{"id":9942,"date":"2026-08-24T17:13:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecu.edu.uy\/sitioweb\/?p=9942"},"modified":"2026-08-24T17:13:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:13:33","slug":"awards-of-the-26-international-film-schools-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecu.edu.uy\/sitioweb\/awards-of-the-26-international-film-schools-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Awards of the 26 International Film Schools Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday, August 21, the 26 International Film Schools Festival (FIEC)<\/strong> \u2014organized by the Uruguayan Film School (ECU)<\/strong> and Cinemateca Uruguaya<\/strong>\u2014 came to a close at Sala Zitarrosa. The closing ceremony saw awards and honorable mentions go to 18 short films from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, India, Mexico, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic, the United States, Venezuela, and Uruguay.<\/p>\n

The Festival\u2019s professional jury \u2014comprising Clarisa Navas<\/strong> (Argentina), Diego Fern\u00e1ndez Pujol<\/strong> (Uruguay), and Marcus Vetter<\/strong> (Germany)\u2014 selected the following as the best short films in their respective categories: the animated film Our Walls<\/strong>, directed by \u017diva Divjak from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Czech Republic); the documentary Whispers Around a Womb<\/strong>, directed by Shivam Anand from the Film and Television Institute of India; and the fiction film Dad\u2019s Not Home<\/strong>, directed by Jan Saczek from the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland).<\/p>\n

Among the Latin American short films, the winner selected was \u00daltima vez, hace mucho tiempo (Last Seen, Long Time Ago)<\/strong>, directed by Santiago Mart\u00edn from Venezuela’s National Film School. As for the Uruguayan short films, the jury’s vote went to Las pel\u00edculas de mi pueblo (My hometown movies)<\/strong>, a documentary directed by Fernando Bottari and Dami\u00e1n Mollajoli\u2014students at the Catholic University of Uruguay\u2014who received the Musitelli<\/strong>, La Mayor<\/strong>, and Don Obdulio<\/strong> awards.<\/p>\n

The Professional Jury also awarded special mentions to the animated film Max<\/strong>, directed by Emilien Pichon (La F\u00e9mis, France); the non-fiction work Total Life Forever<\/strong>, directed by Mexican filmmaker Sebasti\u00e1n Molina Ruiz as part of a program at the LUCA School of Arts (Belgium); and the fiction films Under Her Skin<\/strong>, directed by Shihan Tan of the New York University (USA\/China), and Furia (Rage)<\/strong>, by Fran Moreno Blanco and Santi Pujol Amat (ESCAC, Spain).<\/p>\n

In the Latin American section, a special mention was awarded to Abra\u00e7os, Jo\u00e3o (Best regards, Jo\u00e3o)<\/strong> by Fernanda M\u00e9ndez and Narella Correa, students at the Faculty of Arts of the University of the Republic (Uruguay). A special mention also went to the Uruguayan short film Ver el mar (Meet the sea)<\/strong>, directed by Victoria de Souza from the Faculty of Information and Communication at the University of the Republic.<\/p>\n

View the full report of the Professional Jury<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Student Jury<\/strong> \u2014comprising \u00c1lvaro Bogliacino<\/strong> (UTU Audiovisual Technician Program), Julieta Charlone<\/strong> (ORT University), and Mauro Maquioli<\/strong> (Uruguayan Film School)\u2014 shared some points of agreement with the Professional Jury, but also had its differences. For Best Animation, they selected TV Entreaberta<\/strong>, directed by Mateus Compart from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil); for Best Non-Fiction, they chose the Uruguayan short Abra\u00e7os, Jo\u00e3o (Best regards, Jo\u00e3o)<\/strong> by Fernanda M\u00e9ndez and Narella Correa (students at the University of the Republic\u2019s Faculty of Arts); and for Best Fiction, they picked Furia (Rage)<\/strong> by Fran Moreno Blanco and Santi Pujol Amat (ESCAC, Spain).<\/p>\n

For the jury of film and audiovisual students, the best Latin American short film was Benteveo<\/strong>, directed by Bianca Baz\u00e1n Z\u00e1rate from the National University of C\u00f3rdoba (Argentina), while the best Uruguayan short film was Musik Maravillosa (mArvelous_mUsik)<\/strong>, directed by Antuan La Rocca from the Uruguayan Film School. The latter won the El Mar Film Sound<\/strong>, Artemisa Lab<\/strong>, and Don Obdulio<\/strong> awards.<\/p>\n

