Anómalo, by Aitor Gutiérrez, and The devil on your back, by Haritz Zubillaga, winners of the HISPASAT 4K International Festival

Madrid, Spain, September 21, 2016-The closing ceremony of the HISPASAT 4K International Festival was held yesterday at the TABAKALERA International Centre for Contemporary Culture in San Sebastián. This event announced the six winning films of the second edition of the competition, one of the first in the world to exclusively feature short films shot and post-produced in 4K format.

The jury was formed by Ignacio Sanchis (Business Director at HISPASAT, who acted as president of the jury), film director Fernando Colomo (La isla bonita, Al sur de Granada), producer Adrián Guerra (Palmeras en la nieve, Buried), filmmaker Paula Ortiz (La novia, De tu ventana a la mía), Jesús Ulled (Director of CINE365 Film), Yolanda Vicente (Content Expert at Samsung España), Guillermo Niño (Senior Manager for Broadcast, OTT and Home Video at Dolby Laboratories), Edith Martínez Odriozola (Director of Culture and Society at TVE), Miguel Ángel Doncel (CEO at SGO), Daniel Pérez (Product Manager for the Optical Devices, Photo Imaging and Recording Media Divisions at Fujifilm) and Javier Valdés (Founding Partner of Ad Hoc Studios). After emphasising the quality of the films submitted to the competition, the jury decided to grant the following awards:

  • HISPASAT AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM: Anómalo, by Aitor Gutiérrez (Spain, 2014, 0:15:34)
  • CINE365 FILM AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR: The devil on your back, by Haritz Zubillaga (Spain, 2015, 0:05:16)
  • SAMSUNG SUHD JURY PRIZE: Un lugar, by Iván Fernández de Córdoba (Spain, 2016, 0:12:00)
  • DOLBY AWARD FOR BEST SOUND: The darkness keeper, by Rodrigo Atiénzar (Spain, 2016, 0:18:41)
  • RTVE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM FROM A FILM ACADEMY: Calas para Eva, by Ilune Díaz (Spain, 2016, 0:14:20)
  • FUJIFILM/SGO AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Empathy, by Víctor Claramunt (Spain, 2015, 0:04:30)

During the event, HISPASAT CEO Carlos Espinós highlighted the technological progress that has resulted from High Dynamic Range (HDR), which enables a broader luminance range to be reproduced so as to obtain a higher level of detail, more brightness, greater contrast and more colour, and thus achieve greater realism.

Espinós summarised some data from recent reports: for example, in 2015, 31 million 4K TVs were sold, and in 2016 this figure will reach 43 million; it is estimated that in 2020 more than 140 million units will be sold, of which 58 million will have HDR technology, and 200 TV channels will be broadcast in UHD, which will reach 800 by 2025 (70% of them being via satellite). In fact, there are already 80 4K channels being broadcast by different operators and television platforms, and over 1200 series and films are available with this technology. As for the Internet, where video traffic in 2020 will be 80% of the total, 4K content distributed through OTT platforms will undergo significant development over the next five years.

In addition, Espinós emphasised that image quality is an increasingly important factor for viewers. Indeed, approximately 75% of TV content providers believe that consumers would be willing to pay a 10-30% increase in the price of their subscription in order to enjoy the service in 4K. Espinós highlighted the role of HISPASAT as a driving force behind Ultra High Definition technology since its start, and expressed his gratitude for the excellent response received by the Hispasat 4K International Festival among short-filmmakers as well as companies in the sector. More than 100 filmmakers from 14 different countries submitted their films to the second edition of the competition, which was open to films in any genre, produced as of 1 January 2014 and with a maximum duration of 25 minutes.

This year, the HISPASAT 4K International Festival has become a sponsor of the San Sebastián Film Festival. That is why all of its activities were carried out as part of this unrivalled film event. This second edition also included two new awards: the Cine365 Best Director Award, which grants the winner the opportunity to direct a feature film, produced by Cine365 in 2017, and the Samsung SUHD Jury Prize, which is sponsored by the new range of Samsung SUHD televisions.

The Spanish satellite communications operator and leader in the distribution of content in Spanish and Portuguese, HISPASAT, organised this international festival with the goal of promoting the creation and screening of audiovisual content recorded in 4K, or Ultra High Definition (UHD), the latest technological revolution in the audiovisual sector.

The competition is sponsored by the production house Cine365 Film, Samsung and Dolby Laboratories. Other cutting-edge technology companies in the film production sector such as SGO, Fujifilm and the sound studio Ad Hoc, as well as RTVE, the most innovative TV station in this field of technology in Spain, and graphic communications agency Azento de Diseño, have joined the effort to make this one-of-a-kind festival possible.