“The Snow Society” by J.A. Bayona and “20,000 Species of Bees” sweep the Platino Awards. A triumphant night for Spain!
In a triumphant night for Spain, the Oscar-nominated “Snow Society” by J.A. Bayona swept the major awards at the Platino Xcaret, named after the location of this year’s Platino Awards held at the Xcaret Resort, Riviera Maya, Mexico.
The challenging situation of Argentine cinema, exacerbated by the closure of the Argentine Film Institute, INCAA, by far-right President Javier Milei, was also on many people’s minds.
Citing veteran Argentine filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain as one of his inspirations, Bayona said upon receiving his Best Director award: “Argentina, we are here by your side, you are not alone.” Bayona’s poignant narrative about the 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 accident, from which only 16 people survived after being stranded in the Andes for 72 days, became the second most-watched non-English film on Netflix of all time. “I wouldn’t be here without the book written by Pablo Vierci,” said Bayona, who also thanked his cast and crew upon winning Best Feature Film.
The acclaimed directorial debut of Basque director Estibaliz Urresola, “20,000 Species of Bees,” about an eight-year-old girl struggling with her gender identity, was also a big winner, taking home four awards, including Best Directorial Debut. Xcaret was also the stage for a gathering of Argentine filmmakers and their supporters from across Ibero-America to protest the disastrous changes affecting Argentina’s acclaimed film industry, which boasted 25 Platino nominations this year.
Chile also scored big wins at this 11th edition, with Pablo Larraín’s “The Count” and Maite Alberdi’s poignant documentary, “Eternal Memory,” both Oscar nominees, securing awards. Renowned Chilean actor Alfredo Castro won the Best Actor in a Series award for his portrayal of Salvador Allende in “The Thousand Days of Allende.”
“There may be few Argentine films next year,” lamented Argentine actress Cecilia Roth, who received the Honorary Platino Award. “For me, the Platino Awards are like a whole country where we can meet, interact, and tell each other stories,” she pointed out. “Our industry is fragile, let’s keep nurturing it,” she added. Projects from 23 countries were presented in this edition.
“They are killing our cinema, they are killing our culture,” declared Argentine actor and singer Andy Chango, the first to take the stage to receive an award for his performance in the miniseries “Love After Love.”
Daniel Burman from Argentina, winner of the Best Creator of a Miniseries or TV Series award for “Iosi, the Repentant Spy,” produced by The Mediapro Studio’s Burman Office for Prime Video and highlighted by The New York Times as one of the best TV shows of 2023, also mentioned the crisis in his country.
“The Snow Society” also won the Audience Award for Best Ibero-American Film, presented the day before the main event.
Meanwhile, “The Body in Flames” won the Audience Award for Best Miniseries or Series, while Enzo Vogrincic for “Snow Society,” Dolores Fonzi for “Blondi,” Santiago Korovsky for “Palermo Division,” and Úrsula Corberó for “The Body in Flames” took home audience awards in the acting categories.
The 12th Platino Awards will be held in Madrid next year. Xcaret will alternate with Madrid as the venue for the next four years.
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