The 2023 Goya Awards premiere is set to take place in Seville on Saturday, February 11. Delegates and nominees arriving at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones will hope to return home with a lifetime keepsake: the iconic bust of the award-winning figure often affectionately called the “big head” Francisco de Goya.
The bronze bust, crafted for the ceremony by Aragonese sculptor José Luis Fernández, has been a staple of the awards since the second edition in 1988 and remains unchanged to this day. In the inaugural edition, organisers unveiled a composite sculpture that merged a bust of the painter with a film camera, but it was not retained due to its substantial weight and size.
Choosing Francisco de Goya as the emblem and name for these awards carried multiple arguments. It signified Spanish culture on an international stage and captured a concept of painting that resonated with the cinematic world, especially as it relates to Aragonese cinema.
Goya was not the first candidate on the slate. Early discussions explored a succinct, easily memorable term that would symbolize Spanish art. Choices such as the Lumière Awards were considered, but the French branding didn’t resonate, and references to Bunuel were also floated.
Ultimately, the exact name emerged as Premios Goya after the artistic director Ramiro Gómez proposed the term. Academics in parliament endorsed the idea, recognizing that a short, universal name would align closely with international prestige.
The decision to adopt the Goya name rests on multiple pillars: Goya’s status as a world-renowned painter and a cultural ambassador for Spain, the brevity of the name, and its familiar cadence alongside Oscar or César in the United States and France. The Academy notes that the painter’s approach to his work—often perceived as sequential and evolving in narrative form—echoes cinematic storytelling, which helped solidify the link between Goya and the cinematic arts.
Each year, the Goya Awards celebrate the finest professionals across the technical and creative realms of Spanish cinema. The event honours anonymous technicians as well as high-profile stars in acting and directing, reflecting the broad spectrum of talent that powers the Spanish film industry.