'The Boy and The Suit of Lights' directed by Inma de Reyes won the Grand Jury Award for the International First Feature competition at Sheffield DocFest last night. The International First Feature Competition honours the future of non-fiction film and celebrates promising new talent and is supported by Netflix. The jury members were: Liselot Verbrugge (CEO, Film Harbour), Kirstine Barfod (Nordland Pictures founder), Diego Pino Anguita (Executive Director of the Chilean Documentary Corporation).

The Jury said: “The jury has chosen the winning film for its visually stunning reflection on culture and society, told through the journey of a boy finding his way to manhood. It triggers an inner discussion, challenging our ideas about the modern world versus fading traditions and beliefs.”

Filmed and carefully crafted and composed over the course of five years, the film follows Borja, a young boy growing up in Castellon, a small town in Spain, where the tradition of bullfighting weighs heavily on his shoulders. His grandad, Matias, pins his own unfulfilled dreams of becoming a professional bullfighter onto his grandchild with the hopes that it will get the family out of poverty. Like most underprivileged kids feeling trapped in a life with little choices and opportunities, Borja doesn’t see a future beyond orange fields, fishing and bullfighting.

To learn more about the film check this article in BBC News today

To find out more information on the winners at the Sheffield Doc Festival, check out this exclusive Deadline article.

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