‘As bestas’, the dark rural drama crafted by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña, draws its inspiration from a real incident in Galicia. The film, which dominated the Goya Awards scene, earned Best Picture in 2023 and secured a memorable night for its creators and cast.
This cinematic work, produced by Caballo Films, SL, Le pacte, Arcadia Motion Pictures, SL and Cronos Entertainment, AIE, gathered nine of seventeen nominations and left a lasting mark on the year’s awards landscape. Its triumph at the Goyas resonated beyond the ceremony, highlighting a year in which cultural production received meaningful recognition and fans celebrated the country’s rich storytelling tradition.
As bestas follows Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Olga (Marina Foïs), a French couple seeking a quieter cadence of life. They settle in a small village deep in Galicia, tending to crops, sheep, and the occasional pig, embracing a slower pace far from urban bustle. Yet peace is unsettled when the Anta brothers, played by Luis Zahera and Diego Anido, become entangled in a dispute that challenges the couple’s presence and the community’s harmony. The core conflict centers on the proposed wind farm, a project tied to land and livelihood, and the tensions it triggers among neighbors who view it through different ethical and economic lenses.
The narrative unfolds with a stark realism that has become a signature of this director duo. The film first appeared in Spain on November 11, 2022, drawing a substantial audience that reflected a strong local interest in stories rooted in regional landscapes and social undercurrents. Its subsequent box office performance reached impressive levels, underscoring a broad appeal that translated into cultural conversation about rural life, power, and community resilience. In conversations about the year’s cinema, the work is frequently cited for its craft, atmosphere, and the performance dynamics that illuminate the human dimensions at stake.