PAULA ORTIZ TO BE HONORED WITH THE PRIZE ‘CIUDAD DE HUESCA’ IN 44TH EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
THE AWARD RECOGNIZES THE TALENT AND PROJECTION OF THIS YOUNG ARAGONESE DIRECTOR
HER LAST WORK, THE BRIDE, TO BE SCREENED IN THE ICONIC LORETO CHAPEL, NATURAL SETTING OF THE FILM
Aragonese director Paula Ortiz will be honored with the Ciudad de Huesca Prize in the 44th edition of the International Film Festival of the Upper Aragonese capital city. This distinction seeks to highlight the talent of this young director coming from the field of short film, essence of Huesca’s event, and it will be awarded during next festival’s celebration. Over recent months, and after more than 15 years of hard work, endorsement has come; her last film The Bride has been acclaimed by national and international critics and has also been awarded 6 Feroz Awards, 4 CEC medals and 2 Goya awards among many other recognitions. In addition, the festival is preparing a special programme that will include a large part of her filmography.
Filmmaker Paula Ortiz will be awarded the Ciudad de Huesca Prize in the 44th edition of the festival as confirmed by Huesca International Film Festival. The director and scriptwriter, native to Zaragoza, will be honored with a prize that seeks to highlight a remarkable professional career as long as a promising trajectory. Her attachment to the world of short film was very important for the organization. ‘Paula began in the world of short film where she accumulated big projects and with her two features she has earned the respect and admiration of the whole profession, this is just the beginning, and the organization wants to support this fact’, explained Azucena Garanto, director of the festival.
Two years ago, the festival itself had the privilege to be the framework where her most recent work, The Bride, was presented; the film has constantly garnered recognitions and awards since its premiere at San Sebastian Festival. She started 2016 with the Feroz Award to Best Direction, which –together with the other 5 awards obtained by her film- made it the season’s major winner for the specialized critics. A total of four CEC medals, two Goya awards and now six nominations to the Simon Awards, the highest recognition of the Aragonese film industry, are just some of the recognitions this production has been gathering, and which have made her a reference to be followed in the cinematography of our country. On the occasion of this homage, the festival is planning a special programme that will include a large part of her filmography.
From the 17th to the 25th June some of her short films will be screened at the theatres. Concerning her last work, the much-praised adaptation of Lorca’s play Blood Wedding, Huesca’s festival has scheduled a special screening in cooperation with the IAM (Aragonese Institute for Women). The Bride will be screened on 10th June at one of the settings where the shooting took place, Loreto Chapel. This emblematic location of the capital city will revive the magic of this film at a free outdoor screening.
Paula Ortiz, a talent to be followed ‘through the air, like a blade of grass’
Born in Zaragoza in 1979, Paula Ortiz studied Film Directing at the Graduate Department of Film and Television of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU) with teachers several times nominated to the Oscar Awards, as Spike Lee, completing her Scriptwriting Studies at UCLA, Los Angeles, nerve centre of California film training program. Executive member of CIMA (Asamblea de Mujeres Cineastas de España) and one of the founders and Vice-president of EWA (European Women Audiovisual Network), Ortiz continues to develop his academic work at reference training centres such as ECAM, the ESCAC or different universities as Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, Barcelona, Navarra, Zaragoza, San Jorge or the James Madison University (USA). She has an outstanding career as short film maker, with titles such as History Explained in Five Minutes (2001), If I Could, I’d Go out for a Stroll Every Night (2002), The Face of Ido (2003), Family Photos (2004) and The Gap of Tristán Boj (2008).
Ortiz got involved in her first fiction feature film after the documentary Tale of Hope (2006) about a ‘maqui’ guerrilla woman. From your Window to Mine became one of the hits of the 2011-2012 season. Starring Maribel Verdú, Leticia Dolera, Álex Angulo and Roberto Álamo, the film was awarded the Pilar Miró International Award to Best New Direction and the Special Mention Fipresci of the International Critic at the 56th edition of Valladolid’s Seminci. The Goya Awards also provided a great welcome with three nominations: Best New Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song. At its international premiere, From your Window to Mine got the Special Jury Mention at Shanghai International Film Festival and the Jin Jué Award to Best Soundtrack, while at Mons International Festival (Brussels), it obtained the International Award of the Feadora Female Critic.
In 2014 she succeeded in getting in motion her second feature film project, a free adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s play Blood Wedding. Under the title The Bride and with a luxury cast that combines youth and experience, the filmmaker started shooting in Huesca after presenting it in the framework of the film festival. This coproduction between Spain, Turkey and Germany thrives on the beauty and aridity of Aragon landscapes. Selected by San Sebastian Film Festival, the film was acclaimed by the critics and made a triumphant ride in festivals and award ceremonies. The leading actress, Inma Cuesta, and the Aragonese Luisa Gavasa obtained several prizes that made clear the quality of their works but also Paula’s mastering of direction. The Feroz Awards, voted by specialized critics, made it the best film of the year and it adds up a total of six awards. The Goya Awards ranked it as the major favourite with a total of twelve nominations, two of which were finally achieved. Female cast was once more honoured by the Union de Actores Awards where three of its protagonists, Inma, Luisa and Ana Fernández, were awarded.
Currently, Paula faces a thrilling future both personally and professionally, in addition she is going to become a mother in the next month of May. The director enjoys the respect of the sector and Huesca International Film Festival joins to that acknowledgement.
44th Huesca International Film Festival is sponsored by Gobierno de Aragón, Diputación Provincial de Huesca, Ayuntamiento de Huesca and Fundación Anselmo Pié.