Fernando León de Aranoa’s Oscar-shortlisted “The Good Boss” and Argentine Netflix series “The Kingdom” proved the main winners Sunday night at the 9th Platino Awards, which also prized Javier Bardem for his lead performance in Leon de Aranoa’s workplace comedy.
Already scoring an Oscar nomination, Penelope Cruz won an Audience Award for Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers” at the Platinos, the biggest kudocast for movies and series from Latin America, Spain and Portugal whose ceremony was held at Madrid’s IFEMA Palacio Municipal.
In all, “The Good Boss” walked off with best film, director, screenplay, actor (Bardem), original music (Zeltia Montes) and editing (Vanessa Marimbert), adding new honors to a feature which cleaned up at February’s Spanish Academy Goya Awards, taking six major nods from a Goya record of 20 nominations.
Starring Javier Bardem in one of the main achievements of his career, “The Good Boss” is a darkly humoured depiction of a seemingly benevolent but finally sinister patron as well as workplace power dynamics.
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The feature was also shortlisted for the Academy Awards in the international feature film category. A production of Reposado P.C. and The Mediapro Studio, in association with MK2, the film reunites the key talent behind “Mondays in the Sun” (2002). New York-based Cohen Media Group has all U.S. rights.
An eight-episode series, Netflix’s “The Kingdom” (“El reino vacío”) is produced by Argentina’s K&S Films (Pablo Trapero’s “The Clan”) and created by screenwriter Claudia Piñeiro (Nicolás Gil’s “Dark Buildings – A Crack in the Wall”) and director Marcelo Piñeyro (“The Method”).
The show took series, series creator and supporting actor in a series (Joaquín Furriel). Chino Darín, Nancy Dupláa and Furriel star in a psychological thriller which kids off with an Argentine presidential candidate being murdered only to be replaced by the leader of an evangelist church. The series has topped Netflix charts in Argentina. A second season is in production.
Hailed by Variety as Almodóvar’s best movie since “All About My Mother,” “Parallel Mothers” took three official prizes. Aitana Sánchez-Gijón scooped supporting actress. Original music and art direction prizes went to regular Almodóvar collaborators Alberto Iglesias and Antxon Gómez respectively. Almodóvar’s feature also scored best picture and actress (Penélope Cruz) Audience Awards.
A coming-of-age thriller set against the background of the malambo dance culture on the Argentine-Peru border, Juan Pablo Félix’s “Karnawal” won first feature. Edson Sidonie’s Buenos Aires-based Bikini Films lead produces.
Best actress prize went to Blanca Portillo for Iciar Bollaín’s “Maixabel” where she plays the real-life Maixabel Lasa, a woman who campaigned for reconciliation in the Basque Country, despite her husband being murdered by terrorist group ETA.
José Zelada’s “Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon,” a Peru-U.S.-Netherlands production walked off with animated feature. Sold by Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group, the feature has grossed $12 million at the global box office, despite being released in theaters during the pandemic.
Best documentary went to a 2021 Berlinale Panorama Audience Award winner, Luis Bolognesi’s “The Last Forest,” a depiction of illegal mining on the lands of the Yanomami, an indigenous people living in the Brazil-Venezuela border rainforest.
The Honorary Platino Award was won by Carmen Maura, the legendary star of breakthrough Almodóvar titles – “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” – who went on to build a career in France, winning a César for her performance in Philippe Le Guay’s “The Women on the 6th Floor.”
The Platino Awards are promoted by Madrid-based Egeda, the biggest rights collection society in the Spanish-speaking world, and the Federation of Ibero-American Film and Audiovisual Producers (Fipca).
The number of productions put forward for prizes has ranged from 701 in 2014 to 907 in 2019. Due to the plunge in theatrical premieres provoked by the pandemic, the number of productions presented for Platino consideration dropped – but hardly plunged – this year to 811.
Full list of winners below.
BEST IBERO-AMERICAN FILM
“The Good Boss,” Fernando León de Aranoa (Spain)
DIRECTOR
Fernando León de Aranoa
SCREENPLAY
Fernando León de Aranoa, “The Good Boss”
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Alberto Iglesias, “Parallel Mothers” (Spain)
ACTOR
Javier Bardem, “The Good Boss”
ACTRESS
Blanca Portillo, “Maixabel” (Spain)
ENSEMBLE ACTOR
Alfredo Castro, “Karnawal” (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia, Norway)
ENSEMBLE ACTRESS
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (“Parallel Mothers”)
ANIMATED FILM
“Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon,” José Zelada (Peru, U.S., Netherlands)
DOCUMENTARY
“The Last Forest,” Luiz Bolognesi,” (Brazil)
FIRST FEATURE
“Karnawal,” Juan Pablo Félix
EDITING
Germano de Oliveira, “7 Prisoners” (Brazil)
ART DIRECTION
Antxon Gómez, “Parallel Mothers”
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Kiko de la Rica, “Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea” (Spain)
SOUND DIRECTION
Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr, “Memoria” (Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, France, UK, Germany)
FILM & EDUCATION IN VALUES
“Los lobos,” Samuel Kishi Leopo (Mexico)
SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
“The Kingdom,” Claudia Piñeiro, Marcelo Piñeyro (Argentina)
ACTOR IN A SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
Javier Cámara, “Venga Juan” (Spain)
ACTRESS IN A SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
Daniela Ramírez, “Isabel”
ENSEMBLE ACTOR IN A SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
Joaquín Furriel, “The Kingdom”
ENSEMBLE ACTRESS IN A SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
Najwa Nimri, “Money Heist” (Spain)
BEST SERIES OR MINI-SERIES CREATOR
Claudia Piñeiro, Marcelo Piñeyro, “The Kingdom”
HONORARY AWARD
Carmen Maura
AUDIENCE AWARDS
PICTURE
“Parallel Mothers”
ACTOR
Javier Bardem, “The Good Boss”
ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
“The Kingdom”
ACTRESS IN A SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
Mercedes Morán, “The Kingdom”
ACTOR IN A SERIES OR MINI-SERIES
Chino Darín, “The Kingdom”