CEIP El Roque Wins First Prize at Cinedfest La Palma with ‘Chispín’
The CEIP El Roque has secured the First Prize at the La Palma Cinedfest with the short film ‘Chispín’, celebrating diversity and inclusion. The second and third prizes went to ‘Samuel’, created by the EA Manolo Blähnik, and ‘El amigo’, produced by the Bobina Films Cultural Association, respectively. This year, a record was set with 27 educational institutions submitting 46 short films from La Palma.
The awards were presented at a ceremony held yesterday at the Multicines Millenium, which was packed with students and teachers from La Palma who participated in the 13th edition of Cinedfest, along with a strong representation of local authorities.
Attendees at the Ceremony
Among the attendees were Miriam Perestelo and Susa Armas, the councillors for Culture and Historical Heritage and for Education from the Cabildo of La Palma, respectively. The event was also graced by Irinova Hernández and Teresa de Jesús Hernández, the councillors for Culture and Education of El Paso, and Verónica González, the councillor for Commerce, Employment and Local Development from Los Llanos de Aridane. The awards were presented by actress Guacimara Correa, with David Cánovas, the festival’s co-director, also in attendance.
Technical and Performative Awards
The technical and performance awards were as follows:
- Best Direction: Martina Álvarez from IES El Paso for ‘Indeleble’.
- Best Script: Javier Martín from IES Luis Cobiella Cuevas for ‘Operación Sobresaliente’.
- Best Actress: Emma Rodríguez from CPEIPS Sagrada Familia for ‘El resto es silencio’.
- Best Actor: Miguel Calero from CEIP Adamancasis for his role as Leo in ‘El despertar’.
Additional Awards
The award for Best Photography went to ‘Ayer en clase’ from CEIP Gabriel Duque Acosta, while ‘Maestras’ from CEIP El Roque won for Best Sound.
In total, 484 short films were submitted for this year’s 13th edition of Cinedfest, marking an increase of 42 entries from the previous year. Of these, 372 were from the Canary Islands, 78 came from the Spanish mainland, 27 were international submissions, and 7 were made by universities.
About Cinedfest
Cinedfest is an innovative educational initiative aimed at students from Early Childhood to Secondary Education, including vocational training, adult education, language schools, and associations for people with disabilities. This initiative, which has been taking place for 13 years, combines audiovisual training with a festival of short fiction films and documentaries created by students, making audiovisual language accessible within classrooms and introducing cinema as a teaching tool in educational centres.
The thirteenth edition of the festival has been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Tenerife Joven and Educa, Gran Canaria Joven, the Government of the Canary Islands, Corresponsables, the University of La Laguna, the Culture and Historical Heritage Department of the Cabildo of La Palma, the Social Welfare Department of La Laguna Town Hall, the Fuerteventura Film Commission, and the town halls of Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso.
Winning Short Films
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First Prize: ‘Chispín’ (CEIP El Roque). A robot arrives at a school with a single purpose. Will it succeed? Watch here
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Second Prize: ‘Samuel’ (EA Manolo Blähnik). Samuel, a young student, struggles to form social relationships. Watch here
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Third Prize: ‘El amigo’ (Asociación Cultural Bobina Films). In a remote house by the forest, a lonely girl spends her days talking to an invisible friend that no one else can see. While her parents believe it’s all imagination and worry about her isolation, strange occurrences begin happening at night, and the presence of that ‘friend’ becomes more real… and more dangerous. Watch here
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Best Direction: Martina Álvarez for ‘Indeleble’ (IES El Paso). A young person shares details of daily life on social media, unaware of the possible consequences. As they post content, a shadow begins to appear behind them, getting closer with every post. Desperate, they seek help from a close friend and decide to delete everything within reach. Slowly, the shadow recedes to the point where they think it has completely disappeared. Watch here
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Best Script: Javier Martín for ‘Operación Sobresaliente’ (IES Luis Cobiella Cuevas). A group of friends fails their final maths exam and infiltrates their teacher’s house to change their grades on her computer. Will they succeed? Watch here
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Best Actor: Miguel Calero for ‘El despertar’ (CEIP Adamancasis). A group of children tries to survive in a world where the ozone layer is severely damaged, and the sun’s rays pose a real danger to humans. The older students become guardians for the younger ones, allowing them to play outside, but no one is prepared for what may happen. Watch here
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Best Actress: Emma Rodríguez for ‘El resto es silencio’ (CPEIPS Sagrada Familia). Emma seems to have many activity friends in her life, but she feels empty and disconnected, realising that being around people doesn’t always mean feeling less lonely. Watch here
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Best Photography: ‘Ayer en clase’ (CEIP Gabriel Duque Acosta). Sofía is easily distracted at school. One day her teacher reprimands her, and she has a conversation with her grandfather that changes her perspective on school. Or does it? Watch here
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Best Sound: ‘Maestras’ (CEIP El Roque). The three-year-old students have a wonderful teacher, but something unexpected happens. The new teacher has virtues that the students do not appreciate. Will they adapt to her? Anything can happen. Watch here
The entry CEIP El Roque Triumphs at Cinedfest La Palma with ‘Chispín’, a Call for Diversity and Inclusion first appeared on El Apurón.
