Triumphs, Surprises and Winners at the 40th Goya Awards

On 28 February, Barcelona hosted the 40th edition of the Goya Awards. The undisputed winner of the night was Sundays, directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa. The film won five awards, including the most prestigious ones — Best Film and Best Director. The story follows a 17-year-old girl who is trying to decide what to study at university while seriously considering leaving everything behind to enter a convent.

In addition to the top prizes, the film also received:

— Best Original Screenplay (Alauda Ruiz de Azúa);

— Best Actress for Patricia López;

— Best Supporting Actress for Nagore Aranburu.

The film with the most awards was Sirat by Oliver Laxe, which won six Goyas. It was recognised in the following categories: Best Original Music (Kangding Ray), Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Cinematography (Mauro Herce), Best Production Design and Best Production.

Best Actor went to José Ramón Soroiz for his role in the drama Maspalomas, where he portrays an elderly gay man who moves into a retirement home and is forced to hide his sexual orientation. The award for Best Supporting Actor was given to Álvaro Cervantes for his performance in Deaf, directed by Eva Libertad — a film about a woman with hearing impairment whose marriage begins to unravel after the birth of her child.

The award for Best New Actress was won by Miriam Garlo (Deaf), while Best New Actor went to Antonio “Toni” Fernández Gabarre for his role in The Sleepless City, directed by Guillermo Galoe.

Best Documentary Feature was awarded to Albert Serra’s Tardes de soledad (Afternoons of Solitude), a film about Peruvian bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey. In the animation category, the winner was Decorado by Alberto Vázquez.

Among short films, the jury honoured Gilbert by Àlex Sala, Arturo Lacal and Jordi Jiménez (animated short), El Santo by Carlo D’Ursi (documentary short) and Ángulo Muerto by Cristiana Beteta (fiction short).

The award for Best European Film went to the Norwegian drama Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier. The honorary Goya Award was presented to director Gonzalo Suárez.