The Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars, have announced the nominations for their 35th edition. The awards, which recognize achievements in Spanish filmmaking, will be presented in a live-streamed ceremony on Saturday, March 6.
In the animated feature category, the sole nominee is Turu, the Wacky Hen (La gallina Turuleca) — a shoo-in if ever we saw one. Inspired by a famous song in the Latin world, the cg family film tells the story of a hen who befriends an old woman and discovers she can speak human language. It is directed by Victor Monigote and Eduardo Gondell; the producers are Spain’s Tandem Films, Gloriamundi Producciones, and A Fonsagrada Producions, and Argentina’s Pampa Films and Sono Film.
Many past winners in this category have had U.S. releases, among them Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, Another Day of Life, and Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles. For now, Turu has no U.S. distributor. In Spain, it has grossed €719,151 (USD$870,000), according to the website Taquilla España. Its lack of competition at the Goyas may be due to Covid disruptions: nominees have to have been released in Spain in 2020, although (exceptionally) home releases counted this year.
