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| Aguilar Film Festival celebrated its 37th edition Photo: Courtesy of Aguilar Film Festival |
Scotland-based filmmaker Theo Panagopoulos was among the winners at the Aguilar Film Festival, which celebrates short form work in Aguilar de Campoo in Spain.
The Greek-Lebanese-Palestinian's The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing, won a Special Jury Award. His film, which premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival, focuses on relcaimed footage of Scottish film archive of Palestinian wild flowers and, according to the Scottish Documentary Institute "questions the role of image-making as a tool of both testimony and violence when connected to entanglements between people and the land".
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| Theo Panagopoulos, Photo: Courtesy of Aguilar Film Festival |
The Best Short Film award went to the homegrown El cuerpo De Cristo, directed by Bea Lema The 37th edition of the festival closed on December 7 in the town, which is known for its industrial heritage and, particularly, biscuit making.
The film was praised for its sober and reflective approach to memory and visual testimony, aligning with the festival’s sensitivity toward formally rigorous and socially engaged cinematic proposals.
The festival’s official competition featured several other British short films, further emphasising the strong representation of UK cinema in this year’s edition. These included Easy Sell by Ken Abalos and Ash Meshkati; Awaiting The Lightning Bolt by Marco Russo; Notes From Planet Three by Simon Ellis; Reynard The Fox by Maddy Pull; WildKind (Irish Language) by John McDaid; Rock, Paper, Scissors by Franz Bohm; Stomach Bug by Matty Crawford; and Milk Miranda by Stern.
The award ceremony took place during an especially emotional closing gala, also marked by the presentation of the festival’s Golden Eagle Award to actor Fernando Cayo, who received the prize from Aguilar’s mayor, María José Ortega. Visibly moved, the actor highlighted the importance of the AFF and expressed his gratitude for receiving the recognition “at home.” The evening also served as a farewell to Jorge Sanz, festival director for 37 years.
The full list of winners is below:
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| The Flowers Stand Silently Witnessing |
- Best Short Film of the Festival: El cuerpo de Cristo – Bea Lema (Spain)
- Special Mention: The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing – Theo Panagopoulos (United Kingdom)
- Best Spanish Short Film: La desesperació de la pell – Mireia Vilapuig (Spain)
- Best Animated Short Film: La diva, mi abuela y yo – Inés G. Aparicio (Spain)
- Best Director: Nausica Serra – Disecció d’una incoherència en crisi (Spain)
- Best Actress: Belén Ponce de León – California (Spain)
- Best Actor: Tomáš Čapek – Dog and Wolf (Czech Republic)
- Best Screenplay: David Pinheiro – Os Caçadores (Portugal)
- Best Cinematography: Ilya Sapeha – Majonezë (US)
- Best Editing: Maxime Jean-Baptiste – O Rio de Janeiro continua lindo (Belgium)
- Best Art Direction: Michael Granberry – Les bêtes (US)
- Audience Award: Zwermen – Swinkels & Frijsinger (Netherlands/Belgium)
- Young Jury Award: Una vez en un cuerpo – Mª Cristina Pérez González (Colombia)
- Social Values Award: Skin on Skin – Simon Schneckenburger (Germany)
- AA. Weaving Change Award: Favours – Agnes Skonare (Sweden)
- AA. Sound Alert Award: Grilo por Cao Sozinho – Marta Reis Andrade (Portugal)
