Mariano Barroso highlights the healing power of cinema in difficult moments

The president of the Film Academy also wanted to highlight that for the first time this year, half of the nominees for best director are women, both for best director and best new director.

From the Soho CaixaBank Theater in Malaga, with the nominees and winners connected electronically, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mariano Barroso, focused his speech at the 2021 Goya Awards Gala on how cinema can alleviate pain, even more so in times as difficult as those we are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barroso wanted pay tribute to the entire society, especially those most affected and affected by the pandemic, recognizing at the beginning of his intervention that "this is not the Goya gala that we would have liked to celebrate. But almost nothing in these months is as we would like it to be."

"The Goyas are always at least two things. On the one hand they are a festival of cinema, our festival, our celebration. And on the other, they are the meeting with our audience. The first we cannot, nor should we, nor do we want to celebrate. Or rather, we celebrate it but separated by screens, as we have spent so much time this year. The second, the meeting with our audience, we did not want to postpone. That is why we are here today," he stated.

Below he gave the actress as an example Angela Molina, Goya of Honor of this edition, who, after suffering a very painful family loss, found his cure and longing for hope in cinema.

In this thread, Barroso has asked himself "how many films, how much audiovisual fiction have we seen throughout this year...? If we could add up the time we have dedicated to watching movies this year, there would be millions of hours, millions of days. There would be thousands of years of cinema. How much has cinema helped us escape from the obsessive and painful reality, from personal and family dramas, even if it was only for a couple of hours?"

About him closure of numerous exhibition halls Due to the impact of the pandemic, he has stressed that "sometimes the films have come to look for us in our homes because the theaters have had to be closed. Other times, some of our producers and distributors have risked everything to release in theaters in the most difficult times. One way or another, we have continued watching movies. And cinema in many cases has cured us."

The president also wanted to highlight that for the first time this year, half of the nominees for best direction are women, both for best director and best new director. Furthermore, the number of women who have been nominated for the Goya is greater than ever, specifically 41 percent.

"Many people have risked their lives to save those of others. The health workers, the transporters, the security forces... We thank all of them and we recognize it. We are proud to belong to a group that has contributed to accompanying people, from the place that corresponds to us," he added.

Barroso concluded by underlining that cinema telling stories with words, images and sounds helps our audience enjoy and cure sadness or overcome pain, as happened to Ángela Molina, "a reference of generosity and talent, a companion who believes in the healing power of cinema... like all of us."