The SGAE Foundation Presents Awards in Sitges to Students from Several Film Schools

Students from the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), the Escola de Cinema de Barcelona (ECIB) and the IDEM Barcelona - Creative Arts School have won the awards for Best Direction/Production, Best Screenplay and Best Original Music, respectively, at the 23rd edition of the SGAE Nova Autoria Awards. These awards, given by the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE-Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers) and the SGAE Foundation, through the SGAE's Territorial Council in Catalonia, are part of the official list of winners at the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. The verdict reading ceremony was held this Saturday, October 7th, at the Prado Movie Theater in Sitges.  

Director and screenwriter Jaume Balagueró; screenwriter, author and script editor Marta Grau, and film composer, vocalist and singer-songwriter Alfonso de Vilallonga were the three members of the awards jury. 

The SGAE Nova Autoria Award for Best Direction/Production went to Mikel Garrido, director and screenwriter of the short film Tenemos patria, presented by the ESCAC. According to the jury, it deserved the award "for its narrative strength, for its ability to captivate viewers with an apparently simple story that is full of nuances, and for its quality and credibility in all the aspects that shape the narrative".

Karen Joaquín, director and screenwriter of the short film O que me parta un rayo, presented by the ECIB, picked up the SGAE Nova Autoria Award for Best Screenplay. According to the jury, she was given the award "for its original idea, which is surprising in its dramatic development, as well as for the construction of solvent and plausible characters". Karen Joaquín's short film also received a special mention "for the excellent performance of its two main characters and for the director's unique vision, which captivated the members of the Nova Autoria 2023 jury". 

The SGAE Nova Autoria Award for Best Original Music went to Márcio Echevarria, composer of the soundtrack 'The Sun Thief', presented by the IDEM Barcelona. The jury considers that he deserved the award "for accompanying this animated story with a journey of evolving music that is very inspired in its taste and instrumentation, alternating more minimalist moments with more epic ones; a soundtrack, moreover, perfectly adaptable to be orchestrated (in the event of availability of resources)". 

The audience of the Noves Visions section was able to see the 10 shortlisted films that the jury had selected from among the 39 that were presented. In this 23rd edition, 18 different universities and film schools from around Catalonia participated in the competition.

The members of the jury were in charge of the verdict reading ceremony. The event was also attended by the Mayor of Sitges, the Hon. Ms. Aurora Carbonell; the Director of the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, Ángel Sala, and the Director of the SGAE Members' Experience and Director of the SGAE in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Luis Gómez. 

The SGAE at the Sitges Film Festival 

The SGAE and the SGAE Foundation, through the SGAE's Territorial Council in Catalonia, have been collaborating and maintaining their involvement with the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia for more than two decades. This year, both organizations are participating in the film competition by organizing the exhibition "Animation! From The Enchanted Sword to Robot Dreams", a journey through the more than 100 years of history of animated film in our country; collaborating in a round table discussion as part of Sitges Industry's Woman in Fan program, focused on the visibility and incorporation of female creators in fantastic filmmaking; and the SGAE Nova Autoria Awards, in the Noves Visions section.