The Mexican production “50 o Dos Ballenas se Encuentran en la Playa” directed by Jorge Cuchí was awarded the Films in Progress Toulouse Award and the Special Ciné+ in Progress Award at the 2020 Films in Progress Toulouse organized by the San Sebastian Festival and Cinélatino, Rencontres de Toulouse.

Films in Progress was created in 2002 by San Sebastian Festival and Cinélatino, Rencontres de Toulouse to back the production of Latin American cinema and to achieve the completion of films at the post-production stage.

Following the closing of this year’s event, the San Sebastian Festival announced that they will no longer form part of the Films in Progress structure, although the initiative will continue to run in Toulouse, revamped with new collaborations.

Among the films bearing the Films in Progress stamp are Historias mínimas (Intimate Stories) by Carlos Sorín, Special Jury Prize at the San Sebastian Festival; La sombra del caminante (The Wandering Shadows),by Ciro Guerra; Sangre (Blood), by Amat Escalante, screened in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Festival; Tony Manero by Pablo Larraín, selected for the Directors’ Fortnight; Gloria, by Sebastián Lelio, winner of the Silver Bear for best actress in Berlin; Pelo malo (Bad Hair) by Mariana Rondón, Golden Shell in San Sebastian; Ixcanul, the first film by Jayro Bustamante, Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution; and Rara, the debut by Pepa San Martín, Generation KPlus award winner, also in Berlin. More recently, El verano de los peces voladores and Los perros (The Summer of Flying Fish and The Dogs) by Marcela Said, selected respectively for the Directors’ Fortnight and the Critics’ Week in Cannes; Desde Allá (From Afar), by Lorenzo Vigas garnered the Golden Lion in Venice; Temporada de caza (Hunting Season), by Natalia Garagiola, People’s Choice Award winner at the Critics’ Week in Venice; Los Silencios, the debut by Beatriz Seigner, screened at the Quinzaine; Los Tiburones (The Sharks), first work by Lucía Garibaldi, best director award at the Sundance Festival; Ceniza negra (Land of Ashes) first work by Sofia Quiros Ubeda screened at the Critics’ Week in Cannes, Blanco en blanco (White on White) by Théo Court, winner of the FIPRESCI Prize and best film in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Festival; Algunas bestias (Some Beasts) by Jorge Riquelme, New Directors Award in San Sebastian, and Sin señas particulares (Identifying Features), first work by Fernanda Valadez, winner of the audience and best screenplay awards at Sundance.

FILMS IN PROGRESS TOULOUSE AWARD

50 O DOS BALLENAS SE ENCUENTRAN EN LA PLAYA
JORGE CUCHÍ (MEXICO)

Félix, a 16-year-old boy, receives an invitation: Do you want to play the Blue Whale, the game with 50 challenges, the one where you’ve got to commit suicide at the end? Félix accepts. After completing 44, the Game Master (the anonymous person who sets the challenges) instructs him to meet another player, another blue whale. Félix goes along and meets Elisa. The couple start completing the challenges together. First Film.

KARNAWAL
JUAN PABLO FÉLIX (ARGENTINA – BRAZIL – MEXICO – CHILE – BOLIVIA )

During the Carnival, on the border between Argentina and Bolivia, while preparing for the most important dance contest of her life, a young dancer is unexpectedly visited by her father, a recalcitrant thief who will put her dream in danger.

SPECIAL CINÉ+ IN PROGRESS AWARD

50 O DOS BALLENAS SE ENCUENTRAN EN LA PLAYA
JORGE CUCHÍ (MEXICO)

Félix, a 16-year-old boy, receives an invitation: Do you want to play the Blue Whale, the game with 50 challenges, the one where you’ve got to commit suicide at the end? Félix accepts. After completing 44, the Game Master (the anonymous person who sets the challenges) instructs him to meet another player, another blue whale. Félix goes along and meets Elisa. The couple start completing the challenges together. First Film.

EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTORS AND EXHIBITORS AWARD (tie)

EL OTRO TOM
RODRIGO PLÁ (MEXICO)

Elena is Tom’s mother. The two have a tense relationship, plagued with trouble and conflict. She is a single mother, dependent on the welfare services, and he is a boy with serious behavioral difficulties. The father’s absence is part of a painful construction of mutual bitterness.

MEMORY HOUSE
JOÃO PAULO MIRANDA (BRAZIL – FRANCE)

Cristovam, a native from the Brazilian hinterland, works in a milk factory in a former Austrian colony in Brazil. He feels lonely, ostracized by cultural and ethnic differences. One day, he discovers an abandoned house filled with objects that remind him of his origins. He slowly settles in this house. Curiously, more objects start to appear without explanation, as if the place was alive. First film.