The actress Penélope Cruz (Alcobendas, 1974) has been distinguished this Monday with the 2022 National Film Award, as reported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports through a statement. The jury has unanimously awarded the award to Cruz "for the successes achieved in 2021, which join all those collected in an exceptional career".
A career that began with The Greek Labyrinth in 1991, directed by Rafael Alcázar, and which took off a year later under the orders of Bigas Luna in Jamón, Jamón, a film in which her husband Javier Bardem also participated, with whom she had scenes from erotic high voltage. From then on, her career skyrocketed until she became the most international Spanish actress.
Last year she became the first Spanish actress to win the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for her work in Pedro Almodóvar's Parallel Mothers. And her fourth nomination for her Oscar awards elevates her as the most nominated Spanish actress in history”.
In addition, the jury has indicated that “these awards are added to others that have already recognized her talent such as the award for best female performance at Cannes, along with her co-stars from 'Volver', the Oscar for best supporting actress by Vicky Cristina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen, the honorary Cesar, the Donostia Award in San Sebastián, and the thirteen Goya nominations, of which he has won three”.
Also, the jury has highlighted Penélope Cruz as “one of the visible heads of a generation, that of the 90s, which led to a renewal of Spanish cinema, participating in many of the emblematic and internationally acclaimed films. Since then, her enormous talent and versatility have opened the doors for her to collaborate with filmmakers from all over the world, while also maintaining a firm link with Spanish cinema”.
“Committed to her craft, she seeks excellence in her work, thanks to which she has created some of the most unforgettable characters in the history of our cinema. For all these reasons, Penélope Cruz is an iconic actress whose brilliant legacy enriches the Spanish cultural heritage”, added the jury.
The National Cinematography Award rewards the most outstanding contribution in the Spanish cinematographic field, preferably evidenced through a work made public or a professional work carried out during the year 2021, or, in exceptional cases duly motivated, it is granted as recognition to a career path.
The award, which the Minister of Culture and Sports usually awards within the framework of the San Sebastian Festival, recognized José Sacristán in its last edition, joining a long list of personalities from Spanish cinematography, including Isabel Coixet, Antonio Banderas or Fernando Trueba, among others.
The jury was chaired by Beatriz Navas Valdés, general director of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), and Elisa Rodríguez Ortiz, deputy general director of Promotion and International Relations of the ICAA, acted as vice president.
Participating as members were Virginia Yagüe Romo, at the proposal of the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences; Olatz Arroyo Abaroa, at the proposal of Literary Authors of Audiovisual Media; María Aranzazu Aranguren Ilarregui, at the proposal of the Union of Actors and Actresses; Almudena Carracedo Verde, at the proposal of the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA); and María José Blanes Martínez, Gonzalo de Pedro Amatria and Francisco Javier Calvo Guirao, at the proposal of the ICAA.
