The Society of the Snow became the third-most prized film in Goya history after winning 12 awards on Saturday
Survival thriller ‘Society of the Snow’ shone brightly at the 38th Annual Goya Awards on Saturday, February 10, clinching 12 trophies, including best picture and best director. It also became the third-most prized film in the Goya Awards history.
After winning Best Director, Juan Antonio Bayona said, “My home is Spanish cinema, and I am very proud to be part of this family.”
In his speech, Bayona also thanked Netflix for proving the potential of ambitious Spanish films and opened up about the challenges of securing financing for the film he had been waiting a decade to make.
“For 10 years, we have been hearing people telling us that this film was not possible, that making a movie in Spanish with this level of ambition couldn’t be done. Well, thanks to the arrival of Netflix because… They were proven wrong,” he said.
Bayona’s film also won prizes for best new actor, editing, cinematography, original song, hairstyling and make-up, sound, art direction, and costume design.
Produced by Belén Atienza and Sandra Hermida for Netflix, Society Of The Snow centres on the 1972 air crash in the Andes that pushed its survivors to the limits. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2023 as the closing film. It is now nominated for best foreign-language film at the Baftas.
Filming took place in Spain’s Sierra Nevada
In order to authentically depict a plane crash and the incredible story of survival from 50 years ago, the creators of Society of the Snow ingeniously merged LED and green screen technologies with several practical sets of the plane’s fuselage, all situated over 2000 metres up a mountain.
According to Professional journalist, editor and copywriter Adrian Pennington, the fact that the mountain chosen was located in Spain’s Sierra Nevada instead of the Andes did not diminish the extensive effort required in terms of organization, logistics to transport the crew and filming equipment, and adjusting to unpredictable weather conditions.
Cinematographer Pedro Luque explained, “We wanted the audience to feel they were really at the Valle de las Lágrimas (Valley of Tears) when the survivors saw the movie they were amazed at how accurate the production was.”
