Due To Covid, Goya Awards Nominate Just One Animated Feature: ‘Turu, The Wacky Hen’

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.

The animated shorts category contains a full pack of nominees. The favorite is probably Homeless Home, for the simple reason that the Goyas love its director Alberto Vázquez. The macabre comedy won the jury award at Annecy last year. The nominees are:

• Blue & Malone: Casos imposibles, dir. Abraham López Guerrero
• Homeless Home, dir. Alberto Vázquez
• Metamorphosis, dir. Carla Pereira, Juanfran Jacinto
• Fly (Vuela), Carlos Gómez-Mira Sagrado

The third category that overlaps with our coverage is “special effects” (which includes vfx). The nominees are:

• Mariano García Marty and Ana Rubio — Coven (Akelarre)
• Raúl Romanillos and Jean-Louis Billiard — Black Beach
• Raúl Romanillos and Míriam Piquer — Historias lamentables
• Lluis Rivera Jove and Helmuth Barnert — Unknown Origins (Orígenes secretos)