The Venezuelan film Azul y no tan rosa / Blue and Not So Pink (pictured) by Miguel Ferrari made history today by becoming the first time a film from the South American country won Spain's Goya Award for Best Ibero-American film. It was the sixth Venezuelan film to be nominated in the category, the last time was in 2001 for Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás' A la medianoche y media / At Midnight and a Half.
Director Ferrari, who also has an extensive career as an actor, gave a lengthy acceptance speech in which we thanked Venezuela and its people. "Ever since the nominations were announced in January, the people in Venezuela have been following the Goya Awards as it was the final match of the World Cup," he said.
Ferrari's debut feature film tells the story of Diego, a young and successful photographer, lives in the glamorous but shallow and excessive world of fashion. A tragic accident turns his world upside down; his partner Fabrizio is now in a coma. Unexpectedly, and right at this inopportune time, Diego's estranged son Armando shows up. Now, both of them have to adapt to each other; Armando to the unknown, homosexual world of his father, and Diego to the closed attitude of his teenage son.
The Venezuelan film was competing against the Argentine film Wakolda / The German Doctor by Lucía Puenzo, the Mexican film La Jaula de Oro by Diego Quemada-Diez, and the Chilean film Gloria by Sebastián Lelio.
The feature film Pelo Malo by Rondón also made history in Spain last September by becoming the first Venezuelan film to ever win the Golden Shell as Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Another production also directed by a Venezuelan filmmaker was awarded today, God's Slave / El esclavo de dios by Joel Novoa was the winner of the Nueva Visión award for Best Spanish/Latin American Film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.
The other Latin American winner at the 28th edition of the Goya Award was the Argentinean-Spanish co-production film Foosball / Metegol by Juan José Campanella which won the award for Best Animated Film.
The winners of the Goya Awards, Spain's national film prize, were announced tonight at a ceremony in Madrid.
