Spain's Three Oscar Submission Finalists

by Nathaniel R

Spain has been chasing Oscars in the Best International Feature category since the very first year of the category's existence. They've been quite successful at it, too, with the third highest nomination count of any country (after France and Italy). The Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España reportedly considered 58 Spanish films this year and though we'd heard they weren't choosing their three finalists until October 10th, word is going around that they've made the decision a bit early and it's these three films as the finalist for the submission honor. In early November they'll choose which will be their submission to the Oscars...

The Endless Trench

Due to the differing calendars for Spain's Goya Awards and the Oscar's International Film category -- and also surely due to the pandemic disrupting film releases in 2020, all of Spain's Oscar finalists for 2020 are actually from last season's Goya Awards (where Pain and Glory dominated)

• The Endless Trench
A period drama involving Spain's Civil War and Franco's rule. It's about a wife keeping her husband in hiding for fear from fear for his life since he dared to criticize Franco's reign. 15 nominations at the Goyas last year (just one less than Pain & Glory) but it only won two: Sound and Best Actress, Belén Cuesta UPDATE 11/03/2020: THE ENDLESS TRENCH HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS THEIR SUBMISSION

• Fire Will Come
Drama about an arsonist and a firefighter. 4 Goya nominations with two wins last season: Cinematography and Best New Actress, Benedicta Sanchez. 

• The Platform (now streaming on Netflix)
This allegorical dystopic thriller about a prison with hundreds of floors and a platform of food that lowers from floor to floor with less and less food each time, was a hit at festivals thanks to its ready-made talking point nature. If you can handle gruesome violence, it's definitely worth a watch. It was not big at the Goyas, though, where it only received three nominations and one win (visual effects) but the international visibility must have helped it score a submission finalist honor in Spain.

The Endless Trench sounds the most like a typical choice but who knows

WHICH FILM DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE?

SPAIN'S OSCAR STATS
Submitting since 1956 (the very first year of the competition)
62 Total Submissions 
20 Nominations (and 2 Additional Finalists)
4 Wins

Volver a Empezar (also known as "Begin the Beguine") was the first Spanish film to win the Oscar

KEY SUBMISSIONS

• La Venganza (1958) Nominee
• Plácido (1961) Nominee
• Los Tarantos (1963) Nominee
• El Amor Brujo (1967) Nominee
• Tristana (1970) Nominee
• My Dearest Senorita (1972) Nominee
• Cria Cuervos / Raise Ravens (1976)
  This film was a Golden Globe nominee that year and from a director Oscar had already taken a liking to. Yet it was passed over come Oscar time. 
• That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) Nominee
• Mama Turns a Hundred (1979) Nominee
• The Nest (1980) Nominee
• Volver a Empezar (1982) WINNER
• Carmen (1983) Nominee
• Double Feature (1984) Nominee
• Course Completed (1987) Nominee
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) Nominee
• High Heels (1991)
  Almodóvar's first unsuccessful submission. Critics weren't kind but it was a huge hit in Spain and France and snagged a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film.
• Belle Epoque (1993) WINNER
• Secrets of the Heart (1997) Nominee
• The Grandfather (1998) Nominee
• All About My Mother (1999) WINNER
• Mondays in the Sun (2002)
  Despite being critically well regarded, it holds the distinction of being Spain's most controversial submission since they chose it over the globally loved Talk to Her which won an Oscar for its screenplay. But Monday in the Sun was well loved in Spain and swept the Goya Award. Oscar ignored it.
• The Sea Inside (2004) WINNER
• Volver (2006) Finalist.
  One of the biggest snubs in the history of the Foreign Language Film category as it's one of Pedro Almodóvar's true masterpieces. The film was rightfully nominated in Best Actress at the Oscars at least. 
• Even the Rain (2010) Finalist
• Blancanieves (2012)
  The only silent film ever submitted by Spain. A delightful retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but perhaps the misfortune was arriving right after The Artist had won the top Oscars and there probably wasn't much of a demand for another "novelty" film of that kind
• Pain and Glory (2019) Nominee
  Almodóvar's most recent film ended Spain's longest nomination drought ever in the International category as it had been 14 years since The Sea Inside  was nominated and won. 

