Maria Zamora, actress of the film “Alcarràs”, receives the National Cinema Award of Spain

Spanish producer Maria Zamora of Elástica Films, who has spent much of her 20-year career supporting rising film stars, most of whom are women, accepted this year’s National Cinematography Award at the 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival on Saturday 21 September.

It was presented by filmmakers Elías León Siminiani, Paula Ortiz and Spanish Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun.

Siminiani, who worked on two documentaries with Zamora over a 10-year period, said: “I saw her career take off like a hot-air balloon. After we stopped working together, she immediately won the Berlin Golden Bear for Alcarràs, the Golden San Sebastian Shell for O Corno, the Goya for Libertad and the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight for Creatura,” he joked.

“Indeed, in these uncertain times we need a stabilizing force like Maria,” said Ortiz, the multiple Goya Award-nominated director whose film “La Virgen Roja” (formerly titled “Hildegart”), an Elástica co-production with Prime Video, opens Sept. 22 in San Sebastián.

Before presenting her with the prestigious honor, which comes with a cash prize of 30,000 euros ($33,500), Urtasun noted that Zamora “has cultivated an extensive catalog of facultative affinities over two decades. She has managed to forge a unique bond with the directors she has worked with, and this fruitful dialogue has gifted us with excellent feature films that have been recognized at major international festivals.”

He praised her for “constantly taking risks and prioritizing the social value of the act of film.” For this reason, he emphasized, “in our cinema, as in the films signed by Maria Zamora, we have an excellent guide who helps us better understand the present.”

Urtasun also noted the growing presence of women in the Spanish film industry. Addressing Zamora, he said: “Through your work, you have helped ensure that the talent and efforts of many other women have reached where they should naturally go, breaking the age-old inequalities, silences, violence and discrimination that still exist but that we all have a duty to overcome. A responsibility that we at the Ministry of Culture are very aware of.”

Speaking to Diversity After the ceremony, Zamora indicated that she has no intention of resting on her laurels. She has two films ready to shoot: Marta Matute’s “Yo no moriré de amor,” a co-production with Madrid’s Solita Films, to shoot in Madrid in January, and Laura Garcia Alonso’s “Corredora,” to shoot in Barcelona in April with Distinto Films.

Born in Valencia, Romero has been living in Madrid with her partner/husband Enrique Costa for several years. “I hope to be able to film more in Valencia,” she said, adding that she has collaborated with many Catalan filmmakers in recent years.

“Alcarràs” director Carla Simon has just wrapped filming “Romería,” the third in a trilogy that began with 2017’s “Summer 1993,” and will then move on to a flamenco musical she announced last year in San Sebastian.

“About 10 years ago, I made a conscious decision to work with female filmmakers, many of whom are just starting out,” she said, adding that she has backed at least ten debut feature films to date.

Meanwhile, she’s busy inviting everyone for drinks.