Catalan talent in Hollywood: thirteen nominations and two Oscars

It's a big week for the Catalan film industry, with two movies competing for honors at the Oscars in Los Angeles on Sunday night. 

J. A. Bayona's 'Society of the Snow' will compete for two Academy Awards this year, Best International Feature Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, while Pablo Berger's 'Robot Dreams' is in contention for Best Animated Feature Film. 

The films of J. A. Bayona and Pablo Berger follow in the footsteps of thirteen past films with Catalan talent that have competed in Hollywood, although only two have returned with a statuette.

The feat was first accomplished by Néstor Almendros in 1979, when he picked up the Oscar award for Best Cinematography for Terrence Malick's 'Days of Heaven'.

The second film with Catalan participation to take home an Oscar was 'Pan's Labyrinth', when Montse Ribé and David Martí won the award for Best Makeup in 2007.

The first Spanish nomination came in 1953, also came from Catalonia thanks to the painter Antoni Clavé. The multifaceted artist was responsible for Catalonia's debut at the Oscars with a double nomination, for Best Art Direction – Color and Best Costume Design – Color for the film 'Hans Christian Andersen,' directed by Charles Vidor, although the film didn't take home either of the awards. 

Eight years later, in 1961, Valencian filmmaker Luis García Berlanga's 'Plácido' was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie was shot in Manresa and was produced by Alfredo Matas' Jet Films, at that time based in Madrid but which moved its headquarters three years later to Barcelona, the company owner's hometown.

In 1964, Francesc Rovira Beleta was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for 'Los tarantos'. Four years later, he returned to the Los Angeles gala for 'Bewitched Love', although he didn't win on either occasion.

In the 80s, and after winning one Oscar, Néstor Almendros earned three more nominations in the same category: in 1980 for 'Kramer vs. Kramer', 1981 for 'The Blue Lagoon', and in 1983 for 'Sophie's Choice'. 

Catalonia then had to wait twenty years to cross the ocean again. In 2004, the documentary by Carles Bosch and Josep Maria Domènech 'Balseros' picked up a nomination but not a win.

Two years later, however, Montse Ribé and David Martí from the studio DDT SFX won the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for 'Pan's Labyrinth'.

'Chico and Rita' by Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba stood for the Oscar in 2012 for Best Animated Feature Film but was unsuccessful. 

The last of the Catalan experiences in the Academy Awards came seven years ago when the short film 'Timecode' by Juanjo Giménez was nominated.