El 47 triumphs at the Catalan Oscars with seven statuettes

The Catalan film El 47 was the undisputed winner at the 17th edition of the Gaudí Film Awards, the Catalan Oscars.

During a star-studded gala on Saturday night celebrating a record-breaking year for Catalan cinema, El 47 claimed seven statuettes.

The film, which tells the true story of a bus driver who hijacked a bus in 1978 and drove it to Torre Baró, a suburban Barcelona neighborhood without public transportation, was named Best Film of the Year.

"We have made history by becoming the first Catalan-language film to top the Spanish box office," said the film's director, Marcel Barrena, in an interview with Catalan News before the ceremony.

El 47 also secured awards for Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Hair and Makeup. It also won the Audience Award, voted for by the public.

"We have shown major platforms like Netflix that it is possible to make successful Catalan films," Barrena added. 

Eduard Fernández, the outstanding star of El 47, who portrayed the main character Manolo Vital, took home the award for Best Actor.

“It’s been very special to see how people cried with the film. It was incredibly moving and beautiful,” Fernández said upon receiving the award.

"This film is about the dignity of people, about someone humble, a man from Extremadura who had nothing, moved to Catalonia, built a home, and became part of the community," he added.

The runner-up in terms of awards was Polvo Serán, directed by Catalan filmmaker Carlos Marqués-Marcet, which won four statuettes.

The film follows a woman, played by the legendary Spanish actress Ángela Molina, as she travels to Switzerland to seek assisted suicide after being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Polvo Serán won awards for Best Non-Catalan Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Editing and Best Original Music.

House on Fire (Casa en Flames), one of the top favorites with 14 nominations, finished third in terms of awards, taking home three prizes.

The dramatic comedy about a middle-class Catalan family reuniting for a weekend on the Costa Brava won Best Original Screenplay, Best Leading Actress for Emma Vilarasau, and Best Supporting Actor for Enric Auquer.

Also winning three awards was Saturn Return, directed by Catalans Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez. The duo claimed the award for Best Direction for their film about Los Planetas, an indie band from Granada in Andalusia.

Salve Maria, by Mar Coll, won two statuettes. The film tells the story of a woman who becomes obsessed with a news report about an infanticide in France after recently giving birth herself.

Best Animated Film was awarded to Black Butterflies, a film inspired by real women that highlights the plight of climate refugees forced to migrate due to the effects of global warming.

"We hope the film encourages viewers to fight climate change and move towards a better world," the producer of the film Edmon Roch told Catalan News.

The award for Best International Feature went to Anatomy of a Fall, directed by French filmmaker Justine Triet. The film, which also won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2024, continued its winning streak.

“After the incredible journey this film has had since Cannes, it would be perfect to see it receive the same recognition here,” Enrique Costa, one of its producers, told Catalan News before the ceremony. 

Record year for Catalan films

The awards were distributed among several films, highlighting the exceptional quality of Catalan productions in 2024, a record-breaking year for the industry.

The total number of admissions for Catalan films was almost one million, the highest in the last two decades.

Filmmaker J.A. Bayona, one of the most important voices in Catalan cinema, celebrated the positive figures for Catalan cinema. 

"It has been a very good year for Catalan cinema, you can feel the excitement. El 47 and Casa en Flames have become the biggest hits in Catalan cinema and they have broken all the records," he told Catalan News before the ceremony. 

Housing crisis takes center stage

As is often the case at the Gaudí Awards, political statements took center stage during the acceptance speeches. This year, the housing crisis was the main issue.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Enric Auquer, who won the award for Best Supporting Actor for House on Fire, called for action to prevent the eviction of Casa Orsola, scheduled for the following week.  

Marcel Barrena, director of El 47, reminded the politicians present, including Catalan president Salvador Illa, that Article 47 of the Spanish Constitution "states that everyone has the right to dignified housing."

The message became even more powerful when actor Pep Ambròs took the microphone. He removed his suit jacket to reveal a T-shirt representing the Tenants' Union, the group behind recent large-scale protests for housing rights.  

Maria Arnal, who won the award for Best Original Song, also called for action to stop the eviction of Casa Orsola, highlighting that actors also face housing problems: "I want to continue living in Barcelona."