The 11th edition of this event, celebrating the best of Colombian cinema, took place. Proimágenes Colombia, under the leadership of director Claudia Triana, was the first organization to receive the Macondo Honorary Award.
The Delia Zapata Olivella National Center for the Arts hosted the latest Macondo Awards ceremony. Broadcast live on TNT and HBO Max, the event marked the culmination of a thorough process involving applications, nominations, and voting by active members of the Colombian Film Academy. A total of 65 films were part of the ceremony: 45 Colombian feature films, 9 Ibero-American films, and 11 national short films. To engage various regions of the country, over 50 screenings and workshops were conducted in different municipalities as part of the Rumbo a los Macondo and Futuro Macondo strategies initiated after the nominees were announced at the end of September. Also, the ceremony was broadcast live on Cinemateca al Parque's programming through the Macondo for the People initiative.
The standout of the evening was Los Reyes del Mundo (The Kings of the World), securing six awards across multiple categories. The film earned recognition for Best Feature Film (Ciudad Lunar and La Selva Cine), Best Direction (Laura Mora), Best Cinematography (David Gallego), Best Sound (Carlos García, Boris Herrera, and Michelle Couttolenc), Best Art Direction (Marcela Gómez as Production Designer, and Daniel Rincón as Art Director), and Best Editing (Sebastián Hernández and Gustavo Vasco).
Una Madre (A Mother) claimed victories for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Marcela Valencia) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Cristina Zuleta). Rebelión (Rebellion), a feature film produced by Rayhuela, also secured awards in two categories: Best Actor (Jhon Narvaez) and Best Makeup (Natalia Prada and Andrés Ramírez). Additionally, La otra forma (The Other Way) won Best Animated Film (Smith & Smith, RTVCPlay, Estudio Giz, and HIERROanimación) and Best Original Music (Daniel Velasco). All three productions received support from the Film Development Fund - FDC.
The winner of the Best Supporting Actor award was Nelson Camayo for La Frontera (The Border), a production that received FDC support in the 2018 Feature Film Postproduction category. La jauría (The Pack) received the award for Best Screenplay (Andrés Ramírez Pulido). This film received two FDC incentives, in the Screenplay category and the First Director Feature Film Production category.
Alis (Casatarantula, DeFilm, Pantalla Cines) was awarded Best Documentary Feature. This film was backed by two FDC incentives, one in Project Development 2018 and another in Feature Production 2021. Additionally, it claimed the Crystal Bear in the Generation Plus category at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.
Balada Para Niños Muertos (A Ballad for Dead Children) received the award for Best VFX (Juan Manuel Betancourt). In the Best Short Film category, the winner was Paloquemao, directed by Jeferson Cardoza Herrera and produced by La Banda del Sur Films. This film is part of the Refresh Vol. 4 catalog of Colombian short films. The top pick for the Best Ibero-American Feature Film - FIACINE category was Argentina, 1985(Infinity Hil, La Unión de los Ríos, Kenya Films, Amazon Studios).
The Macondo Honorary Award was granted to Proimágenes Colombia, under the direction of Claudia Triana de Vargas, for playing a pivotal role in the development and growth of Colombian cinema over the past 25 years and for leading the way in building a solid, internationally recognized industry. In the words of the Academy, "Since its inception in 1998, Proimágenes Colombia, Fondo Mixto de Promoción Cinematográfica, has been instrumental in the development and growth of Colombian cinema. Over the years, it has led a great transformation, taking the national film industry from sporadic and uncertain production to a solid and internationally recognized industry. This organization has played a crucial role in the promotion of film laws that have created mechanisms such as the Film Development Fund (FDC), the Colombian Film Fund (FFC), and the Audiovisual Investment Certificates (CINA). Their work has demonstrated the value of institutions and has created a common space where all Colombian filmmakers have felt represented and welcomed. It is a privilege for the Colombian Film Academy to present, for the first time, the Macondo Honor Award to an institution that has made such an extraordinary contribution to the sustainable development of our national cinematography".
The Macondo for the Film Trades was awarded to Socorro Ávila, who brings over forty years of experience, contributing to films like La Abuela (The Grandmother, 1981), La virgen y el Fotógrafo (The Virgin and the Photographer, 1982), La Sociedad del Semáforo (The Stoplight Society, 2010), Sofía y el Terco (Sofia and the Stubborn, 2012), and El Soborno del cielo (The Bribe Of Heaven, 2016), among others.
Lastly, the Macondo Audience Award went to Tierra Quebrá (Broken land) by Nina Marín. This film received support from the FDC for Post-production of a fiction feature film in 2021. Additionally, it secured the BAM Screening Award at the Bogotá Audiovisual Market in 2021 and the FicViña Construye 2020 Award at the Viña del Mar International Film Festival in Chile.
