Malaga's top prize goes to Patricia Ferreira's The Wild Boys

The Wild Boys (Els nens salvatges) won the Malaga Film Festival’s Golden Biznaga. This film, directed by Patricia Ferreira, tells the story of three troubled teenagers whose emotional isolation will lead them to cross the boundaries and shake society. The film has also won the prize for best script (Ferreira and Virgina Yagüe) and for best supporting actor (for Alex Monner) and supporting actress (Aina Clotet). 

The Malaga winner is produced by Distinto Films, Aralan Films and Televisió de Catalunya, public broadcaster from Catalonia and co-producer of titles like Black Bread and Midnight in Paris. The film is in the Catalan language and will open in Spain dubbed in Spanish under the title Los niños salvajes. The director has said “that is a film that defends youth and alerts adults about how we take care of them”. 

Paco Leon won critical acclaim for his debut, Carmina o Revienta, which won the Silver Biznaga. This portrayal is of his own mother, a woman who struggles to survive in a poor neighborhood from Sevilla. A mixture of fiction and documentary, critics have praised its wild combination of comedy and drama. Non-professional actres Carmina Barrios also won the prize for the best actress and the film took the Silver Biznaga from audience votes. 

The prize for best direction has gone to Imanol Uribe for Miel de naranjas. A veteran Spanish filmmaker, Uribe tells the story of a military during the ’50s who rebels against the Franco dictatorship when he discovers the true face of the regime he is defending. 

Antonio Dechent won best actor for A puerta fría (Xavi Puebla), about a desperate salesman. It has also been distinguished with the critics prize Silver Biznaga FNAC. 

Alvaro Cervantes, for El sexo de los ángeles, won ex aequo the prize for best supporting actor and Angela Molina has a mention of the jury as supporting actress for Miel de naranjas. The Pelayos won for best editing; Wilaya for best music score and El sexo de los ángeles for best cinematography. The young jury gaveits prize to Memorias de mis putas tristes. 

Documentary Kaminambo, by Carla Subirana, Abdelatif Hwidar and Adan Aliaga, about the life of thrre youngsters in Nigeria had a mention from the jury. The parallel section Zona Zine crowned 12+1, una historia metafisica, by Chiqui Carabante, a surrealist comedy about the followers of a preacher in the desert with echos of Monty Python.