Saben aquell, by Ikiru Films, wins 7 Gaudí Awards
Saben aquell, a film directed by David Trueba and produced by Ikiru Films, has won 7 awards at the Gaudí Awards held on February 4th.
Source: www.antena3.com
Saben aquell, by David Trueba and Creatura, by Elena Martín, have won the main awards of the XVI Gaudí Awards of Catalan cinema, in which 20,000 species of bees, by Estibaliz Urresola, has won three statuettes, in a vindictive gala.
In the more than three hours that the event lasted, the different interventions focused on the sexual abuse of women in the world of cinema, the memory of the recently deceased Ventura Pons, the defense of cinema in Catalan and the wish of luck to the two films nominated for the Oscars, The Snow Society and Robot Dreams, also recognized at the Gaudí.
Creatura, by Elena Martín, and 20,000 species of bees, by Estibaliz Urresola, have won the Gaudí for Best Film and Best Film in a non-Catalan language, respectively, in an edition with very well distributed awards.
The ceremony of the XVI Gaudí Awards has left practically none of the most nominated titles without reward, as Robot Dreams has also obtained two awards, and one Upon entry and Un amor, in addition to the only one to which J.A. Bayona opted for The Snow Society, recognized as Best European Film.
As for the two feature films recognized with the main awards, Creatura won six awards: Best Director, for Elena Martín, whose film had already been recognized at the Quinzaine des Cinéastes at the Cannes Festival; for the editing by Ariadna Ribas; and for the performances of Clàudia Malagelada, Clara Segura and Alex Brendemühl (Best Newcomer, Best Actress and Supporting Actor, respectively).
Brendemühl has collected his third Gaudí after last year’s for his character in Cesc Gay’s Historias para no contar, and the one won in 2010 for Andrés Rabadán’s Las dos vidas.
In the case of 20,000 species of bees, the Catalan Film Academy also recognized Estibaliz Urresola with the Gaudí for Best New Director and Gina Ferrer with the award for Best Cinematography.
However, the story of love and loss, as well as the rise to fame of comedian Eugenio, directed by David Trueba, was the film that won the most statuettes, seven: Best Leading Actor (David Vedaguer), Best Female Lead (Carolina Yuste); Best Production Direction (Eduard Vallès), Best Art Direction (Marc Pou); Best Costumes (Lala Huete); Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Caitlin Acheson, Nacho Díaz and Benjamín Pérez); and Best Sound (Xavi Mas, Eduardo Castro and Yasmina Praderas).
The Gaudí Awards were completed with the Best Special Effects award, won by Bernat Aragonès for La contadora de películas; the Best TV Film award for Quico Sabaté, sense destí; and the Best Short Film award for El bus.
The Special Audience Award went to the true story of the Catalan teacher Antoni Benaiges, a republican and atheist, victim of Franco’s repression and played by Enric Auquer, in El maestro que prometió el mar, one of the year’s box-office hits.
A surprised Isabel Coixet, who in 2023 won the award for Best Documentary for The Yellow Roof, returned to the stage tonight to collect the statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay for Un amor.
The most vindictive moment came from the Basque filmmaker Estibaliz Urresola, who called for a ceasefire in Gaza and “demanding our governments to stop the arms trade with Israel and any other country” and claiming cinema as a “tool for social transformation” to achieve “a more sustainable, just, egalitarian and abuse-free society”.
In similar terms of support for the Palestinian people has shown the filmmaker Elena Martin, who has also been combative against sexual violence, which “must be countered with education and freedom”.
And the most emotional moments occurred when Carme Elías took the stage together with Claudia Pinto, director of the best documentary Mentre siguis tu, l’aquí de Carme Elias; or when Mercè Pons and Maria Molins intertwined a dialogue with the titles of the films of the recently deceased Ventura Pons, in which there were several references to her friend, who died at the end of 2023, the photographer Colita.
