'The Golden Cage' Tops Mar del Plata Film Fest

Diego Quemada-Diez's film also picked the Audience Award, while Mariana Rondon’s "Bad Hair" won best director and script.

DiegoQuemada-Diez’s The Golden Cage won the best film award in the international competition of the Mar del Plata Film Fest, which closed Saturday night in a ceremony headed by Liliana Mazure, head of the Argentine Film Institute, and the country’s vice president, Amado Boudu.

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A road movie about three teenage Guatemalan immigrants on their way to the U.S. that premiered at Cannes this year,The Golden Cage also picked up the Audience Award. The international jury was composed of Bong Joon-ho, Javier Angulo,  Paula Astorga Riestra,Guillermo Martínez and Luciano Sovena.

This year’s San Sebastian winner, Bad Hair, also went home with a double win: It grabbed best script and best director for Mariana Rondon.

Claudia Sainte-Luce’s family melodrama The Amazing Catfish topped the Latin American competition, while Adriano Salgado’s The Use of a Magazine Rack won the best film award in the Argentine competition.

Among non-official awards, the FIPRESCI jury awardedEduardo Villanueva’s Penumbra, while the Cinematographers Association ADF also picked The Golden Cage.

The 28th edition of the Mar del Plata Film Festival kicked off Nov. 16 and screened more than 400 films, with an attendance of more than 130,000 spectators in eight days, according to festival numbers.

A complete list of winners follows.

International Competition

Best Film: The Golden Cage (Jorge Quemada-Diez)
Best Director: Mariana Rondon, for Bad Hair
Best Actor: Vincent Macaigne, for Age of Panic (Justine Triet)
Best Actress: Marian Alvarez, for Wounded (Fernando Franco)
Best Script: Bad Hair (Mariana Rondon)
Special Jury Prize: Little Feet (Alexandre Rockwell)
Special Mention: Bright Day (Hossein Shahabi)

Latin American Competition
Best Latin American Film: The Amazing Cat Fish (Claudia Sainte-Luce)

Argentine Competition
Best Argentine Film: La utilidad de un revistero (Adriano Salgado)
Best Argentine Director: Ada Frontini, for Escuela de sordos

Short Film Competitions
Best Latin American Short Film: Nadie especial (Juan Alejandro Ramirez)
Best Argentine Short Film: Espacio personal (Natural Arpajou)
Best Argentine Short Film Director: Mariano Luque, for Sociales