Cespedesp of Chile wins 1st prize from Cinefondation at Cannes Film Festival

Diego Cespedesp of Chile took home first prize with "The Summer of the Electric Lion," on Thursday won the second prize from Cinefondation at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.

With short film "The Storms in Our Blood," Chinese director Shen Di, from the Shanghai Theater Academy won the second prize.

During the awards ceremony at the Festival Palace, the Jury of the Cinefondation and short films, presided over by Bertrand Bonello, made its selections for the Cinefondation Prize.

The joint second prize was shared by "The Storms in Our Blood" and "Calendar" directed by Igor Poplauhin of the Moscow School of New Cinema, while the third prize was given to Lucia Bulgheroni from a British school with "Inanimate."

"The Storms in Our Blood," with a 31-minute running time, tells the story of Uma, a 22-year-old African woman, who travels thousands of kilometers in the northeastern countryside of China, in a voyage to find the father of her child.

This year, the Selection for the Cinefondation Prize included 17 films from cinema students chosen from among 2,426 candidates coming from 512 film schools worldwide.

Created in 1998 to help support the discovery of new talent, the Cinefondation chooses every year 15 to 20 short and medium-length films presented by film schools from around the world.