The film, by Spanish director Albert Serra, won the Golden Shell for best film at the festival, for its portrayal of a day in the life of a Peruvian bullfighter, Andrés Roca Rey.
Serra thanked the festival organisers for having selected his film after animal rights groups had campaigned against its screening.
It got a warm reception at its festival screening, even though animal rights group PACMA had denounced it as a romanticised vision of bullfighting that normalised violence towards animals.
Film critics have argued the documentary has something for both fans of bullfighting and opponents of it, as it gives insight into the fear of death the bullfighter has before the corrida but showcases the violence and cruelty against fighting bulls like no other film before it.
"Without intending to, the story has been turned upside down. Bullfighting fans don't like the film, the anti-bullfighting fans don't like it either but the critics do like it," argued Rubén Amón, journalist for El Confidencial and OndaCero.
"We hear everything", wrote Javier Zurro for Spanish left-leaning daily El Diario.
"We are forced to see what we do not want to see, but Serra also makes us hear what we have always been deprived of. With this he ends up breaking another stereotype about bullfighting, the supposed great respect the bullfighter has for the bull".
Upon receiving his award, director Albert Serra said "I would like to thank the protagonists for their open-mindedness in allowing people like us into their world. The film has a genuine side that cannot be found in many other films. Only this kind of daring experimental cinema dares to get to the bottom of an issue like this".
The documentary, which is set in Peru, will premiere in Spain in early 2025.
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