On the evening of February 8, local time, the 39th Goya Awards, the highest honor in the Spanish film industry, came to an end in the scenic mountain city of Granada. This year's Best Picture Award was a rare "double yolk": "El 47" and "La infiltrada" both won the top prize.
Poster of Bus No. 47
Coincidentally, both best films were adapted from real events. "Bus 47" directed by Marcel Barrena is about a civilian hero, telling the story of a bus driver named Banolo who insisted on his own ideas in the urban expansion plan of Barcelona in the 1970s, thus changing the entire city layout. The film led the Goya Award nominations this year with 16 nominations, and finally won five awards including the Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress awards.
Undercover poster
"Undercover" is the latest work of Arancha Echevarria, the director of "La Chinoise". It is set in the 1990s and tells the story of a young female police officer who has been undercover in the terrorist organization ETA for many years and successfully helped to dismantle criminal activities. In addition to the Best Film Award, the lead actress Carolina Yuste won the Best Actress Award.
Poster of Marco
In addition, the Best Actor award went to Edward Fernandez. In 2024, he shined in both "Bus 47" and "Marco", and finally won the award for the latter. "Marco" is also adapted from real events. Fernandez plays a habitual liar who transplants the experience of others being persecuted by the Nazis into his own body and attracts attention from the outside world as a concentration camp survivor.
Saturn Returns poster
Izaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez won the Best Director Award for "Segundo premio", a biopic of the Spanish indie rock band Los Planetas. Almodóvar's "The Next Room" won three awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.
Emilia Perez poster
As for the most anticipated Spanish-language film "Emilia Perez" this awards season, it was only eligible for the Best European Film award because it was produced by a French company, and it finally won the award as expected. The film's star, Spaniard Carla Sofia Gascón, became the first transgender actor in history to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. The entire Spanish film industry should have been proud of her, but her past discriminatory remarks on social media have triggered criticism, and it is expected that she will not travel to the United States to participate in various events during the awards season. Although the Spanish local media did not criticize her like the Hollywood media, she still missed the Goya Awards ceremony this year.
