Spain has selected a Basque-language film for the first time to be its official submission to the Oscars.
Loreak (Flowers), directed by Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga, was announced as Spain’s Oscar nominee by the Spanish Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences, who tweeted the film’s title and “Enhorabuena” – “Congratulations”.
¡Enhorabuena @Loreakfilm! pic.twitter.com/db5Rgh0FfX
— Academia de Cine (@AcademiaCineEs) September 29, 2015
Loreak, which centres on a woman named Ane (played by Nagore Aranburu) who starts to receive bouquets of flowers once a week from an anonymous sender, has won impressive reviews, with Variety calling it “beautifully cast” and “an affecting story of loss and the ways people cope” and the Hollywood Reporter judging it as a “emotionally precise, subtle and quietly gripping exploration of ... romance and remembrance”.
Loreak has already proved groundbreaking: it was the first Basque-language film to screen in official competition at Spain’s foremost film festival, San Sebastiàn, where it premiered in 2014, as well as becoming the first Basque feature to be nominated for best film at the Goyas, Spain’s own film awards.
Loreak’s main competition was provided by the Carlos Vermut-directed noir Magical Girl, which won San Sebastiàn’s top award, the Golden Shell; and Felices 140, a character drama directed by Gracia Querejeta; while the successful multi-Goya-winning cop thriller Marshland did not appear to be in the running.
Spain last triumphed in the best foreign-language Oscar in 2004, when the Alejandro Amenábar-directed The Sea Inside carried off the award. No Spanish film has, however, made the final nomination list in the 11 years since.
