AWFF Closing Ceremonies / Awards

'East of Wall' and 'Rebuilding' win the main awards of the 16th edition of Almería Western Film Festival

AWFF

October 11, 2026

[Gerardo Herrero receives the 'Desierto de Tabernas' Award for his career and his cinematographic link with the Almeria landscape]

Almeria, October 11, 2026.- Almeria Western Film Festival, the Tabernas film festival, has announced this Sunday, October 11, the winners of its 16th edition during the closing ceremony held at the Tabernas Theater. 'East of Wall', by Kate Beecroft (United States), has won the Award for Best Western Feature Film, while 'Rebuilding', by Max Walker-Silverman (United States), has received the Special Jury Prize for Best Neo-Western Feature Film.

The ceremony, presented by Luis Larrodera, has put the finishing touch to an edition that takes place from October 8 to 12 and has had nearly 60 cinematographic works in competition, five honorary recognitions, activities linked to the 60th anniversary of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' and the incorporation of the new section 'Found Treasures'. in addition to numerous parallel proposals.

For the second year in a row, the Award for Best Western Feature Film went to a film directed by women. In 2025, the award went to 'Eastern Western', by sisters Biliana and Marina Grozdanova, while this year it went to 'East of Wall', by American director Kate Beecroft. The winning film of this edition has also won the award for best actress for Tabatha Zimiga. For its part, 'Rebuilding', by Max Walker-Silverman, has received the Special Jury Prize for Best Neo-Western Feature Film. The Audience Award for Best Feature Film went to 'This Bloody Country'. The award for best actor went to Sergio Podeley for his performance in 'Gatillero', a film that also won the Carlo Simi Award for technical-artistic contribution to the western genre, awarded to Martín Sapia.

In the Official Short Film Section, the award for best work has been awarded ex aequo to 'Ovest', by Stevie Cavalier (United States), and 'Ser un hombre', by Lucas Parra (Spain). The award for the best short film of the International Section of Film Schools has gone to 'Misiones, 1757', by Leonel Benítez, from the Faculty of Arts and Design of Buenos Aires (Argentina). For its part, 'La espantada', by Ana Villa and Guillermo Parrilla, has received the Canal Sur Radio and Television Award for the best Andalusian creation of the western genre, while Carlos de Miguel has been recognized with the RC Service Award for the best cinematography in a Spanish work for 'Cara de cona'. The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to 'Terra Bruta', by Allan Riggs and Guilherme Suman (Brazil).

[Gerardo Herrero receives the 'Desierto de Tabernas' Award]

 One of the highlights of the ceremony was the presentation of the 'Desierto de Tabernas' Award to producer, director and screenwriter Gerardo Herrero, in recognition of his professional career and his cinematographic link with the Almeria landscape.

Founder of Tornasol Films in 1987 together with Javier López Blanco and Mariela Bersuievsky, Herrero has produced more than 150 films and has developed a career linked to Spanish and international cinema. Among his works are titles such as 'Territorio comanche', 'Las razones de mis amigos', 'Heroine' and 'Malena es un nombre de tango'. As a producer, he participated in 'The Secret in Their Eyes', winner of the Oscar for best international film. The filmmaker has shot films such as 'Don Juan' (1998), 'Hostile Zone' (2016), 'Jerusalem' (2020) and 'Carte Blanche', his most recent work as a director, in the Tabernas Desert.

Herrero has received the recognition with enthusiasm and has recalled his relationship with the festival and with the western genre. "I was excited. They called me to ask me if I wanted to accept the recognition and I said yes, without thinking about it," he said. The director explained that he is especially excited to receive an award at a festival dedicated to the Western, a genre with which he has also had a relationship through some of his films.

On the possibilities offered by the Tabernas Desert as a film set, he highlighted the uniqueness of its landscape, the colour of the stone and the light. "I was proposed to shoot in the Canary Islands for economic reasons and I did not find that the Canary Islands could compete with these landscapes," he said. Herrero also compared the Almeria landscape with the desert of Marrakech, where he had filmed two years earlier, and pointed out the similarities between the two territories.

The ceremony also reserved a moment to recognize the loyalty of the spectators. A couple who attend the Almeria Western Film Festival every year have received a commemorative plaque for their association with the event, as part of the audience awards ceremony.

The comedian and presenter Samantha Ballentines has participated in the presentation of these awards, which have recognized the works chosen by the spectators. The closing ceremony featured three musical interventions by Blanca Paloma together with Polo, with the songs 'Secreto de agua', 'Trenza mía', 'Contigo' and 'Lo fugaz', as well as an In Memoriam tribute to professionals of the western genre who have died since the previous edition of the festival. The 16th edition of the Almeria Western Film Festival will conclude this Monday, October 12 with new screenings of the award-winning films, including 'Rebuilding' and 'East of Wall', as well as other activities such as a flea market, concerts and children's games.