The 61st Argentinian Film Critics Association Awards

The cast and crew of Clandestine Childhood, lined up for the Best Movie Award.

By contributing blogger Benjamín Harguindey

This Monday 7th the 61st Argentinian Film Critics Association Awards were celebrated at the Teatro Avenida, Buenos Aires, in honor of Argentina’s choice of cinematography of the year 2012, bestowing the coveted Silver Condor prize in 21 different categories.

Tipsy Alejandro Awada accepts the Best Actor Award for Fishing Days.

The indisputable winners of the evening were Armando Bó’s The Last Elvis (El último Elvis), with 6 wins, including Film Debut, Art Direction, Editing, Original Soundtrack and Male Revelation (John McInerny), and Benjamín Ávila’s Clandestine Childhood (Infancia clandestina), with 5 wins, including Best Movie, Director, Supporting Actress (Cristina Banegas) and Actress (Natalia Oreiro). Both movies shared the Original Screenplay award.

Natalia Oreiro accepts Best Actress Awards for Clandestine Childhood.

Carlos Sorín’s Fishing Days (Días de pesca) followed with 3 awards, including Best Photography, Sound Design, and Actor (Alejandro Awada), while Pablo Trapero’s Elephant White (Elefante blanco) failed to secure any of its 11 nominations. Curiously enough, none of the cast or crew of this movie were in attendance.

Argentinian Film Critics Association Secretary General Claudio Minghetti opened up the ceremony with an apology on behalf of the critics (dubbed “chroniclers” by the association). “Many times we critics are called failed filmmaker – true enough, sometimes – and said to be cruel or unfair. We’re but people who give their schooled opinion, but we can make mistakes as well. In the name of those who ever did, I apologize”. The ceremony thus commenced, and numerous “Trajectory” awards were given to special guests, actresses Dora Baret and María Concepción César, former child actor Oscar Rovito, journalist Adela Montes and writer/director Eva Landeck. Ricardo Soulé of Vox Dei played their hit “Presente” during an in memoriam section honoring the deceased artists of 2012.

Ricardo Soulé of Vox Dei plays “Presente” during the in memoriam section of the evening.

BEST MOVIE: Clandestine Childhood

BEST DIRECTOR: Benjamín Avila (for Clandestine Childhood)

BEST ACTOR: Alejandro Awada (for Fishing Days)

BEST ACTRESS: Natalia Oreiro (for Clandestine Childhood)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Daniel Fanego (for Everybody Has A Plan)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Cristina Banegas (for Clandestine Childhood)

MALE REVELATION: John McInerny (for The Last Elvis)

FEMALE REVELATION: Ana Fontán (for The Well, El pozo)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: The Etnographer (by Ulises Rossel, El etnógrafo)

BEST FILM DEBUT: The Last Elvis (by Armando Bó)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (shared): Nicolás Giacobone and Armando Bó (for The Last Elvis) and Benjamín Ávila and Marcelo Müller (for Clandestine Childhood)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Eugenia Capizzano and Daniel Rosenfeld (for Cornelia at Her Mirror, Cornelia frente al espejo, based off Silvina Ocampo’s homonymous tale)

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY: Julián Apezteguia (for Fishing Days)

BEST EDITING: Patricio Pena (for The Last Elvis)

BEST ART DIRECTION: Daniel Gimelberg (for The Last Elvis)

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: Sebastián Escofet (for The Last Elvis)

BEST SOUND DESIGN: José Luis Díaz (for Fishing Days)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Walter Jara (for The Revolution is an Eternal Dream, La revolución es un sueño eterno)

BEST SHORT FILM: Chronicle of the Death of Paco Uribe (Crónica de la muerte de Paco Uribe, by Santiago Canel)

BEST IBEROAMERICAN FILM: Heist! (¡Atraco!, by Eduard Cortes, Argentine-Spanish co-production)

BEST NO SPANISH-SPEAKING FILM: A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin, by Asghar Farhadi, from Iran)