Linguistic 'sorpasso' at the Gaudí awards: more candidates for best film in original Catalan version than in other languages

BarcelonaFor the first time in the history of the Gaudí Awards, there will be more candidate titles in the best film category, which groups films in their original Catalan version, than in the best non-Catalan language film category. Specifically, 21 feature films are vying for the best film nomination, the highest figure in the history of the awards, compared to 20 feature films vying for the best non-Catalan language film nomination. The production of cinema in the Catalan version has grown by 50% compared to the 14 films of the previous edition, which was already the highest figure in a decade that began with the historic low of six candidates for best film at the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Gaudí Awards.

The total number of candidate films for the Gaudí Awards is 85, a figure that includes fifteen documentaries, four animated films, fifteen short films, and the ten candidates for best European film. Of the 75 candidate Catalan productions, thirty-eight have Catalan as their language: 50.7%. Among the candidates for best film are box-office hits from this season such as Cronos and Balandrau, vent salvatge, and among the candidates for best non-Catalan language film are works such as El director –the new film by Dani de la Orden, still unreleased in theaters– and Lejos de los árboles, by Meritxell Colell.

The candidacies reveal a significant presence of women in traditionally male-dominated categories such as directing and screenwriting. Candidacies with female presence account for 50.9% of the total in the directing category and 58.3% in the screenwriting category. In production, women represent 40.4% of the candidacies, in an upward trend compared to previous years. The average budget for films in the original Catalan version nominated for the Gaudí Awards is also growing, reaching 2.16 million euros this year (2.64 million euros if we include animated films), but the gender gap in budgets remains: productions directed by women have an average budget of 2.26 million euros and those directed by men, 3.05 million.

On the other hand, the Catalan documentary is not experiencing a good moment regarding budgetary allocations. According to the picture drawn by the Gaudí candidates, the average budget of a Catalan documentary has fallen from 403,742 euros in 2025 to 361,771 euros in 2026, with a gender gap larger than in the fiction categories: 520,031 euros in average budget for documentaries directed by men compared to only 238,478 euros for those directed by women.

The Catalan Cinema Academy is celebrating its Candidates' Party this Tuesday to give way, starting this Wednesday, to the first round of voting for the Gaudí Awards, which will close on December 3. The second round of voting will take place from December 11, 2026, to January 18, 2027, and the awards gala will be held on January 30, 2027.