LUIS BUÑUEL AWARD
CHARO LÓPEZ
Charo López (Salamanca, October 28, 1943) discovered her vocation at the age of 17. While studying Philosophy and Literature in her hometown, she began performing with the Spanish University Theatre. During her time as a teacher, she met filmmaker Gonzalo Suárez, who offered her a role in Ditirambo (1967), marking the beginning of her film career. She went on to collaborate with Suárez on seven other feature films and has since worked in numerous productions alongside Spain’s most celebrated directors.
Spanish writer and journalist Manuel Vicent once described her as “a symbol of light at the end of Francoism’s tunnel.” On television, she portrayed Mauricia in Fortunata y Jacinta (1980), but it was her role as Clara Aldán in Los gozos y las sombras (1982) that made her a household name and propelled her into further success in cinema.
Her filmography includes titles such as The Hive by Mario Camus, Lost Paradises by Basilio Martín Patino, Time of Silence by Vicente Aranda, The Most Natural Thing by Josefina Molina, Kika by Pedro Almodóvar, Anima by Titus Leber, Plenilunio by Imanol Uribe, and more recently Baby by Juanma Bajo Ulloa.
López also gained recognition in Latin America, touring Argentine stages in the late ’80s with Una jornada particular and Hay que deshacer la casa. In Spain, her theatrical impact was significant with Let’s Have Sex in Peace (based on the work by Dario Fo) and her acclaimed monologue Ojos de agua, inspired by La Celestina.
In 1997, she dazzled audiences with her portrayal of María in Secrets of the Heart, directed by Montxo Armendáriz, which earned her the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress and was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards. More recently, she has appeared in TV series, feature films such as Baby by Juanma Bajo Ulloa, and short films like Alas de tiniebla, which reunited her with Gonzalo Suárez and premiered at the Huesca International Film Festival.
Her accolades include the Honorary Spike from the Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), the Ercilla Theatre Award, four Fotogramas de Plata, the Circle of Cinematographic Writers Medal, the Actors Union Award, the Sant Jordi Career Achievement Award, three TP de Oro awards, and the National Nacho Martínez Film Award from the Gijón International Film Festival.
PREMIO LUIS BUÑUEL
The Luis Buñuel Award honours a career and a professional life in the world of cinema. It was established in 1998 gathering the feelings of the Management Committee, after the festival held several ceremonies in Buñuel’s honour and following the approval of his sons Juan Luis and Rafael.
The initial trophy was created by the renowned artist from Huesca Eduardo Cajal, produced in bronze and detachable. It represented the threshold of a door and, according to the author, was inspired by the feature film The Exterminating Angel.
Nine years afterwards, the image of the trophy was changed, concretely in the 34th edition, by the artist from Zaragoza Fernando Sinaga. It was a spread out fan that, according to the author, represented at the same time ‘seduction’ and the idea of ‘the secret and the occult’.
In the 42nd edition, a new trophy was requested to Huesca born artist Antonio Santos by the new direction. The new award, christened as The Chorus Girl, broke with the traditional trophy concept. The work, designed by Huesca born artist Antonio Santos, consisted of different parts that make up the figure of a chorus girl.
Since 2020, the designer of the trophy is Isidro Ferrer, Design National Award winner, a Madrid-born artist based in Huesca. The trophy portraits an ant, that is what the authors says: “Luis Buñuel’s entomological fondness and training is known, also his inclination to introduce several arthropods in his films”. The list that feeds his particular zoo is extensive: spiders, scorpions, crabs, butterflies, bees, flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, cockroaches, neuropterans, beetles. This varied fauna that sprinkles his extensive filmography holds symbolic significance. One of the most iconic scenes that best define this Buñuelian drive for insects might be that of the ants of his first movie An Andalusian Dog, from which the inspiration for this trophy-homage springs.
Among the most outstanding personalities who have received this award, there can be found José Luis Borau (1998), Michel Piccoli (1999), Silvia Pinal (2000), Patrice Leconte (2001), Aki Kaurismaki (2002), Jerzy Kawalerowicz (2003), Jean Troell (2004), André Techiné (2005), Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (2006), Vittorio y Paolo Taviani (2007), Bertrand Tavernier (2008), Theo Angelopoulos (2009), Ángela Molina (2010), Elías Querejeta (2011), Stephen Fears (2012), Adolpho Arrietta (2013), Carlos Saura (2014), Laurent Cantet (2015), Jean Claude Carrière (2016), Costa Gavras and Alex de la Iglesia (2017), José Sacristán (2018), Marisa Paredes (2019), Isabel Coixet (2020), Gonzalo Suárez (2021), Terry Gilliam (2022), Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (2023) and Victoria Abril & Víctor Erice (2024).