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)
