Goya Awards: The 5 Winning Films You Can’t Miss

Awards season in the film industry is just beginning. Although all eyes are focused on the Oscars, for this occasion the Goya Awards had their magical night at the Palacio de las Artes Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain, where professionals in each of the different specialties of Spanish cinema were recognized with this important award as it happens year after year.

And it is that the 36th edition of the Goya left several records and statistics that were not overlooked. For the first time in the history of these awards, a film (“The Good Boss”) had 20 nominations and broke a record. Also, the director Pedro Almodóvar added his tenth nomination although he lost against Fernando León de Aranoa who added his fourth Goya to become the director with the most awards at the festival.

Another figure who shone once again was Javier Bardem, who extended his dominance in the acting category by adding his sixth Goya (eighth with two other awards as producer). In turn, Penélope Cruz reached 12 nominations to lead this statistic alone, although Blanca Portillo snatched the award in her second nomination for Best Leading Actress.

On the other hand, Latin American talent was also present at the gala. The Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film went to “La Cordillera de los Sueños”, from Chile. The film by director Patricio Guzmán beat “Canción sin Nombre” from Peru, “Las Siamesas” from Argentina, and “Los Lobos” from Mexico. It is worth mentioning that the last winning film in this category was the Colombian “El Olvido que seremos” in 2021.

Here is a list of 5 winning films of the Goya Award 2022 that you can start watching while the countdown continues for the delivery of the Oscars.

El Buen Patrón

arrived as the great favorite of this edition of the Goya and met the forecasts. In total there were 20 nominations, but at the end of the night, it won 6 awards: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Leading Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Original Music.

The drama-comedy film directed by Fernando León de Aranoa and starring Javier Bardem presents us with a charismatic owner of a company who is about to receive an award for business excellence. However, prior to the visit of the commission that will grant him such a distinction, a series of problems will begin to arise that he will have to solve against the clock, something that will bring unexpected consequences.

Las Leyes de la Frontera

The film by director Daniel Monzón was nominated for 6 awards and won 5: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Newcomer.

This thriller transports us to the Spain of the late seventies, where an introverted and misfit student meets two young delinquents from a Chinatown. From there, his life will change forever when he finds himself immersed in a love triangle full of adrenaline, robberies, and robberies. The story focuses on when he gets older and begins to understand what happens once he crosses the line between good and evil.

Also read: The Israeli Series on which Euphoria was based: Remake or Reinterpretation?

Maixabel

The second most nominated film of the night (15), although it only took home 3 Goyas: Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best New Actress. It is worth mentioning that the film directed by Icíar Bollaín and starring Blanca Portillo is based on real events.

This intense drama tells the story of Maixabel Lasa, widow of Juan María Jáuregui, a Basque politician assassinated by ETA in 2000. The plot unfolds eleven years later when one of the murderers who are in prison serving his sentence asks to meet with her. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” Maixabel responded after agreeing to sit across from the man who killed her husband.

Mediterranean

A curious fact is that the director of this film, Marcel Barrena, has managed to get all his films nominated in the main category of the Goya Awards. However, for this edition, he could only get 3 awards, which were: Best cinematography, Best production direction, and Best original song.

Very few know that every day there are thousands of people who risk their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to flee from armed conflicts. Precisely, this story presents two rescuers who put together a rescue team to go to Lesbos (Greece) and try to face a harsh reality that affects all of Europe.

Libertad

Clara Roquet has lived the dream of many Spanish and world directors: that her first film is recognized to the point of reaching the Goya Awards. And it is that of its 6 nominations it managed to raise 2: Best Supporting Actress and Best New Director. The future of Ibero-American cinema begins to pass through the hands of the Catalan director.

The plot introduces us to Nora, a 14-year-old teenager who is with her family in the summer house where Grandma Angela lives, who suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s. At first, the young woman does not find her place, although everything begins to change when Libertad appears, the daughter of the woman who takes care of her grandmother, and with whom she will forge an intense and unequal friendship. Both will be able to leave their comfort zone in order to discover a new world full of freedom.