Winning the Oscar is the greatest desire of the film industry. No matter what many stars may say in interviews, there are only a handful of people who really gave a damn about the statuette, like Marlon Brando when it was granted The Godfather.
Having the Hollywood Academy recognize the work is the highest honor that a film, performer or director can receive, and the same applies to the rest of the award categories that are presented at the ceremony.
Spain has an illustrious history with the Oscars that adds 14 awards from 68 nominations that our country has received throughout history. They opened the can Gil Parrondo and Antonio Mateosa beginning of the seventies, prevailing in the Production Design of Patton.
Today, at HobbyCine, we are going to focus on the big prizes and tell you which Spanish films, directors and actors have managed to triumph at the Oscars in their respective categories.
Pedro Almodovar
Let's start with the easy part: Pedro Almodovar He is the Spaniard most nominated for the Oscars, with 5 nominations. He transformed two of them, which also gives him the title of the Spaniard with the most statuettes, along with Gil Parrondo.
Everything about my mother It was the film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, so we will not repeat it later. The statuette fell in 1999.
Three years later, Talk to her He gave another title to Pedro Almodóvar, since he is the first screenwriter in the Spanish language to win the Oscar for Best Screenplay.
Women at the edge of a nervous attackTalk to Her —which was nominated for two Oscars— and Pain and Glory could have brought some other joy to the director from La Mancha, but they were only nominated for nominations.
Penelope Cruz
In addition to giving us an iconic moment at the Oscars with that famous “Pedro!” when he read Pedro Almodóvar's name on the stage of the then Kodak (now Dolby) Theatre, Penelope Cruz He also touched the Hollywood sky with his hands.
It was not for a movie Spanish, yes, since it was Vicky Cristina Barcelonathe film directed by Woody Allen, which would earn him the statuette.
But that Oscar for Best Supporting Actress tasted like glory to the Madrid native, who became the first Spanish woman to receive an Oscar for an acting category, and the only one, for now.
Furthermore, movies like Return, Nine and Parallel Mothers have given Penélope Cruz two Oscar nominations, although they could not become the statuette.
Javier Bardem
He too first and only Spanish actor to have an Oscar in his showcase for his acting workJavier Bardem, owes his award, like Penélope Cruz, to an American film.
Were the Coen brothers with his movie No country for old men who gave Javier Bardem that Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Continuing with the parallels with Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem also has a total of four Oscar nominations, since he was a candidate for Biutiful, Before it gets dark y Being the Ricardos.
For now, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are the only Spanish actors to win the Oscar for their acting work on the big screen, although there have been illustrious candidates such as Antonio Banderas or Ana de Armas.
out to sea
20 years have passed since the last Spanish feature film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Sea Inside, by Alejandro Amenábar.
This drama starring Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera, Clara Segura, Joan Dalmau, Tamar Novas, Josep Maria Pou, Celso Bugallo and Francesc Garridofascinated across the pond.
In addition to the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Sea Inside was also nominated for Best Makeup for and Jo Allen and Ana Ruiz Puigcerberbut was not finally converted.
Belle Epoque
The year was 1993 when Fernando Trueba He brought joy to Spanish cinema with Belle Époque, his romantic comedy set in the 1930s.
The Hollywood Academy honored the film and gave it the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1992, becoming the second Spanish film to receive this honor.
Fernando Fernán Gómez, Jorge Sanz, Penélope Cruz, Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdú, Miriam Díaz Aroca, Mary Carmen Ramírez, Gabino Diego, Michel Galabru and Agustín González They made up the cast of this gem of Spanish cinema.
Start over
Spain was able to win its first Oscar for Best Foreign Film a decade earlier, but had to wait until 1982 for Jose Luis Garci pick up the statuette Start over.
The film owes the honor of being the first to receive the Oscar to the fact that The discreet charm of the bourgeoisieof Luis Buñuelhad to be produced in France due to censorship, and represented the French country instead of Spain.
That does not detract from the merits of Starting Again, which managed to open a melon in Hollywood that resisted us. Only five feature films have achieved this success, but The Snow Society, by JA Bayonaexpand the list.
The last Oscar for our country was in 2022, when Alberto Mielgo won the award for Best Animated Short Film for The Windshield Wiper. This 2024, Robot Dreams and the aforementioned The Snow Society will be able to expand Spain's account at the Oscars. Will they give us joy?