I would have bet a delicious pot of paella that The Skin I Live In was a lock to represent Spain at the upcoming Oscars. I was so sure that it would have been up for Best Foreign Film, that I even gave it a good chance to sneak in possibly as a nominee for Best Picture!
Well, so much for that.
Today in Madrid, Agusti Villaronga‘s Black Bread has been selected as Spain’s bid for an foreign-language Oscar, the Spanish Film Academy made the shocking announcement.
The coming-of-age tale beat out Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In , which had been short-listed two weeks ago for the chance to represent Spain in the run up to the Oscars.
Bread, which will be the first Catalan-language film nominated by Spain, not only landed nine Goya awards earlier this year, but helped Villaronga secure the National Cinematographer’s Prize from the Culture Ministry just days ago at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
This has to be a major blow for Antonio Banderas’ chances at a Best Actor nomination.
