Nine-year-old actress Sofía Otero with the team from 20,000 Species of Bees at the Malaga gala. Francis Silva

Top Malaga festival prize goes to 20,000 Species of Bees

The story of a trans girl won the Biznaga de Oro for Spanish film while Las Hijas was triumphant in the Latin American section

Francisco Griñan

Malaga

Friday, 24 March 2023 | Updated 25/03/2023 10:58h.

The Malaga Film Festival came to an end on Saturday night with a closing gala at which the awards were handed out to the most successful Spanish and Latin American films.

The festival's top award, the Golden Biznaga - shaped and named after the traditional flower made from jasmine - went in the Spanish film category to a moving story of a young trans girl, 20,000 Species of Bees. The debut movie by Basque director Estibaliz Urresola was the festival's firm favourite, especially after its nine-year-old star, Sofía Otero, had previously won the best acting award at the Berlinale festival.

"This award raises awareness of trans childhoods and diversity in general," said Urresola, receiving the prize.

The second Biznaga de Oro, for a Latin American film, came as more of a surprise: the winner was another debut production, Sister & Sister (Las Hijas) by Kattia G. Zúñiga.