'Beyond the Hills' Tops Mar del Plata Film Fest

10:48 AM PST 11/27/2012 by Agustin Mango

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"Beyond the Hills"

Romania's entry for the foreign language film section of the Oscars nabs the Golden Astor, while Fernando Lavandero's "Las cosas como son" wins Latin American competition.

BUENOS AIRES – Cristian Mungiu’s Beyond the Hills, which is Romania's entry for the foreign language film section for the Oscars, picked up the Golden Astor for Best Film at the Mar del Plata International Film Fest, which closed last weekend and screened over 300 films.

Cannes Awards 2012: Michael Haneke, Mads Mikkelsen and 'Beyond the Hills'

Beyond the Hills: Cannes Review

Organized by the Argentine Film Institute (INCAA), the 27th edition of the fest brought over 100,000 people to the theaters, and premiered over 50 Argentine films. The only A class festival in South America also held Latin American and Argentine competitions. The first one was topped by Chilean Fernando Lavanderos’ Las cosas como son, while the local winner was Hermanos de sangre, directed by Daniel de la Vega.

FILM REVIEW: Beyond the Hills

The diverse program included a focus on young South Korean filmmakers, presented by the directors themselves. The numerous Korean delegation was championed by KOFIC chairman Kim Eui-Suk, who signed a cooperation agreement with INCAA president Liliana Mazure.

“The fine period our cinema is going through is really moving. That’s why it’s important to maintain this policy of promotion we’ve been carrying out both locally and abroad. This new agreement with the KOFIC will surely open new doors to have our films and filmmakers be known around the world, and to push for co-productions,” said Mazure.

PHOTOS: Cannes Awards 2012: Michael Haneke, Mads Mikkelsen and 'Beyond the Hills'

Other international guests included Sandrine Bonnaire, Thomas Mauch, Peter Medak, Lamberto Bava, Bertrand Bonello and French singer Soko. Most of the guests participated in the Master Classes program, which also featured a conference by Oscar winner Juan Jose Campanella (The Secret In Their Eyes) where he presented his upcoming 3D animated film Fusball, scheduled for a 2013 release and expected to be the year's biggest local hit.

This year the fest screened more than 70 local films, a record number. "The reason was simple", said fest President Jose Martinez Suarez: "they were all good".

Full awards list:

International Competition

Best Film: Beyond the Hills, by Cristian Mungiu

Best Director: Reis Çelik, for Night of Silence

Best Script: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram and Amy Jump, for Sightseers (Ben Wheatley)

Best Actor: Ílyas Salman, for Night of Silence (Reis Çelik) / Pablo Pinto, for De martes a martes (Gustavo Triviño)

Best Actress: Soko, for Augustine (Alice Winocour)

Special mention: Memories Look at Me, by Song Fang

Latin American Competition

Best Film: Las cosas como son, by Fernando Lavanderos

Mentions: El Bella Vista, by Alicia Cano / Post Tenebras Lux, by Carlos Reygadas

Best Short Film: Reality 2.0, by Víctor Orozco Ramírez