Juan Antonio Bayona will represent Spain at the Oscars. The Academy of Arts and Cinematography of Spain has chosen La sociedad de la nieve to undertake the arduous journey to the Hollywood statuette for the best international film in March in Los Angeles. The film, which relives the air disaster in the Andes that led its survivors to extreme conditions, including cannibalism, has had the support of Netflix and will continue to have it in the race for the golden statuette. “We talked with Netflix about going in search of other nominations, not just the foreign film”, Bayona revealed yesterday at the Cinema Academy after learning of the nomination.
The Spanish academics have chosen their film over the other two finalists, between 20,000 species of bees, Estibaliz Urresola’s feature film about trans children, and Cerrar los ojos, Víctor Erice’s return to the feature film, which narrates the mysterious disappearance of an actor. La sociedad de la nieve, which still does not have a release date, although yesterday Bayona assured that it will be seen in cinemas before Netflix, has finally been nominated, a choice that has moved the director. “After seven years of shooting abroad, that they don’t see me as a stranger now that I’m back, because I continue to live in Barcelona, ??excites me”, he confessed.
And he acknowledged that “this film is a rarity, it took us ten years to finance a film like this in Spanish. And that it competes head-to-head with American films in a different language makes me very happy.” “It was a strong bet, working with unknown Uruguayan and Argentinian actors, a casting that took months. Seven weeks of rehearsals, 140 days of filming to experience the journey with them. I get excited when I see my actors”, he pointed out with moist eyes looking at the young Uruguayan actor Enzo Vogrincic, sitting next to him during the press conference and who lost 20 kilos for the filming.
“It’s a film about actors – emphasized Bayona – and I’ve faced it this way. It’s different from my other films, rather than shooting it I tried to explore it, trying to get all of us into the skin of the characters, it’s much more organic.” And he pointed out that a month ago it was already taught in Los Angeles to Hollywood academics and “the response was very good”. And he emphasized the Spanish element of the film: “In Los Angeles there was an executive who was surprised to see 13 minutes of credits with all the names in Spanish, as if there was a Marvel film made entirely by Spaniards. Ever since The Orphanage and The Impossible, I’ve been betting on Spanish talent making films competitive with those from abroad.”
The director of the Academy of Cinema, Fernando Méndez-Leite, recalled that now the race for the Oscar begins for La sociedad de la nieve in one of the most disputed categories. “Getting nominated is a very complicated task, and winning the golden statuette, even more so.” Now, he concluded, the film from Bayona “will have to pass the first cut of the well-known shortlist on December 21, then on January 23 the five nominees will be announced and on March 12, 2024 will be the ceremony in Los Angeles”.
