Spain's Goya academy published its list of film awards Sunday,
with La Soledad (Solitude) taking the trophy for
the best domestic film and Argentina's XXY receiving the
best Spanish language foreign film award.
La Soledad, directed by Barcelona's Jaime Rosales, was
a surprise winner for the domestic category, although it had
already won best director and best newcomer for actor Jose Luis
Torrijo. It beat more famous films El Orfanato (The
Orphanage), which had won seven of its 14 possible awards, and
Las Trece Rosas (The 13 Roses), which won four of
its 14 possible awards.
La Soledad tells a story of a divorced mother played by
Sonia Almarcha and a widow played by Petra Martinez. In the film
the two women want to put their lives together to care for their
children.
Rosales dedicated his awards to the children of cinephiles, "who
are the future of cinema." He urged parents to take their children
to the cinema not just to watch Disney films but also to watch art
films like Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves.
Lucia Puenzo, 35, director of XXY, is also a novelist
who has written three books: 2004's El Nino Pez (The Fish
Boy), 2005's Nueve Minutos (Nine Minutes), and
2007's La Maldicion de Jacinta Pichimahuida (Jacinta
Pichimahuida's Curse).
In XXY, Puenzo's debut film, the main character is
15-year-old Alex, played by Ines Efron, who was born with both male
and female genitals: medically she is known as a feminine
pseudo-hermaphrodite. The story is about how she explores her
complex sexuality and faces up to a world that treats her as a
monster.
The academy gave its best actress prize to Maribel Verdu for her
role in "Siete Meses de Billar Frances" (Seven Billiards Tables).
The actress is better known for award-winning roles in El
Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) and Y Tu
Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too).
Other important awards included Alberto San Juan for best male
actor in Bajo Las Estrellas (Below the Stars),
best supporting actor to Jose Manuel Cervino in Las Trece
Rosas, best supporting actress to Amparo Baro in Siete
Meses de Billar Frances and best new actress to Manuela
Velasco in Rec.
(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2008)