June 11, 2021 (Diocese of Malaga). Through its jury, composed of Jesús de la Llave, Lourdes Porras, Teresa Ekobo and Rafael Pérez Pallarés, SIGNIS has decided to award its prize to the film 15 horas by Judith Colell, at the 24th edition of the Malaga Spanish Film Festival.
The jury wants to highlight this suspenseful drama’s artistic and technical quality that manages to trap the viewer in a spider’s web in which a woman victim of male violence finds herself. The protagonist’s life journey in those 15 hours becomes real anguish and pain, achieving great empathy. The film tells a story that helps make these situations visible and free us from this social scourge.
Another of the successes of Colell’s film is to position the violent character in a prestigious social class, showing that this scourge, which shows the worst of humanity, has no limits. This Spanish-Dominican co-production is, above all, an encouraging film thanks to characters who are capable of showing their solidarity with the protagonist, accompanying her on her path towards a life full of hope and demonstrating that the true power is that of fraternity, charity and love.
In a statement to diocesismalaga.es, Jesús de la Llave, president of the SIGNIS Jury, said: “it is not easy to decide, because there are many films that fit the profile we are looking for, which is none other than to transmit human or, if possible, Christian values. One of these recurring values in Spanish cinema in this edition is loneliness. There is a lot of talk about it. Perhaps it has to do with the pandemic we are living through. And, in particular, many of them deal with the loneliness of women. But, apart from that, there are always valuable films about social justice, migration, solidarity, friendship…”.
Judith Colell’s film stars Sterlyn Ramirez, Marc Clotet and Chabela Estrella de Bisonó, among others. The new film by the author of Elisa K or 53 days of winter tells the story of Aura, whom music brought together with Manuel. She is a soloist in the first violin section, and he, a fashionable orchestra conductor. Together they form the most envied couple in the country. Artists, famous and rich, their relationship hides an unspeakable secret. He mistreats her, something she has hidden for too long. One day, fed up with their incommunicado hell, Aura decides to take the plunge and ask for help, then what she had always suspected but never dared to confirm happens.
The SIGNIS Prize has been awarded at the Malaga Spanish Film Festival since 2009. In recent years, at the Malaga Festival, SIGNIS has awarded films such as Los días que vendrán, El inconveniente, Ida or Verano 1993.
Ana Maria Medina
Journalist and Spokesperson for the Diocese of Malaga