Spanish Film Academy Announces Goya Award Nominations

 San Sebastián 2013 Awards Night 

The Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its nominations for the 28th edition of the Goya Awards, to be presented on February 9. The hosts were Quim Gutierrez and Clara Lago.

Six titles presented at the last 62nd edition of the San Sebastián Film Festival (SSFF), occupy a large part of the nominations and are now featured among the favorites of the year. The Goya of Honor will be presented to filmmaker Jaime de Armiñan this year.

"Witching and Bitching" (Las brujas de Zugarramurdi), directed by Álex de la Iglesia and screened out of competition in the Official Selection at  this year's 62nd SSFF, on the occasion of the Donostia Award presentation to Carmen Maura, leads with 10 nominations: best supporting actress (Terele Pávez), best music, best production supervision, best editing, best costume design, best sound, best cinematography, best art direction, best makeup and hairstyles, and best special effects.

Following its world premiere at the Toronto Festival in the Official Selection, where it received the Youth Award for Best Cinematography, Camibal (Cannibal), is nominated in eight categories: best film, best director (Manuel Martín Cuenca), best actor (Antonio de la Torre), best new actress (Olimpia Melinte), best adapted screenplay, best sound, best cinematography and best art direction.

Having won the Special Jury Prize for Best Film and Silver Shell for Best Actress at the SSFF, La herida (Wounded) bags six Goya nominations: best film, best new director (writer Fernando Franco), best actress (Marian Álvarez), best original screenplay, best editing and best sound.

The third Spanish film to compete in the SSFF, La herida (Wounded), Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados (Living is Easy with Eyes Closed), also competes for seven awards: 
Best film and best director, David Trueba,
Best actor, Javier Cámara,
Best new actress, Natalia de Molina, and
Best original screenplay, best music, best costume design.

Zipi y Zape y el club de la canica (Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang), presented on the Velodrome screen after its showing at the Toronto Festival, lands four nominations: best adapted screenplay, best production supervision, best art direction and best special effects.

The Spain-Argentina co-production Futbolín (Foosball), opening movie of the SSFF's previous edition - 61st, competes for the Goya in the best animated film category.

Another three titles programmed at the SSFF compete for the Goya for the best foreign film in the Spanish language: Gloria (from Chile), directed by Sebastián Lelio, was presented in the Pearls section and was a winner at the 60th SSFF edition of the Films in Progress Industry Award.

Alongside of it are, La jaula de oro (The Golden Dream) South Korea, directed by Diego Quemada-Díez, and El médico alemán, Wakolda (The German Doctor), Argentina, directed  by Lucía Puenzo. Both competed in the SSFF's Horizontes Latinos section, following their presentation in the "Un certain regard" section at the Cannes Festival last May.

28th Goya Awards Date February 9, 2014 Venue Centro de Convenciones y Congresos Príncipe Felipe, Madrid Host Manel Fuentes Network TVE 28th Goya Nominees: http://premiosgoya.academiadecine.com/nominados/?&idioma=EN Opt for Spanish or English version of page for finalists - link top of page.

"Blancanieves" and "The Impossible" Top Goya Awards in Madrid

Actress Maribel Verdú with Goya

According to "Fox News Latino," Javier Bardem was smiling happily Sunday night in Madrid at the Goya Awards, Spain's national film awards, considered to be the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars.

Bardem not only took home a statuette for a documentary he narrated, “Sons of the Clouds: The Lost Colony,” which looks at how colonization of the Western Sahara has left nearly nearly 200,000 people living in refugee camps, He spoke out about human rights in the Sahara. His wife Penélope Cruz, who accompanied him and was nominated for best actress, is expecting their second child.

His mother Pilar also attended. She is an award winning actress in her own right. Two days later, Bardem and many other actors, etc., were accused by a government spokesman of not paying taxes.

"Blancanieves" received the Goya for best motion picture and nine other awards. Writer-director Pablo Berger’s black-and-white fairy tale is a silent retelling of the "Snow White" story, but it is set in Seville in the 1920s, and the protagonist is an Andalusian female bullfighter.

Actress Maribel Verdú (“Blancanieves”) bested Naomi Watts ("The Impossible"), Verdú taking home a best actress Goya for her portrayal of the cruel stepmother. Paco Delgado, who is nominated for an Academy Award in the costume category for “Les Miserables,” received a Goya award for his costumes for “Blancanieves,” especially for Verdú’s character.

“Blancanieves” also captured a Goya for best original score and best original song, but there was no Goya for writer-director Pablo Berger. "Blancanieves" is not nominated for the Best Foreign Language film Oscar, either.

"The Impossible" is an official Spain production directed by Juan Antonio Bayona who captured the Goya for best director instead of Berger. Bayona also twisted his leg during the ceremony, and it required medical attention. "The Impossible" won five Goya statuettes mostly for technical endeavors. Bayona directed "The Orphanage" in 2007.

Also, we would be remiss if we did not send congratulations to  "Beautiful" José Sacristán on his first Goya win! 

The Big Winner

List of most winners:

Best Motion Picture -"Blancanieves";
Director - Juan Antonio Bayona for "The Impossible";

Actor - Jose Sacristán for "The Dead Man and Being Happy"; 

Actress - Maribel Verdú for "Blancanieves";

Original Screenplay - Pablo Berger for "Blancanieves";

Adapted Screenplay - Javier Barreira, Gorka Magallon, Ignacio del Moral, Jordi Gasull and Neil Landau for "Tad, The Lost Explorer";

Supporting Actor - Julian Villagran for "Grupo 7";

Supporting Actress - Candela Pena for "Una Pistola en Cada Mano" (A Pistol in Each Hand);
Animated Feature Film - "The Adventures of Tadeo Jones";

Documentary Film - "Sons of the Clouds, The Last Colony" ("Hijos de las Nubes, La Ultima Colonia");

Honorary Goya - Concha Velasco;

Production Design - Sandra Hermida Muniz for "The Impossible";

Artistic Director - Alain Bainee For "Blancanieves";

Photography - Kiko de la Rica for "Blancanieves";

Special Effects - Pau Costa and Felix Berges for "The Impossible";

Costumes - Paco Delgado for "Blancanieves";

Editing - Bernat Vilaplano and Elena Ruiz for "The Impossible";

Sound - Peter Glossop, Marc Orts, Oriol Tarrago for "The Impossible";

Original Score - Alfonso Villalonga for "Blancanieves";

Original Song - "No Te Puedo Encontrar" from "Blancanieves";

European Film - "Untouchable" (France);

Makeup and Hair - Sylvie Imbert and Fermin Galan for "Blancanieves";

New Actor - Joaquin Nunez for "Grupo 7";
New Actress - Macarena Garcia for "Blancanieves";
New Director - Enrique Gato for "Tad, The Lost Explorer".

Thank you to El País English and Fox News Latino.