Official section jury

Claire Allouche

Claire Allouche

Claire Allouche is a film researcher (she is completing a doctoral thesis on the peripheralization of contemporary Argentine and Brazilian cinemas), a lecturer (at Paris 8 and Paris 3 universities), a critic (for Cahiers du Cinéma since 2020), and a programmer (for Regards Satellites in Saint-Denis since 2023).

Melchor López

Melchor López

Melchor López (1965, Tenerife): Writer. He has been living in Lanzarote for almost three decades. His latest published book, titled Para llegar a Samarín (2023), has that island as the backdrop or setting where his poems “manifest.”

Vicente Monroy

Vicente Monroy

Vicente Monroy is a film programmer at the Cineteca in Madrid. He is the author of the essay Against Cinephilia (Clave Intelectual, 2020), the novel The Maritime Alps (Lengua de Trapo, 2021), and several poetry collections, including The Tragic Seasons (Editorial Suburbia, 2018). As a translator, he has published François Villon and other medieval poets (Alba Editorial, 2024).

Description

Granting an award is always an important decision. Prizes and awards implicitly recognise a proposal, work or contribution in culture, science, sports or other fields. But distinctions also inevitably imply the establishment of a hierarchy of sorts in which the views of a group of people—the jury—decide that a specific contribution stands out amongst the others in terms of value or interest. Prizes usually involve at least two additions: a financial reward (occasionally) and the prestige of winning (always).

With that in mind, and considering the frequent objections, criticism or doubts produced by the deliberations of juries behind closed doors, five years ago the Muestra de Cine de Lanzarote decided to change its method of deciding on the winner of the Official Section prize. A specific methodology was established in 2018 to make it possible for the jury to deliberate openly and in front of an audience in a film theatre. Hence, anyone interested can attend and witness the reflections of the jurors. Only individuals directly connected to the productions of films competing in the festival are excluded from participating in the deliberation.

These last five years have seen a series of gripping debates backed up by coherent and well-thought-out arguments. Each year, jurors have had to face different situations. Sometimes the criteria have led to quick consensus; other times, reaching a decision proved far from easy. But in all cases, the experience of the juries openly debating in public has been extraordinary, both for their members and for the audience listening to their opinions. Each public deliberation has been a display of profound respect for reflections about cinema, the expression and defence of ideas and, ultimately, of the implications in awarding a particular film.

Description

La Muestra de Cine de Lanzarote is a project organized by the Tenique Cultural Association, a non-profit organization whose main objectives are to promote, exhibit and debate independent cinema.

Awards

Granting an award is always an important decision. Prizes and awards implicitly recognise a proposal, work or contribution in culture, science, sports or other fields. But distinctions also inevitably imply the establishment of a hierarchy of sorts in which the views of a group of people—the jury—decide that a specific contribution stands out amongst the others in terms of value or interest. Prizes usually involve at least two additions: a financial reward (occasionally) and the prestige of winning (always).

With that in mind, and considering the frequent objections, criticism or doubts produced by the deliberations of juries behind closed doors, five years ago the Muestra de Cine de Lanzarote decided to change its method of deciding on the winner of the Official Section prize. A specific methodology was established in 2018 to make it possible for the jury to deliberate openly and in front of an audience in a film theatre. Hence, anyone interested can attend and witness the reflections of the jurors. Only individuals directly connected to the productions of films competing in the festival are excluded from participating in the deliberation.

These last five years have seen a series of gripping debates backed up by coherent and well-thought-out arguments. Each year, jurors have had to face different situations. Sometimes the criteria have led to quick consensus; other times, reaching a decision proved far from easy. But in all cases, the experience of the juries openly debating in public has been extraordinary, both for their members and for the audience listening to their opinions. Each public deliberation has been a display of profound respect for reflections about cinema, the expression and defence of ideas and, ultimately, of the implications in awarding a particular film.