Catalan and Basque films well placed for the Goya Awards

The Spanish Film Academy’s sensitivity and lack of prejudice towards Spain’s linguistic diversity was made evident seven years ago when it gave its most important Goya award to the Catalan film Pà negre. With this year’s nominations it has gone even further by placing among the favourites Handia, filmed in Basque, and Estiu 1993, in Catalan. The film with most nominations, 13 in fact, is Handia, a moving and poetic story directed by Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi that relates the true story of a 19th century giant, born in a Basque village who became an attraction in theatres world over.

In 4th position and with seven nominations, the same number as Paco Plaza’s horror film Verónica, Carla Simon’s Estiu 1993 also is in the running for the major awards. The film has received praise and more than 20 awards around the world and just last Sunday won the Gaudí award. Pà negre won the Goya in 2011, a month after winning the Gaudí.

The event this weekend also promises to be a protest in favour of gender equality, and another Catalan director, Isabel Coixet, has written and directed the second most nominated film, The Bookshop. Based on the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald and shot in English and starring Bill Nighy and Emily Mortimer, it has a chance at 12 Goyas.