In Her Place by Maite Alberdi
The Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences has announced its nominations for the 39th Goya Awards, Spain’s main film awards, including five titles from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay in the Best Ibero-American Film competition: Kill the Jockey / El Jockey by Luis Ortega, I'm Still Here / Ainda Estou Aqui by Walter Salles, In Her Place / En el lugar de la otra by Maite Alberdi, Memories of a Burning Body / Memorias de un cuerpo que arde by Antonella Sudasassi, and Don't You Let Me Go / Agarrame fuerte by Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge
Kill the Jockey stars Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Remo Manfredini, a jockey whose self-destructive tendencies begin to eclipse his talent, jeopardizing his career and personal life. After a life-threatening accident on race day, he vanishes, embarking on a transformative journey through the city, fleeing from both his identity and a dangerous criminal underworld. The film also features Úrsula Corberó, Mexican actor Daniel Giménez Cacho, and Chilean actress Mariana Di Girólamo.
In Don't You Let Me Go, a young woman named Adela, coping with the loss of her best friend Elena, boards a magic bus back in time to spend one last beautiful weekend with her in a house by the beach. Transported to a decade earlier, Adela reunites with a vibrant Elena at a beach house, joined by their friend Luci and her baby boy Paco. Amidst the backdrop of laughter, music, and shared memories, the trio embarks on a weekend filled with joy and nostalgia. But as the inevitable goodbye approaches, Adela clings to the fleeting moments and the newfound sense of companionship. When baby Paco stumbles upon a gateway to prolong their time together, Adela, Elena, and Luci are drawn into an extraordinary journey of escape and indulgence. In this timeless interlude, Adela discovers solace and a renewed connection to her cherished friend.
Recently shortlisted for the 2025 Academy Awards, Brazil's I'm Still Here adapts Marcelo Paiva's memoir about his father. Starring Fernanda Montenegro, Maeve Jinkings, Fernanda Torres, and Selton Mello, the film tells the true story of the Paiva family and their five children. In 1970s Rio de Janeiro, during the military dictatorship, former deputy Rubens Paiva was taken from his home by soldiers for interrogation and was never seen again. The search for the truth lasted 30 long years, but just as answers began to emerge, Eunice Paiva, his wife, began showing the first signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Alberdi's gripping period drama In Her Place tells the story of Mercedes, a shy actuary and invisible woman in Chile in the mid-20th century, who observes the case of the famous writer María Carolina Geel, accused of violently murdering her lover. During the investigation process, Mercedes begins questioning her life and identity, looking for her own space to find herself. Shot in Chile and with the script work of the writers Inés Bortagaray and Paloma Salas, the production is Alberdi's fiction debut.
Memories of a Burning Body, Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi's sophomore feature film, follows Ana, Patricia, and Mayela, three women raised in a repressive era where sexuality was taboo and whose understanding of womanhood was shaped by unspoken rules and implicit expectations. Now, their fearless voices converge in a 65-year-old woman who revisits a kaleidoscopic life filled with intertwined memories, secrets, and hidden desires.
The French Spanish-language cartel queer musical Emilia Pérez, winner of the Jury Prize and Best Actress at Cannes and directed by Jacques Audiard's is nominated for Best European Film. Starring Selena Gómez and Zoe Saldaña, a lawyer who helps a feared cartel boss transition to the woman he's always dreamed of being, the film is a darkly funny crime drama and musical set in Mexico City.
Additionally, Chilean actor Alfredo Castro was nominated for Best Actor for his leading performance in the musical dramedy They Will Be Dust / Polvo serán by Carlos Marques-Marcet.
The winners of the 39th Goya Awards will be unveiled on February 8, 2025 at a ceremony in Spain.
