The 35th edition of the Goya Awards has revealed its two main unknowns: the city where they will be held and the presenters of the ceremony. Antonio Banderas and the journalist and president of the Television Academy María Casado will direct and host the gala at the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank in Malaga, owned by the actor. The awards will be presented, as planned, on February 27, 2021. Málaga, which already hosted the ceremony last year, is changing the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace for the Banderas theater, a space where the awards will be held. connections and interventions from several Spanish cities.
«We want to give our public and the entire society the best we have, and among the best is undoubtedly Antonio Banderas. We contacted him and Antonio immediately made himself available to us so that “The next gala is celebrated in a responsible manner and committed to the moment and to society,” says Mariano Barroso, president of the Film Academy. They no longer repeat as master of ceremonies Andrew Buenafuente, who has hosted the gala on four occasions, nor Silvia April, who has done it in two.
The Film Academy has reached an agreement with Antonio Banderas’ new production company, Teatro Soho TV (TST), to hold a ceremony in which The actor will have his partner, the journalist María Casado, whom he signed last May after learning that Mónica López was going to replace her on ‘La morning’, on Spanish Television, which she had hosted since 2016. Casado immediately said yes to her offer to direct the production company associated with the Teatro del Soho and settled in Málaga. The artist from Malaga and the Catalan communicator will debut as hosts of an evening in which “prominent actors, actresses and filmmakers from Spanish and international cinema” will participate, according to a statement from the Academy.
Antonio Banderas has the Goya of Honor and the one for best leading actor, which he received in the last edition for ‘Dolor y gloria’.
The gala will adapt to the new situation, “with capacity restrictions and taking extreme measures established by the health authorities.” It will be “a responsible, supportive, emotional and close ceremony, in which the art, talent, creativity and imagination of the world of cinema will be valued,” according to the Academy.
Banderas – Goya of Honor and Goya for Best Leading Actor in the last edition for ‘Dolor y gloria’ – and Casado, who will also sign the script for the gala together with a team of screenwriters, will form a couple on the big night of Spanish cinema. «It is an honor and a privilege to put ourselves at the service of the great family of Spanish cinema», Banderas explains. “It will be a great challenge and a greater excitement to be part of a historic gala at all levels,” says María Casado.
The announcement that Málaga will once again host the Goya awards ends speculation about whether Valencia was going to hold the ceremony in 2021, coinciding with the Berlanga Year. However, The vice mayor of Valencia, Sandra Gómez, assures that the city will have “a prominent role” given the capacity limitations imposed by the pandemic, “which prevent the celebration of a gala as always.” The Film Academy specifies that at the gala there will be “connections and interventions from several Spanish cities.” The municipal representative has stressed that the Valencian capital will continue to choose to host the gala when it is held again in a single venue with the aim of promoting the celebration of the Berlanga year and paying tribute to the Valencian director.
For his part, the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, considers the announcement “great news for the city, which has been working hard and well for Spanish and Spanish cinema since the Malaga Festival.” Antonio Banderas thanked him on his Twitter account for “the trust placed by the Academy.” «Quite an honour.