Carla Simón, a Catalan filmmaker born in Barcelona in 1986, is known for Alcarràs (2022) and Summer 1993 (2017). She received the National Cinematography Award in 2023, a prize of 30,000 euros funded by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The jury highlighted Simón for placing Spanish cinema on the international stage with an intimate, familial lens on the agricultural crisis. Her work follows the historic success of Alcarràs, which earned the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival last year.
The award signals a milestone in cinema history, celebrating a film that blends realism and fiction with precision and wit, and that also reflects the diversity of languages that enriches the country, including the Catalan spoken by its characters.
Simón established herself as a highly personal voice with her debut Summer 1993 in 2017, a film inspired by family memories and childhood. It garnered the best debut feature prize at the Berlinale, underscoring her talents early in her career.
At 36, she is seen as part of a new generation of filmmakers who are shaping a vibrant moment for Spanish cinema. The jury noted how her work helps audiences reconnect with theaters during the postpandemic recovery, highlighting the role of cinema in cultural renewal.
The National Cinematography Award recognizes outstanding contributions to Spanish cinematography for work carried out in the year 2022, or honors a distinguished professional career in exceptional cases. The prize is traditionally presented within a notable frame at a major festival like San Sebastian. In recent editions, it has recognized notable figures such as Penélope Cruz, José Sacristán, Isabel Coixet, Antonio Banderas, and Fernando Trueba.
The jury was chaired by Beatriz Navas, executive director of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts, with a panel that included a diverse group of industry leaders and representatives from writers’ associations and filmmaking organizations. The voices on the jury reflected a broad commitment to supporting national cinema while highlighting the social and linguistic diversity that characterizes and enriches contemporary Spanish culture.