Maria João Bastos was the actress honoured at the closing session of the 7th edition of YMotion. The young cinema festival ended last 13 November at Centro de Estudos Camilianos, in Seide, in a session attended by the Mayor of Vila Nova de Famalicão, Mário Passos, in which prizes were awarded to the best short films in competition, with highlight to the consecration of the film "Perpetual Night" by Pedro Peralta, winner of the Joaquim de Almeida Grand Prize.
"Famalicão, capital of young cinema in Portugal" is how Mário Passos calls the county of Famalicão, given the success of the film festival in the national panorama. "Culture and the democratization of culture is a reality in Famalicão (...) for our entrepreneurial capacity, regarding the arts" highlights the mayor. "We want to bring to the territory initiatives that promote the creativity of our young people (...) a cognitive dimension that is very important so that our citizens of the future may have a critical spirit" reinforces the Mayor.
The night's honoured guest, actress Maria João Bastos, who considers herself "an eternal apprentice of the art", thanked the "beautiful tribute, on such a special night" for young national cinema. She recalled the beginning of her career "of the 12-year-old girl who only wanted to be an actress". "Thinking that I was coming here to be honoured made me think about these 35 years of my life, (...) time that I have already dedicated to this passion of mine, made of joys, of conquests, of successes, but also made of many difficulties, insecurities, fears, doubts, failures", said Maria João Bastos, who left a message to the young filmmakers and artists: "never stop dreaming, believe in your dreams and believe in yourself".
Regarding the YMotion short films competition, the Audience Award was given to "Submisso" by Susana Silva, the Best Cinematography Award to Pedro Peralta, for "Perpetual Night", the Best Interpretation Award to Matilde Couso de Arcos, for "Perpetual Night", the Best Script to "A Rainha" by Lúcia Pires, the Best Documentary to "Fruto do Vosso Ventre" by Fábio Silva, the Best Short Animated Film to "Kumaru" by Bruno Maravilha, Tânia Teixeira and Patrícia Santos, and for Secondary Schools to "Os cães são mais bonitos quando estão molhados" by Salvador Lobo Xavier. Honourable Mentions were also given to the short film "Girl from Saturn" by Gonçalo Almeida, as well as to the actor João Cravo Cardoso for his interpretation in "Fora de Jogo" by José Freitas.
The 7th edition of the young cinema festival took place from 8 to 13 November with events at Casa da Juventude, in Famalicão, at Fundação Castro Alves, in Bairro, and at Centro de Estudos Camilianos, in Seide. Throughout the programme, YMotion received special guests such as Ricardo Pereira, Teresa Tavares, Sónia Balacó, Benedita Pereira, Tiago R. Santos and Capitão Fausto.
YMotion is a festival organised by Vila Nova de Famalicão City Council since 2015, and curated by Rui Tendinha, which has been asserting itself on the circuit of film shows and festivals in the country, serving as a lever for the work of young filmmakers aged 12 to 35. In the 2020 edition, almost two hundred short films were received in the competition and director Filipe Rufatto received the "Joaquim de Almeida Grand Prize" for his film "Sofia" (2019).