Special mentions were also awarded in each category: to the Uruguayan animated film La Gran Fakie (The Big Fakie)<\/strong> by M. Rodr\u00edguez and Sofia Rivero (ORT University); to the documentary Las pel\u00edculas de mi pueblo (My hometown movies)<\/strong>, directed by Fernando Bottari and Dami\u00e1n Mollajoli from the Catholic University of Uruguay; and \u2014as with the professional jury\u2014 to the fiction film Under Her Skin<\/strong> by Shihan Tan, produced at the New York University (USA). Additionally, a mention for Best Latin American Short Film went to Mexican filmmaker Mar\u00eda del Cueto for Todos a mi alrededor parecen estar bien (Everyone around me seems to be doing fine)<\/strong>, from the Centro de Capacitaci\u00f3n Cinematogr\u00e1fica; while another went to Ver el mar (Meet the sea)<\/strong> by Victoria de Souza (Faculty of Information and Communication at the University of the Republic) in the Uruguayan short film competition.<\/p>\n

View the full report of the Students Jury<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The audience also voted for their favorite short films; at the conclusion of the festival, the voting yielded the following results: the Audience Award for Best International Short Film went to Two Souls<\/strong>, a documentary directed by C\u00e9cili Matureli and Avril Poirier (INSAS, Belgium), while the award for Best Uruguayan Short Film went to Canicas (Marbles)<\/strong> by Sof\u00eda Gim\u00e9nez (Uruguayan Film School).<\/p>\n

In total, the festival awarded approximately $9,000 in prizes.<\/p>\n

Festival Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 26 FIEC took place from August 18 to 21 in Montevideo at the Cinemateca and Sala Zitarrosa, with screenings almost always playing to full houses. The selection included 49 short films made by students from 44 film schools across 28 countries. Ten of these short films represented six film training institutions from Uruguay\u2014both public and private.<\/p>\n

As every year, the international call for entries was issued through the International Association of Film and Television Schools (CILECT) and the Federation of Latin American Schools of Image and Sound (FEISAL) \u2014organizations in which ECU holds the distinction of being the sole Uruguayan member\u2014 though participation is also open to non-member film schools. The pre-selection of short films for the competition was handled by a team of 20 ECU students, a task that involved several months of viewing sessions alongside the festival’s programming team.<\/p>\n

The Festival aims to bring together a selection of work produced by students from some of the world\u2019s best film schools, seeking to reflect the diversity of genres, backgrounds, themes, and styles found in these productions. At the same time, the Festival seeks to discover distinctive, original voices\u2014emerging filmmakers whose potential is still developing but who show promise of continuing to garner attention in the future.<\/p>\n

Among this year’s parallel activities, the festival featured two masterclasses led by filmmakers Clarisa Navas<\/strong> (Argentina) and Marcus Vetter<\/strong> (Germany), as well as a roundtable discussion on artificial intelligence and its impact on the audiovisual industry, featuring Javier Mazza<\/strong> (Director of the Department of Humanities and Communication at the Catholic University of Uruguay), Diego Fern\u00e1ndez Pujol<\/strong> (director, screenwriter, producer, and teacher at ORT University), and Daff Schneydher<\/strong> (post-production specialist, senior colorist, teacher, and co-founder of ColoUr by Mediapro).<\/p>\n

All FIEC screenings and activities were, as always, free of charge.<\/p>\n

This new edition of the Festival was posible thanks to the support of: ACAU, Montevideo Audiovisual, Sala Zitarrosa, FIC.UBA, ANTEL, MIEM-DINATEL, Musitelli, El Mar Film Sound, La Mayor, SinSol, Artemisa Lab, Don Obdulio, Programa Cinescope, FNC Patricia, Dante Robino, Acuaria, Lokotas, Taz\u00fa Bar Cultural, Taxi 141, Puertovideo, La Diaria, TV Ciudad, CILECT, FEISAL and FilmFreeway.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More information: www.ecu.edu.uy<\/a> \/ <\/strong>festival@ecu.edu.uy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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On Friday, August 21, the 26 International Film Schools Festival (FIEC) —organized by the Uruguayan Film School (ECU) and Cinemateca Uruguaya— came to a close at Sala Zitarrosa. The closing ceremony saw awards and honorable mentions go to 18 short films from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, India, Mexico, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic, the… <\/p>\n

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