The Catalan Film Academy today begins the first round of voting for the 16th edition of the Gaudí Awards, which will feature a record 81 candidate productions (71 Catalan and 10 European). With his 38 feature films, 13 in Catalan; 16 documentaries; 5 animated films; 2 films for television, and 10 short films, Catalan production achieves a figure significantly higher than last year's 58 titles, as reported yesterday by the institution chaired by Judith Colell, who welcomed all the candidates in a party held in the afternoon at the Old Estrella Damm Factory. And it is not the only outstanding figure this year, given that the average budget of films directed by women exceeds that of men for the first time. If the filmmakers have collected 2.2 million euros, the creations of the directors remain at 1.3.
A total of 13 titles are nominated for best film of 2023. Some are Els encantats, by Elena Trapé; Creature, by Elena Martín Gimeno; They know that, by David Trueba; The permanent image, by Laura Ferrés, recent winner of the Espiga d'Or de la Seminci, and Ruta salvatj, the long-awaited return of Marc Recha six years after La vida livre.
In the category of best film in a non-Catalan language there are 25 contenders with films such as 20,000 especies de abejas, by Estibaliz Urresola, which won at the Malaga Festival; The good companies, by Sílvia Munt; The film contadora, by Lone Scherfig; Sica, by Carla Subirana; Mi soledad tiene alas, by Mario Casas; Teresa, by Paula Ortiz; Un amor, by Isabel Coixet; The maestro that promised the sea, by Patricia Font, and Loli Tormenta, the posthumous work of Agustí Villaronga.
Catalan film production continues its upward trend compared to other years and stands at 13 feature films, after 9 last year and 6 in the 2020 and 2021 editions. The gender balance in the direction of the productions of the current call, including feature films and documentaries, films for television and short films, confirms a "significant increase" compared to figures from past editions. And the female presence in the management category reaches 48%, a figure that clearly exceeds those of 2022 (35%) and 2021 (31%), while the female figure in the script stands at 48.5%. Likewise, the average budget of films in the original Catalan version has doubled in two years, and has gone from 720,000 euros in 2021 to 1.4 million this 2023, an increase of 40% compared to previous year
Animation is also in good health, with five candidate titles, the highest figure in the Gaudí history. The acclaimed Robot dreams, by Pablo Berger, and Dispararon al pianista, by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, start as clear favourites. The society of the snow, by J.A. Bayona is among the ten European films selected alongside award-winning productions such as Almas en pena by Inis herin, El triángulo de la tristeza or Close.
The reading of the nominations will take place on December 12 at the Pedrera auditorium, and the ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 4 at the Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB) with comedians Maria Rovira and Ana Polo, creators of popular podcast Oye Polo, of presenters.