Most Oscar-Honored Spanish Artists

Luis Buñuel, the surrealist master, directed Mexican, Spanish, and French films

1. Pedro Almodóvar (3 noms and 1 win for Best International Film* ...plus 2 nomination directing/writing with a win for Screenplay) 
2. Luis Buñuel (3 noms and 1 win for Best International Film* **... plus 2 nominations for writing)
3. Nestor Almendros and José Luis Garci (4 noms and 1 win each, for Cinematography and Best International Film* respectively)
4. Gil Parronda (3 noms and 2 wins for Production Design)
5. Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz (3 noms and 1 win each for acting)
6. Alberto Iglesias (3 nominations for Original Score)
7. Paco Delgado and Carlos Saura and Francisco Rovira Beleta (2 noms for Costume Design and Best International Film times two*, respectively)

* Yes, we realize these nominations "officially" go to the country not the director, but the directors had more to do with the films in question than the country so we count them statistically as "Oscar honors" 

** Luis Buñuel's Oscar winning film in the International category was technically for France so his stats come from multiple countries

Most Frequently Submitted Directors in Foreign Film 

1. Pedro Almodóvar (7 submissions, 3 of them nominated with 1 winner among them, plus 1 finalist)
2. José Luis Garci (6 submissions, 4 of them nominated with 1 winner among them)
3. Carlos Saura (5 submissions, 2 of them nominated)
4. Juan Antonio Bardem (3 submissions, 1 of them nominated)
5. Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón (3 submissions, none of them nominated)
6. Luis Buñuel and Francisco Rovira Beleta (2 submissions each, both of them nominated)
7. Fernando Trueba (2 submissions, 1 of them nominated and winning)
8. Jamie de Armiñan and Montxo Armendáriz (2 submissions each, 1 of them nominated)
9. David Trueba (2 submissions, neither of them nominated)

Comments

[LSS]

Pedro was also nominated for best director for Talk to Her. So I guess he would be first on your rank.

[Cláudio Alves]

THE ENDLESS TRENCH seems like the more Oscar-y choice out of the three. That being said, I'd love if FIRE WILL COME was submitted. I watched it last year and some of its images and sounds are haunting, as beautiful as they are violent, as awe-inspiring as they are terrifying.

[NATHANIEL R]

LSS -- ooh, right you are. I've fixed.

Claudio -- yes, i've heard from someone else that they like FIRE WILL COME the most of those three. we shall see. I've only see THE PLATFORM but will keep an eye out for the others.

[lala]

Both Jaime de Armiñán and Montxo Armendáriz were nominated. Their films, I mean. Armiñan's THE NEST and Armendáriz's SECRETS OF THE HEART

[Evan]

I've seen Fire Will Come and, while I love the premise and the foreboding that hangs over the film, I found it rather dull in execution. I suspect it'd have a tough time getting enough love to score a nomination.

[LSS]

It always amazes me that he got that nomination. Off topic: I love the bold lone director nominations that the directors branch throws from time to time. And its not a new thing, Fellini (2x), Antonioni, Pontecorvo all the way to Pawlikowski. Maybe an idea for a new post (Pretty pls :)

[bonobo]

None of them is truly great and none of them will be nominated, but I hope they choose "Fire will come (O que arde)" so the film can get some additional attention. They should have chosen "Schoolgirls (Las niñas)", although I am not sure if it would actually qualify for this year.

I always find unbelievable that "Raise ravens (Cría cuervos)" was not nominated. It is such a wonderful film.

[Jaragon]

Ans what ever happened to Alejandro Amenabar?

[thevoid99]

@Jaragon-He did release a film that got mixed reviews though many said it was a major improvement over his previous film Regression. Man, that was fucking shit. Agora was pretty bad but Regression... wow... I don't recommend it to anyone at all.

[Paquita]

Spain is such a failed democracy. They can't even cover it up with a hot president.

[Edward L.]

Thanks for this latest news. I always really enjoy your coverage of the race in this category each year.

LSS: Fellini did even better than that: 4 lone director nominations! I too love that topic.

bonobo: Agreed - Cria Cuervos is terrific.

[Jaragon]

@thevoid99 I think Amenabar is suffering from post Oscar win curse- "Agora" was ambitious but boring...I could only watch the first ten minutes of "Regression"... I don't think his last movie "While At War" (2019) was not released here even it sound like pure Oscar bait. He is now shooting an adventure series for tv. Amenabar is young so I'm sure he will make a film comeback. I find it interesting that as gay man he has never made a gay theme movie.

[Lucas]

@bonobo So true, Cria Cuervos is such a wonderful film, so robbed.

I loved O que Arde, but I think the choice will be La Trinchera Infinita, a nice movie with two strong performances from Belen Cuesta and Antonio de la Torre (for me the best Spanish actor right now).

[Jesus Alonso]

I am OK with any of the 3 finalists, but I have to admit I would LOVE to see "The Platform" being featured at Oscar night...