The challenge of reviving an extinct Barcelona allows Carlos Apolinario to win the Goya for Best Production Direction for 'El 47'

After forging his career in multiple television productions over several decades, Carlos Apolinario has won the Goya for Best Production Direction for his work on 'El 47', a period piece that is especially complex due to its temporal proximity.

Starting from the late 1950s and continuing through the 1970s, The 47 relives different stages of Barcelona in a profound effort of creative and artistic transformation. He does it with a reduced budget which has been intelligently used to take on the challenge of remembering a recent past; The vestiges remain, but the cultural and commercial transformation of the city of Barcelona involves a significant effort.

"Cities have changed a lot in 60 years, which implies very important logistical work. In this case, we had the issue of super character: the bus. This brought with it the complexity of filming with this vehicle through the urban center, to which is added having to have filmed in real spaces or close Plaza Catalunya. It has been a complicated production, acknowledges Apolinario, who also dedicates a few words to the work of its director Marcel Barrena: "He is a wonderful person and a great professional. He understands the budget, the project, he is another colleague and it is wonderful to work with him."

The 47 has been the great winner of the Goya 2025 with five awards, including the ex aequo recognition for Best Film along with The Infiltrator. The former Globomedia production manager acknowledges that the production team did not have “giant expectations,” given that the film was planned from the beginning as a “small and unpretentious” film. For this reason, he celebrates the recognition of the production by critics, the public and academics: "In the end, it worked like a shot. The word of mouth has been wonderful."

Access to the Goyas 2025 Special in Panorama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfaG5OXWMEc