The Cordoba film “El escuerzo”, directed by Augusto Sinay, achieved important international recognition this weekend by winning the Unicorn Award for Best Film at the 25th International Fantastic Film Week of the Costa del Sol. This festival was held from September 7 to 14 at the Felipe VI Auditorium in Estepona, Spain.
The film also won the David Geary Unicorn Award for Best Music, highlighting the production’s sonic impact. These awards are in addition to those it has been collecting in recent months at international festivals.
“El Escuerzo” is Sinay’s first film, and its story is inspired by the story of the same name by the writer Leopoldo Lugones. The film combines elements of fantasy and horror cinema, was shot in the Traslasierra Valley, and had the support of the Córdoba Culture Agency, through the Audiovisual Pole.
Produced by Fogón Cine and co-produced by El Médano, Películas Lesima and Kilo Vivo, the film is not only a milestone for genre cinema in Argentina, but also a collaborative effort involving local actors and actresses, including Cristóbal López Baena, Lucía Castro, Eva Bianco and Valeria Beltramo, as well as Spanish actor Javier Pereira, winner of a Goya award.
Seven years of work and research
The production process of “El escuerzo” spanned more than seven years, during which time Augusto Sinay conducted historical research that involved the collection of newspaper articles, speeches by key figures, letters and documents from trials of peasants and gauchos. This work allowed the script to have a level of detail and realism that is uncommon in genre films.
“El escuerzo” takes us to Argentina in 1866, in a mountainous territory devastated by the War of the Triple Alliance. The plot follows Venancio, a young gaucho who, after killing a toad—a kind of large and dangerous toad—faces a curse predicted by his mother. From that moment on, Venancio embarks on a journey full of mysticism and danger, among rustlers, priests, shamans and deserters, trying to escape his destiny.
Still on the billboard in Córdoba
This week the film will continue to be shown at the Cine Arte Córdoba (27 de abril 275) with several scheduled screenings. The screenings will take place on tuesday 17 y Wednesday 18th at 9pm; the Thursday 19th y Friday 20th at 17; and the Saturday 21 y domingo 22 again at 9pm. Admission is $3,000 for the general public, and $2,000 for retirees and students.
