2024 Dale! Award in Ventana Sur goes to "Cuerpo Criminal / Criminal Body” (Bolivia, Argentina, France, and Germany)

This powerful film, a collaboration between Bolivia, Argentina, France, and Germany, masterfully blends genres to deliver a striking critique of contemporary colonialism and the film industry’s often exploitative nature.

The story follows Miguel, a local bodybuilding champion who is invited to play the role of a monster in an American horror film being shot in a Bolivian forest. Alongside him is Marcos, an indigenous farmer, hired for various tasks on set, including providing animals for the scenes. What begins as a typical film shoot evolves into a dangerous journey, as the two extras become unlikely protagonists, revealing the true horrors behind the art of filmmaking itself.

The jury was captivated by how Cuerpo Criminal hybridizes horror and social commentary, using its genre-defying narrative to expose the power dynamics that govern who tell stories, who gets to star in them, and who is left behind. With its raw honesty and unflinching look at the abuses endemic to the film industry, the film offers a sobering reflection on the new forms of colonialism in cinema.

The jury was composed of representatives from:

• EFAD: Jara Ayucar Castro, Director of the Marketing Department at ICAA (Spain)
• CAACI: Raciel del Toro, Head of the Centro Costarricense de Producción Cinematográfica and President of Ibermedia
• Ventana Sur: Hebe Tabachnik, Film curator, festival consultant and producer

EFAD congratulates the entire team behind Cuerpo Criminal for their outstanding work!

EFAD and CAACI have launched a structured partnership in 2016. The Toulouse declaration adopted at the occasion of a high level meeting organised in March 2016 set outs the main priorities of this institutional cooperation. A joint co-development grant, called Dale! Award, was launched for the first time in 2016 and it is distributed in the framework of the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Since 2024, a new Dale! Award for promotion and distribution is granted in Ventana Sur.