“ Casa Paraíso , ” a Guatemalan production directed by Mateo Sicilia, has been nominated for the 2025 Fugaz Awards , the most prestigious awards for short films in Spain, in the Best Ibero-American Short Film category. This is the first edition in which these awards include this new category, designed to recognize the creativity and quality of short films produced in Latin America.

The Guatemalan work will compete alongside four other titles from Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela:

·    Charrascas (Mexico)

·    When everything burns (Argentina)

·    The Sand House (Chile)

·    We have a homeland (Venezuela)

Filmed in iconic Guatemalan locations such as Lake Atitlán and Antigua Guatemala, “ Casa Paraíso ” tells the story of Clara, a hotel manager trying to impress a family interested in buying the property, until a masked killer enters the picture, unleashing a wave of suspense. The protagonist is played by María Mercedes Coroy , known for her role in Ixcanul and other international productions such as Marvel 's “ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever .”

The short film, which originated as a thesis project at the New York Film Academy , has received several international awards:

·    Dark Side Award at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival .

·    Best Student Film and Best Actress (María Mercedes Coroy) at the Los Angeles Film Awards (LAFA) .

·    Excellence Awards at Indie Short Fest , in the categories of Best Comedy Short Film and Best Student Short Film .

The selection of this new category at the Fugaz Awards was a collaborative effort with over 20 Latin American festivals and aims to highlight the richness and diversity of Spanish-language short films. “ Casa Paraíso ” was chosen from hundreds of submissions from across the region.

“This new section allows us to build bridges with the Latin American film community and recognize the very high level that many short films in Latin America are reaching,” said Samuel Rodríguez, co-director of CortoEspaña , the organization behind the awards.

The awards ceremony will be held on June 25th at the Kinépolis Ciudad de la Imagen cinemas in Madrid. This year's edition received over 600 short film submissions , and the nominations were decided by 1,600 professionals from the audiovisual industry.

The full list of nominations is available at:
www.premiosfugaz.com

The Fugaz Awards are supported by important entities and institutions such as Kinépolis , Cervezas Alhambra , the Madrid Film Institute , Menorca Doc Fest , The Core School , AECID , ICAA , Elite Excellence - Spanish Luxury Federation, Filmin , Gobo , Da Vinci Productions , Welab , Esfera Visual , Mood , Excena , AM Escuela and Big School , in addition to the collaboration of Movistar+ and the Complutense University of Madrid , making it possible for these awards to continue being the great meeting point for Spanish short films.

 

FULL LIST OF NOMINEES:

Best Short Film

·    893 kilometers

·    Blind spot

·    The Prince

·    Insurmountable

·    Pipiolos

·    A head on the wall

Better direction

·    893 kilometers: Rubén Guindo Nova

·    Agony: Eulalia Ramón

·    Blind spot: Cristian Beteta

·    When the cold arrives: María Salgado Gispert

·    A head on the wall: Manuel Manrique

Best new director

·    City of Pigs: Juan Ángel Hernández

·    Cholera: Jose Luis Lázaro

·    Healing cure: Lucía G. Romero

·    The other: Eduard Fernandez

·    Happy hour: Nico Romero and Álvaro Monje

Best Screenplay

·    Blind Spot: David Verdugo

·    The wildest side of life: José Antonio Campos and Patricia Rioboó

·    Insurmountable: Belén Sánchez-Arévalo and Javier Marco

·    Rock, paper, scissors: Nach Solís

·    A head on the wall: Itziar Sanjuán Sáenz

Better production direction

·    893 kilometers: Samantha Martín and Miguel Monteagudo

·    Where the pine trees complain: Mercè Batalla

·    The Prince: Adrià Lahuerta and Victor Radoselovics

·    Ne me quitte pas: Gemma Monzó

·    A head on the wall: Jaume Subirós

Best cinematography

·    When the cold arrives: Isabel Ruiz Ruiz

·    Where the pines complain: Hugo Prats

·    Ne me quitte pas: Uri Barcelona

·    A Head on the Wall: Alejandro Buera

·    Violets: Mario López

Better assembly

·    893 kilometers: Bruno Martín

·    Bedste: Louise Værum

·    The other one: Javier Frutos

·    The Prince: Ona Bartrolí

·    A head on the wall: Pablo Barce

Best Art Direction

·    When the cold arrives: Iris Ocampo

·    Deliver us from evil: Mey Monteroy Violeta Soliva

·    Don't leave me: John Blud

·    A Head on the Wall: Helena Gallego

·    Violets: Lucía Meca

Better visual effects

·    893 kilometers: Zoltan Farkas

·    Agony: Maria Maganto

·    Berta: Marta Carbonell Almela and Stefan Susemihl

·    The other: Heliodoro Carbonell

·    Escape: Dalila di Martino and Julán Martínez

Best wardrobe

·    When the cold arrives: José Antonio Martín

·    Deliver Us from Evil: Sara Madoz

·    Ne me quitte pas: Miguel Cervera

·    A head on the wall: Héctor Loureiro

·    Violets: Alba Martínez Villamor

Better makeup and hairstyling

·    893 kilometers: Marta Cuadrado

·    Deliver us from evil: Raquel Vadillo

·    Sex at 70: Johana Trujillo

·    A head on the wall: Beatriz Coloma

·    Violets: Borja Escribano

Better sound

·    893 kilometers: Mario González

·    Agony: Diego Gualino

·    Where the pines complain: Pedro Iniesta

·    Happy hour: Jamaica Ruiz, Victor Bernardo and Mayte Cabrera

·    Deliver us from evil: Maria Rodriguez

Best Soundtrack

·    893 kilometers: Jesús Calderón

·    Carmen and the wooden spoon: Iván Palomares de la Encina

·    Where the Pines Complain: Simon Smith

·    Rock, paper, scissors: Sofia Sainz

·    A Head on the Wall: Alberto Torres

Best Male Performance

·    February 29: Ramón Barea

·    The other: Eduard Fernández

·    The Prince: Enric Auquer

·    Unsalvable: Pedro Casablanc

·    Unsalvable: Javier Pereira

Best Female Performance

·    Blind Spot: Eva Llorach

·    The most beastly side of life: Rosario Pardo

·    The death: Luisa Gavasa

·    Deliver us from evil: Ana Wagener

·    Hunch: Cristina Fernández

Best Animated Short Film

·    Bye

·    Carmela

·    Carmen and the wooden spoon

·    Homework

·    Pietra

Best Short Documentary Film

·    Behind the wall

·    Dissonance

·    Emilia

·    Schugurensky. Self-portrait

·    Wao Zone

Best Short Film

·    Close your eyes

·    Origami

·    Snap

·    Treasure

Best Feature Film

·    The 47

·    The Blue Star

·    The room next door

·    The infiltrator

·    Frame

Best Hispanic American Short Film

·    Paradise House (Guatemala)

·    Charrascas (Mexico)

·    When everything burns (Argentina)

·    The Sand House (Chile)

·    We have a homeland (Venezuela)

Best school short film

·    Daru/n

·    From Madrid to heaven

·    Disaster

·    Deadline

·    The other place

·    Gaupasa

·    Heritage

·    Remember me

 

Carlos Palencia, PJ COMMUNICATION

press@pjcomunicacion.es , ​ ​

634 446 742