The winner of the Malaga Festival, 'Sorda', re-enters the trio of Oscar candidates for Spain.

Winning the Biznaga de Oro is a guarantee of success beyond box office numbers. It has also become a passport to be among the films preselected by the Film Academy to represent Spain at the Oscars, and possibly even be the chosen one. This was the case in the last edition with 'Segundo premio', a film by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez about the band Los Planetas that competed in Hollywood, and it seems to be heading that way this year with the committed, convincing, and tender 'Sorda', the debut by Eva Libertad that views the world from the perspective of a deaf woman. As announced this Wednesday, the film will face two other major rivals, 'Sirât', the powerful film by Oliver Laxe that won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and 'Romería', the third film by Carla Simón that revisits her memories to complete the trilogy that began with 'Summer 1993'.

After winning the Biznaga de Oro at the Málaga Film Festival and the audience award in the Panorama section of the Berlinale, 'Sorda' now aspires to reach the Oscars with a story that exposes the difficult understanding between what is considered the 'normal' world and the world of signs in today's society. A family film in a double sense. Because it tells the story of a woman with a hearing partner who has a life tailored to her, but sees all that stability crumble when she becomes pregnant. And because its director, Eva Libertad, directs her own sister, Miriam Garlo, the first deaf actress to star in a film in Spanish cinema.

Both came out winners from the Málaga Film Festival - as did the co-star, Álvaro Cervantes - with a very personal story, which can be tagged as based on real events. 'Sorda' exudes truth with a revealing plot about the world of the non-hearing, which often faces a hostile environment without the rest of the people being aware. A militant film that is capable of combining its didacticism with emotion, tenderness, and empathy.

Filmmaker Carla Simón also draws on personal memories in her third feature film, 'Romería', which continues to explore family relationships, this time inspired by the origins of her paternal family to tell the story of Marina, an 18-year-old girl who lost her parents when she was very young and who reconstructs her parents' relationship, surrounded by stigmas and taboos. The film, which was presented in the official section of the last Cannes Film Festival, concludes the personal trilogy started by this author with her debut, 'Summer 1993', winner of the Málaga Film Festival, and 'Alcarràs'. Starring debutante Llúcia Garcia Torras, along with Mitch and Tristán Ulloa, the film arrives in theaters this Friday, September 5.

The third film in contention is 'Sirât', the striking film by Oliver Laxe ('O que arde') that also went through the last Cannes Film Festival and won the Jury Prize. The fourth feature film by the Galician filmmaker stars Sergi López, who plays a father searching for his missing daughter, alongside another family member, played by Bruno Núñez. An absolutely sensitive and unexpected film set in the desert, where a lost rave is held in the mountains of southern Morocco.

Emma Suárez and Juan Diego Botto, "the two best actors in Spanish cinema," as joked this Tuesday by the president of the academy, Fernando Méndez-Leite, have been in charge of announcing the three feature films, accompanied by the notary Eva Fernández Medina. The film that will ultimately represent our country at the Hollywood Academy Awards will be announced next September 17.

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