Oriolana Elena López Riera Wins César Award for 'Las novias del Sur'

French cinema turns its attention to Alicante. Oriolana director Elena López Riera has won the César Award for Best Documentary Short Film with 'Las novias del sur', a project supported by À Punt and the IVC.

This accolade was granted by the French Film Academy, following a nomination in the same category at the previous Goya Awards. Additionally, it premiered in France in 2024 during the Critics' Week, a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Queer Palm award.

The short film, supported by À Punt, is "an intimate portrait where women from different generations discuss desire, marriage, and sexuality." Through the repetition of these ancestral rites, the director questions her own absence of marriage, children, and thus, a chain of mother-daughter relationships that ends.

'Las novias del Sur' is produced by the Valencian company Suica Films, led by Rafa Molés and Pepe Andreu, alongside the Swiss production company Alina Films, with support from the Valencian Institute of Culture (IVC). Molés highlighted that it is "the first time a Valencian production wins a César, and without the support of À Punt and the IVC, it would not have been possible."

The producer of Suica Films described the award as "exceptional" and expressed gratitude to the Valencian public television for its trust in the "bold commitment" to documentary cinema.

"It is a pride to be recognised by international awards that help us return the trust À Punt has placed in us, demonstrating that cinema can be made in Valencia and successfully exported to the rest of the world," Molés stated.

'Las novias del Sur' is one of the 52 projects supported by À Punt in 2024, with a total investment of 3,150,000 euros for 52 projects: 19 documentaries, 11 fiction feature films, 10 animation projects, and 12 fiction short films.