The 24th edition of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival - one of the Americas' Class A fests, and one of the world's Class A competitions, along with Berlin, Venice, Toronto, and Cannes - wrapped up yesterday, with the Astor de Oro Best Picture Award going to the Mexican entry Cinco días sin Nora, by Mariana Chenillo.

Cinco días sin Nora is the comical story of a husband who must pay all expenses and take care of everything when his wife, Nora, commits suicide simply to bother her husband.

Best Director went to Palestine's Elia Suleima for The Time That Remains (El tiempo que queda), "an examination of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 through to the present day."

Spain's Gary Piquer claimed Best Actor for Bad Day For Fishing (Mal día para pescar). In it, Jacob van Oppen, tagged the "strongest man on earth," and his manager, ‘the Prince‘, make a living travelling around small South American towns where they hold wrestling exhibitions.
US artist Allison Janney - she of Juno fame - picked up the Astor Award for Best Actress for Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime, in which "friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in a war-torn world."

In a controversial move, the Mardel Fest bestowed a Special Mention to "Dirty Realism" director José Campusano for his motorbiker story Vikingo. Campusano's previous features are Legión, a documentary about motorbikers' lives, and the award-winning LGBT movie Vile Romance, a raw depiction of same-sex politics among the lower strata of society.. Another Special Mention went to Russian director Andrey Khrzhanovskiy for A Room and a Half, a semi-fictional account of the life and work of Russian poet Josef Brodsky, forced into US exile in 1972.
Best Screenplay went to Spain's V.O.S., directed by Cesc Gay, and the Jury Special Prize went to Cuba's El cuerno de la abundancia.

The Work in Progress award went Las Caracas, by Andrés Cedrón; thanks to the award, granted by Kodak/Cinecolor, Cedrón will be able to finish his film and transfer the 16mm print to 35mm.

In the Latin American Official Competition, the Best Short Prize winner was Bolivia's La chirola, by Diego Mondaca, while the Best Picture Award went to Uruguayan director Pablo Stoll's Hiroshima, who had previously codirected the acclaimed 25 Watts and Whisky. Second prize went to Ana y Mateo, by Natural Arpajou.

The Ventana Sur section awarded its main distinction to Sofía Mora for La hora de la siesta. Ventana Sur is the most important Latin American section of the Mardel Fest.

The Mardel Fest awarded Special Mentions to the documentary Padres de la Plaza: 10 recorridos posibles, by Joaquín Daglio, and two to TL2 La Felicidad es una leyenda urbana, by Tetsuo Lumiere, and El hombre de al lado, by the duo Gastón Duprat-Mariano Cohn, who previously made the little-seen gem art world spoof El artista.

The International Press Federation (Fipresci) prize went to the short Elvira en el Río Loro, by Tucumán's José Villafañe, while Campusano's Vikingo claimed the Federation's Best Picture.

The Signis Prize, granted by the World Catholic Organization for Communication, went to Cesc Gay's V.O.S. The Signis Grand Prix was award to South Korea's Mother, by Bonn Joon-ho.

The Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos Argentinos (Argentine Film Critics' Association) gave a Special Mention to Andrey Khrzhanovskiy for A Room and a Half, and Best Picture to The Time That Remains, by Elia Suleiman.

The Iberoamerican Federation of Film Schools granted a Special Mention to the film Andrés no quiere dormir la siesta, by Argentina's Daniel Bustamante, and the Feisal Prize to the feature El Perseguidor, by Argentina's Víctor Cruz.

The prize-giving ceremony was held last night at the Teatro Auditorium. The 24th edition of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival's attendance increased with respect to last year. Explaining the lack of film stars and hence little or no red carpet attention, "The true stars were the movies themselves," festival programmer José Martínez Suárez said.