The Goya premiere in Valladolid with a gala marked by Vox, sexual violence and rural protests

'20,000 species of bees' and 'The Snow Society' will measure their strength in a ceremony presented by Ana Belén and Los Javis

   MADRID, 9 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The 2024 Goya Awards, which will hold their gala this Saturday, February 10 at the Valladolid Fair, will premiere in the Castilian-Leonese city with a celebration that is marked both by the reactions to the accusations of three women against the film director Carlos Vermut for sexual violence as well as the presence for the first time of Vox politicians at this event, as well as the farmers' protests.

The most recent reaction to the accusations of sexual violence was this Friday by the Ministry of Culture, which announced that it will promote a unit for the care and prevention of sexist violence in the cultural sector that will have among its objectives "accompaniment to victims of sexist violence".

Urtasun has indicated that the launch of this office is "a response to a serious problem" in the sector. "We have a serious problem of sexual assaults and sexual violence also in the world of culture and therefore the institutions have to act," the minister reiterated in statements collected by Europa Press to LaSexta.

The accusations against Vermut have generated a reaction from associations and the Film Academy. One of them is the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA), which has already announced that it will show its support "to all victims who suffer harassment and who feel that their rights are violated" with an action during the gala of the 38th Goya Awards, next February 10, exhibiting a pai pai with the motto '

They will not be the only ones, since the Film Academy already spoke out at the beginning of last week through a statement in which it showed its "solidarity" with the victims, advancing that the ceremony will make visible the claim that sexual violence and abuses of power have no place "neither in the world of cinema nor in Spanish society as a whole."

In this same line, the presenters of the gala, Ana Belén and 'Los Javis' (Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi), have already stated in an interview with Europa Press that the script of the ceremony has undergone some changes after the revelation of these accusations.

As in the previous year, the Goyas will have a protocol to prevent and combat any possible case of sexual and/or gender aggression and harassment. In the 2023 edition, the Academy included the presence of a specialized team and the provision of "delimited and safe" spaces to serve the people involved "in any situation."

Another relevant news known in the previous week is the presence for the first time of Vox representatives at a gala. Finally, the vice president of the Junta de Castilla y León, Juan García-Gallardo, the deputy mayor of the Valladolid City Council, Irene Carvajal, and the other two Vox councilors, Alberto Cuadrado and Víctor Manuel Martín, will be present from this formation.

Initially, both the president of the Cortes, Luis Pollán, and the three Vox advisors in the regional government, Gonzalo Santonja, of Culture, Tourism and Sports; Gerardo Dueñas, of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development; and Mariano Veganzones, from Industry, had confirmed their attendance at the awards ceremony.

However, Vox considers that there are other concerns at this time such as support for rural demonstrations and farmers, but "this does not mean" that this group will also be represented at the Goya gala with the presence of the vice president of the Board and the Valladolid councilors.

The Goya Awards organization invited Vox for the first time to attend its annual gala in 2020, although on that occasion the leader of the group, Santiago Abascal, declined to attend.

The presence of authorities and politicians at the Spanish film awards gala has been common for years. In fact, next February 10 will be Ernest Urtasun's debut at this event as head of Culture. The minister will be accompanied by the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, as well as the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo.

On the part of the PP, the president of the Government of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, will attend on the one hand, while on the national level the spokesperson and vice-secretary of Culture of the PP, Borja Sémper, will be present. At the moment, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has not officially confirmed whether he will attend an appointment in which he has already been present on other occasions.

Added to this is the fact that protests from the Spanish countryside will come to this awards ceremony. In fact, this Friday more than a hundred farmers gathered in front of the Government Delegation in Valladolid shouting 'go for the Goya', also criticizing that the authorities are executing "illegal" orders prohibiting them from circulating.

Regarding the content of the gala, beyond these controversies, some general lines are also already known. The presenters have announced that it will be a tribute to Spanish cinema and they hope that the event will be remembered in the future.

"I think the gala is going to have a lot of our DNA. It is not going to be a humorous gala, because we are not comedians. There is nothing that goes beyond who we are. Everything is going to be in favor of naturalness, spontaneity, of our love for cinema, of how happy we are to be part of a world that we have always admired," the three presenters have noted in the previous days.

For now, they have announced that Ana Belén will sing and 'Los Javis' will likely join the performance. The musical performances that will take place at the ceremony have also been revealed, with the presence of artists such as Amaia, David Bisbal, Estopa, María José Llergó, India Martínez, Niña Pastori, Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Salvador Sobral. Likewise, actress Sigourney Weaver will collect the international Goya and there will be a tribute to Concha Velasco, who died last year.

As for the favorites, 'The Snow Society', by J.A. Bayona, '20,000 species of bees', by Estibaliz Urresola, 'Cerrar los ojos', by Víctor Erice and 'They know that', have received the largest number of candidates.

Specifically, '20,000 species of bees' leads the race with 15 nominations, compared to thirteen for 'The Snow Society'. On a step below are 'Close your eyes' and 'They know that', with eleven each. 'Un amor', by Isabel Coixet, has also been among the favorites with seven awards.

The favorites have also won the categories for best direction and film. For the 'big head' for best film, '20,000 species of bees', 'Close your eyes', 'The Snow Society', 'They know that' and 'Un amor' will compete.

Víctor Erice ('Close Your Eyes'), Elena Martín ('Creatura'), J.A. Bayona ('The Snow Society'), David Trueba ('They know that') and Isabel Coixet ('Un amor').

For best leading actress, Patricia López will be nominated for the Goya for '20,000 Species of Bees', María Vázquez for 'Matria', Malena Alterio for 'Let Nobody Sleep', Carolina Yuste for 'Saben That' and Laia Costa for 'Un Amor'.

In the case of best leading actor, Manolo Solo appears as candidates for 'Close Your Eyes', Enric Auquer for 'The Master Who Promised the Sea', David Verdaguer for 'They Know That', Hovik Keuchkerian for 'Un Amor' and Alberto Amann for 'Upon entry. The arrival'.