As was expected, hit prison thriller Celda 211 [Cell 211] was the big favourite at the 2010 Goya Awards and, in the end, it garnered eight of the 16 prizes it was nominated for, among them, the top awards: Best Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Male Actor in a Leading Role and Male Actor in a Supporting Role, and Actress in a Supporting Role.

The biggest rival for Celda 211 was Agora by Alejandro Amenabar, with nominations in 13 categories. It took seven of the statuettes of the famed late 18th-early 19th-century Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Many were in technical areas such as costume design, cinematography, or production direction. Another of the biggest box-office hits, the Spanish-Latin American co-production El Secretos de Sus Ojos [The Secret in Their Eyes] had to settle for the Goya for Best Foreign Spanish-Language Film and Best Newcomer Actress for the Argentine actress and singer Soledad Villamil. However, Spain’s pick for the Oscars, El Baile de la Victoria [The Dancer and the Thief ] byFernando Trueba, ended up empty handed when it came to Goyas.
At a gala hosted by comedian Andreu Buenafuente, recently-appointed president of the Spanish Film Academy Alex de la Iglesia was euphoric about the recovery of Spanish cinema at the box office in the past year. This euphoria spread throughout the night, such as with the public appearances of Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, the royal “couple” of Spanish cinema. Above all, there was the reconciliation of Pedro Almodovar with the Academy, as shown by his return to the event. He was nominated for Best Screenplay for Los Abrazos Rotos [Broken Embraces], but settled for presenting the Best Film Award. “I’m here because your president is a real pest,” joked the filmmaker from Spain’s Castilla La Mancha Region about Academy President De la Iglesia bringing pressure to bear for him to attend the gala, with the audience giving Almodovar a standing ovation, including the incredulous previous Academy president, current Spanish Minister of Culture Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde.
This wasn’t the only high-point for the Academy president during the course of the evening. De la Iglesia gave his customary speech with all the strength, grace and riled up tone he could muster, insisting that Spanish cinema has the ability “to take on Hollywood… We need to strengthen the [Spanish] industry to make the best films and compete with Hollywood” because “more than alternative artists or talents, we’re hard workers.” He wrapped up his pep talk with a clarion call, “Solidarity and honour!”

Back to the awards, in the category of actors, the first to be awarded was a surprised Raul Arevalo, as Best Supporting Actor for Gordos by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo. Marta Etura for Celda 211 got the female equivalent, and touched the entire audience when she dedicated the award to “my love”, referring to her boyfriend Luis Tosar, winner of the Best Actor award for the same film. Lola Dueñas, for her part, had stiff competition from Penelope Cruz, Maribel Verdu, and British actress Rachel Weisz, but won out in category of Best Female Performer in a Leading Role for Yo, Tambien [Me, Too ]. For newcomer actors, the winners were Alberto Amman for Celda 211 and the not- quite-so-new Soledad Villamil for El Secreto en Sus Ojos [The Secret in Their Eyes].

However, the most emotional moment of the evening was, without a doubt, the Goya de Honor Lifetime Achievement Award going toAntonio Mercero. His children honoured their father, who didn’t attend, upon presentation of the prize. However, the audience could see the reaction of the director of La cabina, with the showing of a video of Alex de la Iglesia delivering it to him at his home. Like his films, it was simply touching.

BEST FILM

• “Celda 211” by Telecinco Cinema S.A.U., Vaca Films, Morena Films
BEST DIRECTOR
• Daniel Monzon for “Celda 211”
BEST NEW DIRECTOR
• Mar Coll for “Tres dies amb la familia”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
• Alejandro Amenabar, Mateo Gil for “Agora”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
• Jorge Gerricaechevarria, Daniel Monzon for “Celda 211”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
• Alberto Iglesias for “Los abrazos rotos”
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
• `Yo tambien´ from “Yo, tambien”
Composer: Guille Milkyway
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE
• Luis Tosar for “Celda 211”
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE
• Lola Dueñas for “Yo, tambien”
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
• Raul Arevalo for “Gordos”
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
• Marta Etura for “Celda 211”
BEST NEWCOMER ACTOR
• Alberto Ammann for Celda 211
BEST NEWCOMER ACTRESS
• Soledad Villamil for “El secreto de sus ojos”
BEST PRODUCTION DIRECTION
• Jose Luis Escolar for “Agora”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY DIRECTION
• Xavi Gimenez for “Agora”
BEST EDITING
• Mapa Pastor for “Celda 211”
BEST ARTISTIC DIRECTION
• Guy Hendrix Dyas for “Agora”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
• Gabriella Pescucci for “Agora”
BEST MAKE UP AND/OR HAIR STYLING
• Jan Sewell, Suzanne Stokes-Munton for “Agora”
BEST SOUND EDITING

• Sergio Burmann, Jaime Fernandez, Carlos Faruolo for “Celda 211”
BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
• Chris Reynolds, Felix Berges for “Agora”
BEST ANIMATION FILM
• “Planet 51” by Ilion Studios, HandMade Films Limited, S.L., Chuck & Lem, S.L., Antena 3 Films, S.L.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
• “Garbo, el hombre que salvo el mundo” by Ikiru Films, Centuria Films, Colose Producciones, Televisio de Catalunya
BEST FOREIGN SPANISH-LANGUAGE FILM
• “El secreto de sus ojos” by Juan Jose Campanella (Argentina)
BEST EUROPEAN FILM
• “Slumdog Millonaire” by Danny Boyle (United Kingdom)
BEST FICTION SHORT FILM
• “Dime que yo” by Mateo Gil
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
• “Flores de Ruanda” by David Muñoz Lopez
BEST ANIMATION SHORT FILM
• “La Dama y la Muerte” by Javier Recio Gracia
GOYA DE HONOR (Lifetime Achevement Award)
• Antonio Mercero