On Saturday 16 January, the ceremony for the 26^th edition of the José María Forqué Film Awards (handed out by EGEDA, an organisation that manages Spanish audiovisual producers’ rights) was held in the IFEMA Palacio Municipal in Madrid, with less than half of its usual number of audience members, in accordance with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Indeed, only the nominees themselves were in attendance, alongside a clutch of industry guests and a handful of officials, such as Minister of Culture José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes. The big winner was Schoolgirls [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Pilar Palomero
fiche film], the feature debut by Pilar Palomero, which trounced its rivals in the Best Fiction Feature of 2020 category – namely, Rosa’s Wedding [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], a comedy-drama by Icíar Bollaín; Adú [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], an African drama by Salvador Calvo; and Akelarre [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Pablo Agüero
fiche film], a period film directed by Argentina’s Pablo Agüero.

Javier Cámara (who was also in the running for the same prize in the series category for Vamos Juan) was deemed Best Actor in a Film for his turn in The People Upstairs [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Cesc Gay
fiche film], an adaptation of the stage play by Cesc Gay. Patricia López Arnáiz – who is currently shooting La cima (see the news) – surprised onlookers by beating the two favourites for Best Actress in a Film, Kiti Mánver (in the running with One Careful Owner [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]) and Candela Peña (nominated for Rosa’s Wedding), thanks to her performance in Ane Is Missing [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : David Pérez Sañudo
fiche film]. The fourth hopeful in this category was young Andrea Fandos, the star of Schoolgirls.

At another point, the president of EGEDA, Enrique Cerezo – who asserted that Saturday night was a way to pay tribute to Spanish society, which proved itself so courageous during the year of the pandemic, with heroes from the public health, farming and cleaning sectors announcing the award winners, flanked by well-known faces – came out on stage to praise the work of Beatriz de la Gándara and Fernando Colomo, who were honoured with the EGEDA Gold Medal for their production careers.

In the Best Documentary Feature category, the victor was The Year of the Discovery [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] by Luis López Carrasco; New Order [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], a co-production between France and Mexico helmed by Michel Franco, was crowned Best Latin American Film; and the short film Yalla by Spanish-based Italian director Carlo D’Ursi also made off with the prize in its respective category on a night that kicked off the Spanish film awards season. In addition, One for All [+lire aussi :
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interview : David Ilundain
fiche film] by David Ilundain picked up the Film and Values-based Education Award.

Last but not least, this year, the Forqués introduced the Best Series Award, which saw Riot Police [+lire aussi :
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interview : Rodrigo Sorogoyen
fiche série] come out on top (winning out over Veneno [+lire aussi :
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fiche série], Money Heist and Patria [+lire aussi :
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fiche série]), and in the acting category, it was Elena Irureta (for Patria) and Hovik Keuchkerian (for his turn in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s series) who came up on stage to collect their trophies.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Best Fiction Feature
Schoolgirls [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Pilar Palomero
fiche film] – Pilar Palomero

Best Actress
Patricia López Arnaiz – Ane Is Missing [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : David Pérez Sañudo
fiche film]

Best Actor
Javier Cámara – The People Upstairs [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Cesc Gay
fiche film]

Best Documentary Feature
The Year of the Discovery [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] – Luis López Carrasco (Spain/Switzerland)

Best Short Film
Yalla – Carlo D’Ursi

Best Latin American Film
New Order [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] – Michel Franco (Mexico/France)

Film and Values-based Education Award
One for All [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : David Ilundain
fiche film] – David Ilundain

Best Series
Riot Police [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Rodrigo Sorogoyen
fiche série] – Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Best Actress in a Series
Elena Irureta – Patria [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche série]

Best Actor in a Series
Hovik Keuchkerian – Riot Police

EGEDA Gold Medal
Beatriz de la Gándara and Fernando Colomo