‘Ahora vuelvo’ wins the 13th edition of the Girona Fantastic and Horror Film Festival Acocollona’t

2023-12-09 23:19:33

The 13th edition of the Girona Fantasy and Horror Film Festival, Acocollona’t, has awarded ‘Ahora vuelvo’ by directors Lucas Paulino and Gabe Ibáñez as the best short in the official section. During the award ceremony, which took place this Saturday evening at the Josep Irla Auditorium in Girona, presented by the communicator Karen Madrid, the winners of other categories were also awarded, such as student shorts, that of quick painting, that of shorts created in less than 24 hours or those of comic strips. L’Acocollona’t has brought terror and fantasy to different spaces in the city since last Friday with more than a dozen activities aimed at all audiences.

The award ceremony, presented by the communicator Karen Madrid and which was held this Saturday at the Josep Irla Auditorium in Girona, has begun with the screening of the dozen short films from the Acocotut (the short film competition aimed at students and educational centers in the Girona regions) and the twenty that competed in the Acocoexprés (short films made in 24 hours).

At the gala, the Acocollona’t jury announced that the award for best short film in the official section went to ‘Ahora vuelvo’ by directors Lucas Paulino and Gabe Ibáñez and which has the participation of the actress Belen Cuesta The jury highlighted the quality of the production and the performances of the protagonists: “A proposal that plays perfectly with the terror that we all suffered at some point in childhood of being left alone at home”. This was also the short that won the audience award.

The second prize went to ‘No hay fantasmas’ by Nacho Solana. In the words of the jury, “never has a story without a fantastic element taken us so far into a fantastic world”. The jury wanted to make a special mention of ‘Siluro, la bestia del Ebro’ by Jordi O. Romero, while the Festival organization also wanted to highlight ‘La pesadilla de un moco’ by Dani Blanc.

Other categories

The winner of the Acocotut 2023 was ‘Unjustified delay’ by the students of the Sant Elm Institute in Sant Feliu de Guíxols “for being an almost round piece with great technical and artistic quality”. The jury also wanted to make a special mention of the short film ‘Approved by death’ from the La Miquela de Bescanó Institute “for its quality and atmosphere”.

As for the Acocoexprés, the shorts created in less than 24 hours, the jury has chosen as the best short ‘At the end of the tunnel’ by Guillem Munné and Ester Bertran. The jury wanted to award ‘At the end of the tunnel’ “for creating a distressing story making good use of the proposed surprise elements while adding nods to the most classic psychokillers of the seventh art”.

The second award went to Albert Portal’s ‘EMDG Redux’ “for creating a story full of tension, well planned and fully exploring the possibilities of the parking lot as one of the most popular locations in the horror genre”. The jury also wanted to make a special mention of the short ‘Barbie Hell’, “a simple but well-plotted and dialogued story, while wittily evoking the subgenre of devilish children”.

At the award ceremony, the winners of the Acocoràpida, the second edition of the Acocollona’t speed painting competition, which was held on Friday in the streets of Girona’s Old Town, were also recognized. The first prize was once again for Narcís Menció Bou “for conveying the blood and liver that is the brand of the house and for its large format with little time, the colors and the composition”. The second prize was taken by Anna Herrera, inspired by the romantic and fantastic story of vampires in love on the Rambla. And the children’s award went to nine-year-old Lara Limnell.

Finally, in the Acococomòmic, in which comic strips can be presented, the jury has decided to award the first prize to Miquel Casas “for his capacity for parody and concreteness in the reformulation of key psychokillers in the history of cinema” .

13th edition of the festival

Acocollona’t, Girona’s Fantastic and Horror Film Festival, opened its 13th edition on Friday 1 December and has brought more than a dozen activities to different cultural spaces in the city. This year, short films and films could be seen at the Truffaut Cinema, the La Mercè Cultural Center and the Josep Irla Auditorium. In addition, activities have been organized at the Air-raid Shelter of the Jardí d’Infancia and the Civic Center of the Old Quarter-Mercadal, among others.

In terms of programming, beyond the screening of shorts, this edition has continued with the ‘Acocoràpida’ speed painting competition, inspired by the streets of the Old Quarter. The communicator Jorge Rios, of Informe Enigma, has collaborated with the Festival by offering a talk on genre cinema based on real events, giving a workshop to learn how to record psychophonies and has been the guide of the mysterious routes in the Old Quarter where this year he was able to access the basement of the Cathedral of Girona.

Marta Sanz and Ignasi Arbat, who are responsible for the podcast about cinema, series and comics, Marta Sanz and Ignasi Arbat, have also wanted to collaborate with the Festival, and have recorded a special program live at the Civic Center of the Old Barri-Mercadal, open to public, with the participation of the translator and dubber Lluís Comes.

It was also possible to enjoy special screenings of horror classics and the presentation in Girona of ‘La mesita del comedor’, the horror film that is sweeping the festivals directed by Caye Casas.

The Festival has the support of the City Council and the Diputació de Girona, the ICEC of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya.