The film ‘L’affaire Bojarski’ (France) and the documentary ‘Fiume o morte!’ (Croatia) were the undisputed winners of the 6th Saraqusta Film Festival, taking home the most coveted awards: the Golden Dragons for Best Film and Best Documentary, respectively, at this festival that has turned Zaragoza into the capital of historical cinema for eight days.
“We are very happy because we have noticed that Saraqusta is permeating the city and beginning to build a loyal following, which we see most clearly in the purchase of passes for all screenings. This year we once again surpassed 4,000 attendees. The competition screenings were very well received, especially the documentaries. It’s clear that the audience enjoys engaging in conversation with the creators of the works, learning how they researched historical events and brought them to the screen. These past few days, we’ve truly ‘breathed’ historical culture.” This was stated by the director, José Ángel Delgado, during the press conference where this year’s winners were announced.
Best Feature Film (which also won the Best Actor award, Reda Kateb), was accompanied by a ‘Special Mention’ for the film ‘Truth and Treason’ (USA, Lithuania). As explained by the jury president, film and documentary director Silvia Pradas, ‘L’affaire Bojarski’ was judged to be the most complete and best-integrated work in the fiction section. It is a film of rise and fall, a French historical drama that chronicles the life of a political refugee and master forger in postwar France. The entire jury was moved by how it integrates the historical dimension, the construction of the events, the production, the staging, and, above all, the emotional weight. It is a very solid film in all its cinematic elements, but it also has a very powerful interpretive core, which is the actor Reda Kateb. He elevates the film, and for that reason he deserved the award for Best Male Performance. ‘Truth and Treason,’ by Matt Whittaker, about a 17-year-old who distributes anti-Hitler leaflets and ends up on trial for treason, has been recognized with a ‘Special Mention’ for several reasons: it is a very well-crafted work, with accomplished performances, and it is particularly timely in the current moment.”
‘Fiume o morte!’, Best Documentary, also won Best Screenplay: “It’s a daring film with a very personal voice, and the jury’s deliberation was, curiously, unanimous from the start,” Pradas noted. In her view, it is “a very irreverent docudrama that recreates the extravagant occupation of the Croatian city of Rijeka—known as Fiume in Italian—in 1919. And we particularly valued its unique approach and its narrative intelligence, which is very rare.”
The Best Actress award went to Tecla Insolia for ‘Primavera’.
This edition of Saraqusta has combined very solid entries with daring works
Pradas noted that the jury’s overall assessment of the films selected to compete in the 6th Saraqusta Film Festival was “very positive”: “In the fiction category, we found a very high and balanced standard across the different films, which made the deliberations very interesting. In the documentary section, the standard was also very high, with a balance between more traditional documentaries and more daring ones, featuring groundbreaking approaches within the documentary genre that pleasantly surprised us. We believe this year’s selection has successfully combined solid entries with more daring and personal ones.”
In addition to Silvia Pradas, the jury included Ignacio Iraburu, a marketing director; Julio A. Gracia Lana, a professor with a Ph.D. in Art History; Michael Cooper, an audiovisual producer with experience in the performing arts; and Juan Carlos Ajenjo, a film buff and writer.
They also decided to award the Best Director prize to Damiano Michieletto for ‘Primavera’ (Italy), alongside a “Special Mention” for Annemarie Jacir for ‘Palestina 36’ (Palestine, United Kingdom). As the jury president emphasized, “the direction was perceived as the most distinctive element of ‘Primavera,’ with a very distinctive mise-en-scène, a carefully constructed atmosphere, and an auteur’s vision capable of conveying a highly recognizable visual and musical sensibility. As for ‘Palestina 36’, the mention was awarded for being an ambitious film that engages very directly with our present.” ‘Palestina 36’ was also the winner of the Youth Jury Award.
In addition, this year the festival is also honoring the Ibercaja Foundation with an award for the feature film “El Patio de la Infanta,” in recognition of its support for culture and the preservation of historical and cultural heritage—the primary goal of this project. As Delgado explained, this documentary was provided by the Ibercaja Foundation so it could be screened for the first time during the “Special Screenings” section of Saraqusta and was produced by the Foundation—which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year—in collaboration with Factoría Henneo.
