Wines and Diplomas

The closing of the workshop was the farewell reception and the presentation of diplomas. It was a different kind of night: there was no longer a ticking clock or an open timeline, but rather a strange mix of relief, exhaustion, and emotion. At the beginning, Werner Herzog said a few words. He thanked us all for participating, congratulated us on the quality of the work, and commented that, compared to previous editions, he was surprised by what we had achieved. He said he was very happy with the general level, and for us, hearing that from him was a powerful conclusion. After those words, people began uncorking wine, pouring wine and beer, and that's when the presentation of diplomas began. Werner handed them out one by one. As each person went up to get theirs, the Extática Cine team took a photo with Werner, and many took the opportunity to ask him for an autograph. That beautiful moment of a line, laughter, nerves, and "I can't believe this is happening" faces unfolded. In parallel, something very characteristic of the group happened: we all started signing and writing messages to each other in a little notebook they had given us, which included a short bio of each of us. It was like an Azores Experience yearbook: everyone left a phrase, a thank you, a contact, and a mark so that the bond wouldn't be broken when it was all over. After the reception, when the bar closed, we ended up at an after-party, but this time it wasn't in Juan's room: it was in Nicolás's room. Part of the Extática team joined in, along with some colleagues who tagged along. We stayed up talking a lot about cinema, a lot about the workshop, finally getting to know each other for real, and opening the last of our wines: the last Sin Límites from San Juan and the last wine from the Bontala group from Mendoza. That night we closed by toasting with good Cuyo wines, with the clear feeling that the workshop had ended, but the group—somehow—had not.