Naranjas, big winner at the 7th Memorables Film Festival, Spain's most important Alzheimer's film competition

• Javier Gómez's short film, starring Carlos Olalla, won the Neuronita de Oro for Best Short Film and the award for Best Actor.
• Si no fuera por mí (If It Weren't for Me) won the Silver Neuronita, and the award for Best Actress went to Patricia Vico.
• The seventh edition of the festival, promoted by the Queen Sofia Foundation and CIEN, broke records for participation and attendance, consolidating its position as a benchmark for dialogue between art, memory and science.

Madrid, 24 October. Last night, the short film Naranjas was the big winner at the 7th edition of the Memorables Film Festival, the audiovisual competition on Alzheimer's and other dementias organised by the Queen Sofia Foundation and CIEN (Centre for Research into Neurological Diseases), which every year turns the Queen Sofia Foundation Alzheimer's Centre into a meeting point for science, art and memory.

The gala, presented by Irma Soriano and actress Eva Almaya, brought together more than 150 attendees and was attended by institutional representatives, researchers and professionals from the audiovisual field. This year's festival broke its participation record, with 29 short films submitted and 17 selected for competition, reflecting the growing interest of creators and producers in addressing Alzheimer's from an artistic and human perspective.

The jury, made up of Eva Ortega, Secretary General for Research, playwright Carolina África and social media content creator Álvaro Martínez (Pasea Madrid), among other personalities from the scientific and cultural fields, awarded the Golden Neuronita for Best Short Film to Naranjas, whose star, Carlos Olalla, also won the award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a man caring for his wife with Alzheimer's disease.

The second prize, the Silver Neuronita, went to Si no fuera por mí, starring Rosario Pardo, Javier Collado Goyanes and Raquel Guerrero, while the third prize went to El cuarto de Luisito, which also won the award for Best Actress for Patricia Vico's performance.

The list of winners is completed by:

• Best Soundtrack: Rihla. El viaje
• Best Editing: Rihla. El viaje
• Best Cinematography: Saudade
• Best Screenplay: Yo soy tu casa
• Best Supporting Actor/Actress: María Cascón, for El último pliegue

For the first time, the festival included Honourable Mentions, awarded to Mi otra familia (My Other Family) for its continued participation in the competition. The award was presented by the manager of CIEN, María Ángeles Pérez, and Pascual Sánchez Juan, scientific director of CIEN. Likewise, the Don Quijote de la Memoria Award recognised the short film Persona for its originality and for representing a hopeful future in Alzheimer's research.

The second prize, the Silver Neuronita, went to Si no fuera por mí (If It Weren't for Me), starring Rosario Pardo, Javier Collado Goyanes and Raquel Guerrero, while the third prize went to El cuarto de Luisito (Luisito's Room), which also won the award for

Art, memory and science: a growing alliance

The Memorables Film Festival, which was created with the aim of promoting social awareness through audiovisual language, has established itself as one of the main cultural initiatives dedicated to Alzheimer's in Spain. In this edition, the selected short films explored themes such as the role of carers, the strength of family, the evocative power of music and identity in the face of forgetfulness, showing that artistic creation can also be a form of research and support.

"The participation, the highest of all editions of Memorables, the quality of the works, the creativity of the directors and the wonderful performances fill us with satisfaction. These are pieces that allow us to appreciate the drama generated by Alzheimer's disease, a drama that is not always visible and that is also social and familial. We want to help raise awareness of what this disease means in terms of human suffering, affecting real, specific people," said María Ángeles Pérez, manager of CIEN, during her speech at the gala, in which she also expressed her special thanks for the personal involvement of Her Majesty Queen Sofía and the support of the Queen Sofía Foundation in the scientific and awareness-raising work promoted by CIEN.

The 7th edition of the Memorables Film Festival also had the collaboration of Siemens and Fontventa as main sponsors.

Photo gallery:https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCytE4