. In the category of Best Documentary Film, the Chilean Maite Alberdi and her ‘Infinite Memory’ have managed to surpass other productions such as ‘El Judgment’ (Argentina); ‘The memory of cinema, a film about Fernando Méndez-Leite’ (Spain) and ‘A pack called Ernesto’ (Mexico). For Best Cinematographic Miniseries or Teleseries, the series ‘Barrabrava’, from Uruguay, has won the award.
In addition, the Platinum Award for Art Direction went to Rodrigo Bazaes for the Chilean film ‘El conde’, by Pablo Larraín. Chile has also repeated its success with the Best Male Performance in a Miniseries or Teleseries, with actor Alfredo Castro for his lead role in ‘The Thousand Days of Allende’.
CECILIA ROTH ASKS FOR “CONSCIENCE” FROM IBERO-AMERICAN CINEMA
For the rest, the Platino Awards have awarded the Honor Award to Cecilia Roth, who has asked the entire Ibero-American industry to be aware that cinema must be taken care of because “it is always in danger.”
“I need to say that we have to take care of our cinema, which is always in danger. The Ibero-American community is one cinema, one country. When one has problems, we have to be attentive and help them. I am not asking for help, I am asking that we be aware of the place that we occupy. Let us turn that struggle, that resistance and those dreams into truth for the cinema that we make,” he stated.
Also at the gala, Rocío Durcal was honored, who died in 2006, and with a great career and respected both in Mexico and Spain. Thus, the first song in her memory has been performed by Ana Mena, who has covered ‘The Cat Under the Rain’.
Furthermore, in the musical section, the highlight has been the initial performance by Diana Hoyos and Gerónimo Rauch, who performed ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, a score by composer Lucas Vidal; the song ‘Obsesión’, by Juan Gabriel, performed by Ángela Aguilar.
The music has also paid tribute to Mexican traditions and audiovisuals with the songs ‘La bikina’ and ‘México en la piedra’, both by Luis Miguel, and ‘La llorona’, by Chavela Vargas, with three voices: Ana Guerra, Mariaca Semprún and Majida Issa. The gala was closed by David Bisbal with his song ‘Esclavo de tus kisses’ or ‘Ave María’.