Goya hopeful 'Alcarràs' leaves ceremony emptyhanded as 'The Beasts' scoops 9 awards

Saturday night was a disappointing one for 'Alcarràs', the Catalan-language film that won the 2022 Berlinale's Golden Bear and was selected to represent Spain at the Oscars.

Filmmaker Carla Simón's homage to rural life on a peach farm in a small western Catalonia town had been nominated for 11 awards at the 37th Goya Awards, Spain's equivalent of the Oscars, but left the Seville ceremony emptyhanded.

Instead, the big winner was Galician thriller 'The Beasts' (As bestas), which took home 9 Goyas of the 17 it was nominated for, including best film, best director, best original screenplay, and best actor.

The Catalan co-production directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen is loosely based on true events that occurred when a foreign couple moved to a hamlet in the Galician countryside and, like 'Alcarràs', it examines among other things how green energy can disrupt rural life. 

Laia Costa wins best actress

Meanwhile, Barcelona-native Laia Costa won the Goya for best actress for her role in 'Lullaby' (Cinco Lobitos), a story about the struggles of motherhood. 

Costa dedicated the award to her own daughter who, she said, like many others, is "resigned" to the fact of her mother's "absence" when she is at work. Many people, Costa explained, would tell they had to call their loved ones while on shoot. "Hopefully this award will help them make more of these calls," she said. 

'Lullaby' also won best new director and best supporting actress, with Susi Sánchez calling on men to "open more doors" for women aspiring to make a name for themselves in the sector when accepting the award for her role as Costa's character's mother. 

5 technical awards for 'Prison 77'

'Prison 77' (Modelo 77), a historical thriller set in Barcelona's infamous Model prison during the transition to democracy in the mid to late 1970s, had even more nominations than 'Alacarràs'.

Of these 16 nominations, the movie ended up bringing home 5: best art direction, best costume design, best makeup and hairstyles, best special effects, and best production supervision. 

'One Year, One Night' best adapted screenplay

Girona filmmaker Isaki Lacuesta's 'One Year, One Night' (Un año, una noche), took the Goya for best adapted screenplay. 

The movie is based on Ramón González's book 'Paz, amor y death metal' about the 2015 terror attacks in Paris' Bataclan theatre. 

Disbelief as 'Alcarràs' wins no awards

'Carla Simón' was trending on Twitter on Sunday morning, with many incredulous social media users taking to the platform to question why her hit film won no Spanish Oscars. 

"I don't understand how the [Spanish Film] Academy chooses her to represent us at the Oscars but then forgets about her when it comes to awarding her at home... hello??," @LaCaneli_ commented. 

"Alcarràs: no Goya, terrible," culture journalist Álex González wrote, highlighting the fact that Simón had successfully "directed amateur actors who ended up getting nominated."

The mayor of the town that lends its name to the film, Jordi Janés, said "justice has not been served" at the Goyas but countered that "the people" had awarded 'Alcarràs' its success. 

Even Catalonia's foreign action minister Meritxell Serret weighed in, calling the night "bittersweet" as Catalan-funded documentary 'Maldita. A Love Song to Sarajevo' won an award but Simón, who "deserved more," did not.