\n\tIn 2024, Spain\u2019s government, the same that has stood up to Trump over Iran, launched a campaign Where Talent Ignites \u2013 Audiovisual From Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tLess than two years later, with Cannes having announced its main competition line-up on April 9, the slogan has proved anything but hype. In the last two years, no country anywhere in the world outside France, not even the U.S., has scored more Palme d\u2019Or contenders than Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere is a definite movement within Spanish cinema,\u201d said Cannes Festival head Thierry Fr\u00e9maux, announcing the 2026 Cannes Official Selection on April 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tOrganized by Spain\u2019s Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, its ICAA film agency and export and investment board ICEX, And the Goya Goes To \u2013 New Spanish Films<\/a> runs April 16-19 in New York. It looks set to capture Spain\u2019s new explosive and exciting movie energies.<\/p>\n \n\tSet to screen at New York\u2019s Village East by Angelika, the films on show are not only any old titles, moreover, but all the big winners and best picture nominees at this year\u2019s Feb. 28 Goya Awards, held by Spain\u2019s Academy, which fielded arguably the strongest ever contenders lineup in their history.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tSpain\u2019s 2026 Goya Awards winners also take in the latest movies from some of Spain\u2019s new generation who have exploded recently onto the international scene: Oliver Laxe<\/a>\u2019s \u201cSir\u0101t,\u201d<\/a> a two-time Oscar nominee and Cannes Jury Prize laureate; San Sebastian Golden Shell winner \u201cSundays,\u201d<\/a> from Alauda Ruiz de Az\u00faa<\/a>, and doc feature \u201cAfternoons of Solitude,\u201d<\/a> which also scooped a Golden Shell, marking the latest from Albert Serra<\/a>, behind Cannes competition entry \u201cPacification,\u201d whose \u201cOut of This World\u201d is tipped for big fest selection later this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAnd the Goya Goes To \u2013 New Spanish Films \u201cembodies \u201cthe values of Where Talent Ignites, positioning Spain\u2019s audiovisual talent \u2013 both creative and industrial \u2013 at the center of the program,\u201d says Teresa Martin, ICEX head of audiovisual.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cVia screenings and panels, the showcase adds names and faces to our its figures, connecting it with the U.S. industry and reenforcing Spain as a first-class creative partner in international.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFurther highlights are \u201cDeaf,\u201d <\/a>Eva Libertad<\/a>\u2019s Berlin Panorama Audience Award winner, which proved the biggest breakout at this year\u2019s Goya Awards, scoring new director and new actress (Miriam Garlo), plus supporting actor (\u00c1lvaro Cervantes).\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAlso unspooling at And the Goya Goes To \u2013 New Spanish Films is \u201cMaspalomas,\u201d an actor winner for Jose Ram\u00f3n Soroiz, \u201cThe Dinner,\u201d another breakout, which scooped original screenplay and costume design, and animated feature Goya laureate \u201cDecorado,\u201d <\/a>helmed by Spanish animation doyen Alberto V\u00e1zquez<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe are very proud of our cinema, which is triumphing in Spain and abroad,\u201d says Fernando M\u00e9ndez-Leite, president of Spain\u2019s Academy. \u201cThe showcase is an \u201copportunity to highlight internationally outstanding tiles from this year\u2019s Goyas Awards, at such a significant date as the 40th anniversary of the Academy and the Goyas,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSpanish cinema is on creative fire, tackling human issues, often from the perspectives of women, and without stereotypes,\u201d says Laura Tur\u00e9gano, director of And the Goya Goes to \u2013 New Spanish Films.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIt also fills a gaping hole. New York has lacked a dedicated, consistent showcase for contemporary Spanish cinema since the last of the Lincoln Center\u2019s long-running Spanish Cinema Now series, held in 2012.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cExporting the best films voted on democratically by Spanish Academy members gives a particular splendor to the event, says Pedro Palacios, producer of \u201cAfternoons of Solitude.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tNew York, again, is not any old city. The showcase \u201cplaces Spanish cinema at the center of one of the most powerful media capitals in the world,\u201d says its co-ordinator, Diana Vargas. \u201cNew York offers unmatched access to distributors, buyers, press and multicultural audiences where visibility can translate into international circulation, partnerships, and new commercial opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n