Rodrigo Sorogoyen, born in Madrid in 1981, has earned another Goya for Best Directing with his sixth feature film, As bestas. He faced a competitive field that included Carla Simón for Alcarrás, Pilar Palomero for La maternal, Carlos Vermut for Mantícora, and Alberto Rodríguez for Modelo 77.
The director highlighted that the year brought a slate of strong productions and praised the remarkable work of all his rivals. He urged audiences to keep supporting cinema in theaters, emphasizing that collective passion can help films reach a wider public and achieve lasting impact.
During the awards moment, Sorogoyen also touched on the filming location of As bestas and called for a rethink of four proposed wind farms, arguing that their construction could threaten local fauna and flora around Sabucedo in Pontevedra.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s As bestas wins Best Picture at the Goyas.
This marks Sorogoyen’s second Goya triumph in the Best Picture category, following the success of El reino in 2018. That earlier work earned him a Best Original Screenplay nomination alongside Isabel Peña and garnered seven statuettes in total. As bestas quickly established itself as a strong contender in this edition, earning 17 nominations and drawing attention as a rural thriller set in Galicia that addresses issues such as xenophobia, violence, and the heavier side of renewable energy projects.
Sorogoyen began his career co-directing the romantic comedy 8 Dates, but his profile rose with Stockholm, a film that earned three Goya nominations. His trajectory continued to shine with nominations for the thriller Que Dios nos perdone, the film El reino, and the short Madre. The project later expanded into a feature film after a nationwide release. Beyond the cinema screen, Sorogoyen has collaborated on television projects, including Riot Control with Isabel Peña, and is presently developing a series centered on events from Spain’s Civil War era. [Citation: Industry reports]