Spain has chosen the film ‘Saturn Return’ by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez as its submission for Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Oscars (Academy Awards) to be held in Los Angeles on Sunday 2 March. The shortlist for best international feature contenders will be announced on 17 December.
The selection of ‘Saturn Return’ (known as ‘Segundo Premio’ in Spanish) was confirmed on Wednesday morning by the Spanish Film Academy and announced by actor Eduardo Noriega.
The film, a 1990s-set biopic of Spanish indie rock band Los Planetas, premiered at the Malaga Film Festival, winning prizes for best director, best editing and best Spanish film. It has been making the festival rounds, screening at the Seattle Film Festival, the Guadalajara International Film Festival, and the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema.
The film’s synopsis reads: ‘Late 1990s. Art and culture are in full swing in Granada. Against that background, an indie band is about to change the music scene in Spain. Just before creating their new album, the band is going through its worst possible moment.’
The film is produced by Ikiru Films, La Terraza Films, Áralan Films, Bteam Prods, Sideral Cinema, Los Ilusos Films, and Toxicosmos AIE. Lacuesta and Navarro wrote the screenplay and the lead cast features Daniel Ibáñez, Cristalino, Stéphanie Magnin, Mafo, Chesco Ruiz and Edu Rejón.
Lacuesta is a Catalan-born filmmaker best known for The Next Skin (2016), Between Two Waters (2018), and One Year, One Night (2022), which debuted in competition at the Berlin Film Festival and won the Goya Award for best-adapted screenplay. He is the winner of two Golden Shell Best Film Awards at San Sebastian. Saturn Return is Rodríguez’s second feature. He directed the 2016 film Quatretondeta, which won best cinematography at Malaga.
Spain is a regular contender in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars, with 21 nominations to date, most recently last year with J.A. Bayona’s Society of the Snow, and 4 wins.
Segundo premio representará a España en los Oscar 2025.https://t.co/dDKbybbFEE pic.twitter.com/UadArAWoD4
— Academia de Cine (@Academiadecine) September 18, 2024
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