The winners of MOTELX Lisbon 2023

In September, horror invaded the city of Lisbon, as usual since 2007!
MOTELX has hosted the best international films and world premiered emerging Portuguese genre cinema since 2007. Guests of honour such as George A. Romero, Dario Argento, Hideo Nakata, Coffin Joe, Eli Roth, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Roger Corman, and Ari Aster have already joined the nearly 20,000 people who annually pass by the iconic Cinema São Jorge. 
But now, here you have the Méliès d’argent 2023 awards!

Méliès d’argent – Best European Feature Film Winner @ MOTELX 2023 Lisbon

The competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF).
The award goes to the best European feature film:

Superposition
by Karoline Lyngbye
Denmark, 2023, 105′

In Quantum Physics, the principle of superposition refers to the combination of two different physical phenomena (but identical in nature) that co-exist as part of the same event. The intellectual couple, Stine and Teit, leave Copenhagen and the comforts of city life with their son, Nemo, for a sustainable refuge in a Swedish forest. Their hope is to rekindle the flame in their marriage and rediscover themselves as individuals, while documenting their new lifestyle on a podcast. But one day, Nemo disappears into the forest and when Stine finds him again, the terrified child insists that she is not his mother. After being in the Cannes Frontières Platform in 2021 and being part of the official selection of the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2023, “Superposition” lands in Lisbon as a psychological game of reflexes, existentialist nuances and emotional dissolution.

Jury: Dinarte de Freitas (Actor), Gonçalo Almeida (Director), Mònica García i Massagué (General Manager of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia)

Statement:
With a talented cast and excellent cinematography, and for the complexity in the use of fantasy devices to show a well-woven narrative, about a relationship identity crisis, we awarded “Superposition”, by director Karoline Lyngbye.

MOTELX Méliès d’argent feature films competition:

Amelia’s Children, A Semente do Mal, 92′, Portugal 2023, Gabriel Abrantes
The Funeral, Cenaze, 107′, Turkey 2023, Orçun Behram
Hood Witch, Rokya, 91′, France 2023, Saïd Belktibia
Pensive, Rupintojelis, 84′, Lithuania 2022, Jonas Trukanas
Raging Grace, 99′, UK 2023, Paris Zarcilla
Smother, Heimsuchung, 90′, Austria 2022, Achmed Abdel-Salam
Superposition, 105′, Denmark 2023, Karoline Lyngbye

Méliès d’argent – Best European Short Film @ MOTELX 2022 Lisbon

The competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF). The winner of the competition also wins the nomination to the Méliès d’or annual competition. The award goes to the best European short film.

Gangrene (Gangrena)
by Ignacio Gil-Toresano Fernández
Spain, 2023, 10′

In a village plagued by a gangrenous disease, two brothers try to survive the infection that spreads through their home and food. When one of them discovers he may be infected, he becomes determined to eradicate all black rashes from his life.

Jury: Ingmar Koch (Musician), Juan Castro Garcia (Programmer), Rita Blanco (Actress)

Statement:
We are what we live, what we do and what we design. We are what cinema says about us and the fears, tensions and nightmares that settle in it. For showing fear, dread, and restlessness with very little. It’s not pretentious. Intense and very realistic atmosphere, we awarded “Gangrene” by Ignacio Gil-Toresano Fernández.

Méliès d’argent Award – Short Films @ MOTELX

A Bloody Graveyard Story, Germany 2022, Vanessa Stachel
Cover Your Ears, Sweden 2022, Oskar Johansson
Gangrena, Spain 2023, Ignacio Gil-Toresano Fernández
The Internet Remains Undefeated, UK 2022, Robbie Gibbon
Tigre Místico, Spain 2023, Marc Martínez Jordán
PAURA – La Vergine nella Fontana, Italy 2021, Tommaso Ottomano
Der Inhalt eines Bünzlis, Switzerland 2022, Lars Alexander Wicki
Vierkante Ogen, Netherlands 2022, Laila Fantozzi, Koen Janssens
Tistlebu, Norway 2022, Simon M. Valentine
The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras, UK 2023, Craig Williams
The Alchemist, Germany 2023, Robert Gwisdek
Claudio’s Song, UK 2022, Andreas Nilsson
A Kind of Testament, France 2023, Stephen Vuillemin
Kvelertak – Morild, Norway 2023 Fredrik S. Hana
Lake of Fire, Germany 2022, Neozoon
Noisetrain, Belgium 2022, Pol De Plecker
South Florida Sky, UK 2022, Laila Majid, Louis Blue

Don’t forget to watch the MOTELX Special on our Méliès Fantastic Hub!