AWARDS LIST: VI SARAQUSTA FILM FESTIVAL
– Best Feature Film: ‘L’affaire Bojarski’ (France). Special Mention: ‘Truth and Treason’ (USA, Lithuania).
– Best Documentary: ‘Fiume o morte!’ (Croatia).
– Best Directing: Damiano Michieletto, for ‘Primavera’ (Italy). Special Mention: Annemarie Jacir, for ‘Palestine 36’ (Palestine, United Kingdom).
– Best Screenplay: Igor Bezinovic, for ‘Fiume o morte!’ (Croatia).
– Best Actress: Tecla Insolia, for ‘Primavera’ (Italy).
– Best Actor: Reda Kateb, for ‘L’affaire Bojarski’ (France).
– Youth Jury Award: ‘Palestine 36’.
– Special Recognition: Ibercaja Foundation.
Growth in the Young Audience and an Increase in Female Directors
José Ángel Delgado also highlighted the enthusiastic reception of “cinema in the street,” with sold-out screenings of ‘Braveheart’ in Plaza del Pilar, and the festival’s outreach to new, younger audiences: “In this regard, the number of young attendees has doubled thanks to the youth jury and the strategic partnership with the Aragón Youth Card. And we are very proud of the ‘Saraqusta Kids’ session, where a group of children were introduced to the world of cinema through an episode of ‘Las tres mellizas,’ followed by an activity related to the ‘seventh art.’ Also noteworthy is the increase in female directors, both in the films in competition and in those screened in the non-official sections.”
The growing interest among young audiences has also been accompanied by an increased presence on digital channels: since the new edition of Saraqusta was unveiled on March 24, there have been more than 900 posts on social media, providing up-to-the-minute updates on the festival’s progress. These posts have received more than 250,000 impressions. During the festival week, on Instagram—the social media platform with the highest activity—the festival reached over 20,000 accounts, not just in Spain. The Saraqusta Film Festival has also garnered a significant following in the U.S., Chile, Argentina, France, Italy, and Turkey. On Instagram and Facebook, the creation of Reel-format content was promoted, and viewers were able to get to know the stars of each day of the festival better in the “Saraqusta en corto” section.
The press conference was also attended by Sara Fernández, Councilor for Culture, Education, and Tourism for the City of Zaragoza, who noted “the growing importance of this specialized festival, with its international productions and its promotion of a creative sector that brings together a wide range of perspectives on the world and our past—something that is immensely enriching. “Saraqusta Film Festival represents a key element of our strategy as the City Government to transform Zaragoza into a City of Cinema, to offer quality culture—in this case, audiovisual culture—and to make it fully accessible to all citizens.”
Saraqusta Film Festival is co-organized by the Zaragoza City Council and the production company Cosmos Fan, with support from the Government of Aragon as an institutional partner, the Ibercaja Foundation as a main partner, and Carné Joven de Aragón, Aragón Alimentos, and Arafilmfest as collaborators.
Closing Gala and the 2026 Saraqusta Award for Jacqueline Bisset
In addition to these awards, the Saraqusta Award recognizes professional achievements in the field of historical film and television. This year, the award went to actresses Kimberley Tell, who accepted it at the opening ceremony, and Jacqueline Bisset, who will do so this afternoon at the closing gala.
The British actress has forged a prestigious career under the direction of filmmakers such as François Truffaut, John Huston, George Cukor, Claude Chabrol, and Roman Polanski. She has stood out particularly for her versatility in historical and period films, shining in productions such as ‘Napoleon and Josephine’, ‘Anna Karenina’, and ‘Imperial Venus’. Her elegance and dramatic depth have established her as one of the most respected actresses of her generation. Over the decades, she has managed to balance commercial success with demanding and sophisticated auteur cinema. This career trajectory positions her as an indispensable figure in European and American cinema.
All the awards will be presented this evening at the closing cocktail gala, which will be hosted by journalists Laura Mateo and Juan Moneo (@Desvergonzaus) and will take place at 8:00 p.m. at the Hotel Palafox. New this year is that the format will be similar to that of the Golden Globes, where attendees will be seated at tables and the winners will be called to the stage to collect their awards (this ceremony will take place at 9:00 p.m.).