2024-02-11
20,000 Species of Bees and To Bird Or Not To Bird, Award-Winning Basque Productions at the Goya ceremony
Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren's film was honored with three accolades, and Martin Romero's work, produced by Uniko, won the prize for Best Animated Short Film.
Last night, Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren secured the Goya awards for Best New Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for ‘20,000 Species Of Bees’, a well-deserved recognition for this outstanding work that has garnered numerous accolades at international festivals. Additionally, Ane Gabarain was acclaimed as Best Supporting Actress, in a category where her colleague Itziar Lazkano was also nominated. The Basque production entered the ceremony with a total of 15 nominations, a record-breaking number for a maiden feature, although Urresola's debut found a strong rival in Society Of The Snow, the big winner of the night, which emerged as the third most awarded film in the history of these awards after ‘The Sea Inside’ and ‘¡Ay, Carmela!’.
The three Goya awards collected by the bees add to the long list of accolades that the work produced by Gariza Films, Inicia Films, and Sirimiri Films has obtained throughout last year, including the latest achievements: Best Dramatic Film and Best Supporting Actress at the Feroz Awards, and Best New Director, Best Non-Catalan Language Film, and Best Cinematography at the Gaudi Awards.
It was also a great night for 'To Bird Or Not To Bird', directed by Martín Romero and produced by Uniko, which won the Goya for Best Animated Short Film, a category in which 'Txotxongiloa', directed by Sonia Estévez and produced by Tik Tak Film Studio, was also competing.
The short film produced by Ivan Miñambres, who received his sixth Goya yesterday, has been applauded by critics at multiple national and international festivals.
Nominated Productions
The psychological thriller produced by Basque Films, 'Upon Entry', went home empty-handed. Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez were nominated, alongside Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, for Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay. Additionally, Argentine-Spanish actor Alberto Amman was up for the Goya for Best Leading Actor.
The category of Best Original Screenplay had a third Basque work in competition: the film directed by Felix Viscarret, ‘Not Such An Easy Life', produced by Lamia Producciones. Neither 'Sultana's Dream', by Isabel Herguera and Uniko, managed to win the coveted award for Best Animated Film. And the latest film by Carlota Pereda produced by Bixagu Entertainment, 'The Chapel’, couldn't either surpass Bayona’s production at the Best Special Effects category.
