"El buen patron", a tragicomedy about capitalism directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, on Saturday won the Goya Prize for Best Spanish Film, Belga news agency reports.
A big favourite of the Goyas, considered the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, ‘El buen patron’ (The Good Boss) made off with six awards, including best director, best actor (Javier Bardem) and best original screen play.
The film tells the story of Basculas Blanco, a provincial business run by Julio Blanco, a small-time boss, invasive, toxic and ready to do anything to attain his objectives. He is played by Javier Bardem.
This is the second time that 53-year-old Leon de Aranoa, a former screenplay writer who became a director late in life, has won a Goya for best film. The first was in 2002 for “Los lunes au sol” (Mondays in the sun), which also earned Javier Bardem a Goya for best actor.
At 52, Bardem is the Spanish actor with the most awards and one of only two to have received an Oscar.
"El buen patron" had been nominated a record 20 times for a Goya.
At Saturday's award ceremony in the eastern town of Valencia, Blanca Portillo was awarded the Goya Prize for Best Actress for her role as the wife of a victim of the Basque separatist movement ETA in “Maixabel” by Iciar Bollain.
The 58-year-old Spanish performer had received a prize for best actress at the Cannes Festival last year for her role in “Volver” by Pedro Almodovar.
