Catalan film sweeps the board at Málaga Film Festival

The Catalan film The Belly of the Sea (El ventre del mar) has swept the board at the Málaga Film Festival, winning six awards including the prestigious Golden Biznaga for Best Picture.

The film, from Balearic director Agustí Villaronga, is based on the real events of a disaster at sea when in June 1816 a French naval ship ran aground on a sandbar off the coast of Senegal. The plot revolves around the horrific fate of 147 men trapped on a raft, 12 meters by 6 meters, adrift in the middle of the ocean.

Villaronga also picked up the award for Best Director, while the Catalan Roger Casamajor won the Best Actor award.

The film also won awards for Best Screenplay (Agustí Villaronga and Alessandro Baricco), Best Score (Marcús JGR) and Best Cinematography (Josep María Civit y Blai Tòmas).

The Málaga Film Festival is celebrating its 24th edition this year and runs from 3 to 13 June.