The Locarno Film Festival concluded its First Look initiative on August 9, a showcase dedicated to supporting post-production work on Uruguayan cinema. The program’s two major award winners were the cross-cultural romance “Spring Story” and the comedy-drama “The Surubí,” which collectively secured five of the competition’s top prizes.
“Spring Story,” directed by Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo, represents the fourth installment in a series of seasonal-themed films from the production company L’Avventura Cine. The film earned the Bright Side of the Moon prize for complete color grading services and the Le Film Français Award, which includes advertising support valued at €5,600. Director Lorenzo Tocco’s feature debut “The Surubí” proved equally successful, winning multiple awards including La Mayor Cine Award for comprehensive sound post-production work and a Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award valued at €45,000. The film also received the Jannuzzi Smith Award for international poster design worth €10,000.
“The Surubí” takes place in a fictional post-industrial town devastated by plant closures decades earlier. The narrative centers on an unusual event at a local farm where chickens produce an extraordinary number of eggs following a stranger’s arrival, an occurrence interpreted by townspeople as a miraculous sign. The film employs comedic and dramatic elements to examine a struggling community grasping at hope amid economic hardship.
Beyond the two major winners, First Look featured four additional Uruguayan productions. “Maltrato Animal” is a crime thriller shot over multiple years, while “Our Little Band of Justice” offers a children’s adventure set during Uruguay’s political transition from dictatorship. Two documentary features, “Perkal” and “The Other Side of the Net,” explore personal family histories and intergenerational relationships respectively. Together, the six selected films demonstrated the diversity and scope of contemporary Uruguayan filmmaking across multiple genres and formats.
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