Goya Awards 2015 Nominations, Analysis, Predictions: Argentina's 'Wild Tales' A Front-Runner? Antonio Banderas to Be Honored
The Academy Awards may be all the rage this awards season, but Spaniards also get to enjoy their own ceremony honoring the best in film.
A few days ago, the nominations for the Goya Awards, known as Los Premios Goya, were announced. The winners will be selected on Feb. 8, a few weeks before the Oscars announce their big victors.
The big story of the nominations of course is the hotly-anticipated "Relatos Salvajes" (better known as Wild Tales around these parts). That film is a top contender for the Academy Awards' best foreign language film category and is also the front-runner at the Goyas. The film, which was produced by famous Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar, is the front-runner to take home the awards.
The film also took home nominations for Best Original Score (written by Academy Award winner Gustavo Santaolalla), Best Director (Damian Szifron), Best Original Screenplay (Szifron), Best Lead Actor (Ricardo Darin), Best Editing (Szifron and Pablo Barbieri), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Marisa Amenta and Nestor Burgos), Best Foreign Film in Spanish Language and Best Production Supervision (Ester Garcia).
And despite getting nine nominations, the film fell short in comparison to other contenders. The other four candidates for Best Film include "El Nino," "La isla minima," "Magical Girl" and "Loreak." While the Argentinean-Spanish "Wild Tales" came away with nine nominations, such films as "El Nino" and "La isla minima" took home 16 and 17 nominations, respectively. "Magical Girl" had a more modest seven nominations while "Loreak's" two nominations make it the underdog in this race.
The other unique category to take a look at is Best Foreign Language film in Spanish, which often includes Central American and South American entries. "Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales)" obviously made the cut and is the undisputed favorite to take home the top prize, but it will have to overcome such films as Uruguay's "Kaplan (which was a joint production with Spain and Germany)," Venezuela's "La Distancia Mas Larga (The Longest Distance)" and Cuba's "Conducta."
This year's ceremony marks the 29th annual Goya Awards, which are handed out to the best in Spanish cinema. Among the winners of Best Film that have had major impact in the U.S. are "Blancanieves (2013)," "Volver (2007)," "The Sea Inside" (2005), "All About My Mother" (2000, another Best Foreign Language winner at the Oscars) and "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (1989).
A recent trend at the Oscars includes not winning more than a handful of Awards. There have been some films that win big ("The Return of the King" and "Titanic" walking away with 11 Oscars, for example), but some films have come away with big bags of trophies from the Goyas. "The Sea Inside" dominated its year with 14 prizes overall, while "Ay Carmela!" won 13 Goyas in 1990. In 2012, "Blancanieves" won a tremendous 10 Goyas. The film to earn the most nominations was 1994's "Running Out of Time," which was shortlisted for 19 different awards.
There are currently 28 categories. However, unlike the Oscars, which usually allow for five finalists, most categories at the Goya Awards max out at four finalists. Among the Goya Awards being handed out each year is an Honorary Goya Award handed out to important Spanish Artists in the film industry.
The 29th Annual Award will be given to renowned actor Antonio Banderas, who is best known for his work with director Pedro Almodovar, as well as such American hits as "The Mask of Zorro" and "Shrek."