Fesser was the toast of the evening as he also picked up best original script, and his lead cast all won awards, including Carme Elias (best actress), Jordi Dauder (best supporting actor) and Nerea Camacho, who picked up best new actress for her major role in the film as a dying girl.
'I am extremely honoured to have picked up these awards,' Fesser told ScreenDaily.
'For nearly 20 years I have turned the story over and over in my mind to find the best way to tell it, but it wasn't until 2004 that I submerged myself fully in the script, to which I dedicated two years,' said Fesser. 'In the end I succeeded in drawing together the necessary pieces to make what I really wanted to develop - an emotional love story.'
The surprise on the night was that Jose Luis Cuerda's Franco drama Blind Sunflowers only picked up one award for best adapted screenplay, having received a record 15 nominations.
Agustin Diaz Yanes' film Solo Quiero Caminar also only picked up one award (best cinematography for Paco Femenia) from 11 nominations.
Other success stories on the night were Santiago Zannou's music drama El Truco Del Manco and Alex De La Iglesia's murder mystery The Oxford Murders, both of which picked up three awards.
De La Iglesia told ScreenDaily: 'These awards are vital to highlight to the international market the exciting films that are coming out of Spain. This year's competition is particularly strong and I believe 2009 will be another great year for local films.'
The two big star names who attracted the most attention from the press and public were Benicio Del Toro who won the best actor award for his portrayal of Che Guevara in both Che films, and Penelope Cruz who walked away with best supporting actress for her role in Woody Allen's film Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Cruz's presence was greatly appreciated by the local crowd gathered outside the congress building in Madrid where the awards took place, as she had not attended the 2008 ceremony.
Other notable winners on the night were Christian Mungiu's Romanian abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks And Two Days for best European film and the special effects team for the spy comedy Mortadelo Y Filemon, Mission: Save The Planet, who had the embarrassment of dropping and breaking their award.
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