‘Marshland’ Top Winner at Spain’s Goya Awards

Alberto Rodriguez‘s thriller Marshland was the clear winner at the 29th Goya Awards ceremony Saturday night, winning 10 statuettes including best film, director, screenplay and actor.

The film, distributed by Warner in Spain, is produced by Atipica Films, Atresmedia and Sacromonte Films.

Daniel Monzon’s El Nino, which had been nominated in 16 categories, won four technical awards, while Carlos Vermut’s Magical Girl only landed the top actress for Barbara Lennie’s portrayal of a emotionally fragile woman.

Pedro Almodovar, Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz sat front and center, demonstrating the solidarity, professional dedication and long-standing friendship that bind the trio — in addition to highlighting the international cachet the Spanish film industry boasts.

“I don’t know if you know how important you are for this country, Penelope,” the master of ceremonies Dani Rovira said. “You go to Segovia and even the aqueduct wants to take a picture with Penelope Cruz.” Cruz presented the final Goya of the evening for best film.

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the evening was when Almodovar presented his original star actor Banderas the Honorary Goya.

“It’s impossible for me to speak about Antonio Banderas, without talking about myself,” Almodovar said. “In the ’80s, we shot five films together. I met him just after he arrived in Madrid, and I am grateful he deposited in my hands all his talent, without fear, without prejudices, without a parachute. The eyes of my male leads were always Antonio’s. And he lit the theaters on fire.”

Banderas, a much-loved figure in Spain, joked about Taylor Swift telling him her grandmother loved his films before waxing serious.

“Everything I have I owe to my profession. I owe not just what I have, but what I am,” Banderas said as he remembered his parents who watched him leave his hometown of Malaga on Aug. 3, 1980 on a train bound for Madrid as what they considered a “victim of foolishness.”

“I’ve known how to survive the subjectivities of time,” Banderas said. “But you should know that every time I finished a shot or a sequence, my mind was always focused on Spain, not on Phoenix or Cleveland. I was thinking how it would be viewed in Spain …  and more importantly in Malaga.”

Banderas dedicated the Goya “to the person who has paid the most” for his career, his daughter Stella Carmen.

In keeping with the celebratory spirit of the evening that comes on the heels of the Spanish film industry’s record box office results in 2014, culture minister Jose Ignacio Wert sat in the audience as winners joked about the box office gains helping bolster Spain’s economy, but they didn’t attack the government as in previous years.

In his annual speech, Spanish Academy President Enrique Gonzalez Macho announced a list of dignitaries in attendance, including U.S. ambassador James Costos, whom he specifically thanked for coming.  

“You [and the French ambassador also in attendance] represent two of the most powerful film industries in the world, with two models completely different,” Macho said. “But both make their films a question of national importance. We appreciate your presence and we see it as an act of solidarity.”

Macho, who applauded the “magnificent moment” the industry is enjoying, called on the government to eliminate the 21 percent sales tax on admission tickets.

With a nod to Almodovar, whose El Deseo production company produced Wild Tales, Macho wished Damian Szifron good luck in his run up to the Oscars. Hours later, Szifron picked up the award for best Latin American Film for his Wild Tales.

Unlike in previous years, where veteran showmen have conducted the gala, this year’s ceremony benefited from the fresh, informal humor of Rovira, star of the comic hit and box-office sensation A Spanish Affair. Rovira won the Goya for new actor and dedicated it to his girlfriend and co-star, Clara Lago. Lago was the only one of Affair’s key actors to not receive a nomination for a Goya, with the film’s Carmen Machi winning supporting actress and Karra Elejalde winning supporting actor.

A complete list of winners follows.

Film

Marshland

Director

Alberto Rodriguez for Marshland

New Director

Carlos Marquesk-Marcet for 10,000 km

Lead Actor

Javier Gutierrez for Marshland

Lead Actress

Barbara Lennie for Magical Girl

Original Screenplay

Alberto Rodriguez, Rafael Cobos for Marshland

Adapted Screenplay

Claro Garcia, Cristobal Ruiz, Javier Fesser for Mortadelo and Filemon Against Jimmy el Cachondo

Animated Film

Mortadelo and Filemon Against Jimmey el Cachondo

New Actor

Dani Rovira for A Spanish Affair

New Actress

Nerea Barros for Marshland

Supporting Actress

Carmen Machi for A Spanish Affair

Supporting Actor

Karra Elejalde for A Spanish Affair

Artistic Director

Pepe Dominguez for Marshland

Production Design

Edmon Roch, Toni Novella for El Nino

Editing

Jose M.G. Moyano for Marshland

Photography

Alex Catalan for Marshland

Special Effects

Guillermo Orbe, Raul Romanillos for El Nino.

Original Score

Julio de la Rosa for Marshland

Original Score

“Nino sin Miedo” by David Santisteban, India Martinez, Riki Rivera for El Nino.

Sound

Marc Orts, Oriol Tarrago, Sergio Burmann for El Nino

Makeup and Hair

Jose Quetgias, Carmen Veinat, Pedro Rodriguez for Musaranas

Wardrobe

Fernando Garcia for Marshland

Feature Documentary

Paco de Lucia: The Search

European Film

Ida by Pawel Pawlikowsky

Latin American Film

Wild Tales by Damian Szifron

Fiction Short

Café Para Llevar by Patricia Font

Animated Short

Juan y la Nube by Giovanni Maccelli

Documentary Short

Walls (If These Walls Could Talk) by Miguel Lopez Beraza