Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s Sundays leads the nominations for Spain’s 2026 Goya Awards with 13 nods, followed by Oliver Laxe’s Sirât with 11. Both titles are competing in the top categories including best film and best director.
Sundays, a drama about a teenager who decides she wants to become a nun, is addtionally nominated for best actress Patricia López Arnaiz and supporting actress, newcomer Blanca Soroa, among other categories.
It premiered in San Sebastian where it won the Golden Shell for best film, and is the second feature from writer-director Ruiz de Azúa after Lullaby and the recent Spanish miniseries Querer. Sundays opened theatrically in Spain on October 24 and has grossed around $4.7m (€4m) to date through BTeam Pictures.
Oliver Laxe’s Oscar contender Sirât premiered in Cannes Competition where it shared the jury prize with Mascha Schilinski’s Sound Of Falling and its Goya nominations include screenplay, cinematography, score, production design, and sound.
Sirât is among the most nominated for this weekend’s (January 17) European Film Awards in Berlin, where it will contest five categories. Sergi López stars as father who embarks on a journey across the Moroccan desert in search of his missing daughter. In a Spanish theatrical landscape typically dominated by broad comedies, the film has achieved notable arthouse success, earning around $3.5m (close to €3m) since its release on BTeam Pictures on June 6, 2025.
Other leading contenders include Aitor Arregi and Jose Mari Goenaga’s Maspalomas with nine nominations, and box-office hit The Dinner with eight. Alejandro Amenábar’s period drama The Captive, based on the life of Miguel de Cervantes, and Alberto Rodríguez’s action-thriller Los Tigres, each secured seven nominations. Carla Simón’s Romería, which premiered in Cannes Competition, received six nods.
New directing talent also feature prominently among the nominees. Eva Libertad’s Deaf, which screened in Berlinale Panorama last year, garnered seven nominations, while Guillermo Galoe’s Sleepless City, selected for Cannes Critics’ Week, picked up five.
Albert Serra’s bullfighting feature documentary Afternoons Of Solitude was nominated for best direction and best documentary.
The winners of the 40th Goya Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Barcelona on February 28.
2026 Goya Awards nominations:
Best film
The Dinner – Manuel López Pereira
Sundays – Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
Maspalomas – Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga
Sirât – Oliver Laxe
Deaf – Eva Libertad
Best director
Alauda Ruiz de Azúa – Sundays
Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga – Maspalomas
Carla Simón – Romería
Oliver Laxe - Sirât
Albert Serra – Afternoons Of Solitude
Best new director
Ion de Sosa – Balearic
Jaume Claret Muxart – Strange River
Gemma Blasco – The Fury
Gerard Oms – Away
Eva Libertad – Deaf
Best original screenplay
Alauda Ruiz de Azúa – Sundays
Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga – Maspalomas
Oliver Laxe, Santiago Fillol – Sirât
Agustín Díaz Yanes – She Walks In Darkness
Avelina Prat – The Portuguese House
Best adapted screenplay
Guillermo Galoe, Víctor Alonso-Berbel – Sleepless City
Celia Rico Clavellino – The Good Manners
Joaquim Oristrell, Manuel Gómez Pereira, Yolanda García Serrano – The Dinner
Carla Simón – Romería
Eva Libertad – Deaf
Best original score
Carla F. Benedicto – El Talento
Iván Palomares de la Encina – Leo&Lou
Julio de la Rosa – Los Tigres
Aránzazu Calleja – Maspalomas
Kangding Ray – Sirât
Best actress
Angela Cervantes – The Fury
Patricia López Arnaiz – Sundays
Antonia Zegers – The Exiles
Nora Navas – My Friend Eva
Susana Abaitua – She Walks In Darkness
Best actor
Alberto San Juan – The Dinner
Miguel Garcés – Sundays
Jose Ramon Soroiz – Maspalomas
Mario Casas – Away
Manolo Solo – The Portuguese House
Best supporting actress
Elvira Mínguez – The Dinner
Nagore Aramburu – Sundays
Miryam Gallego – Romería
Elena Irureta – Deaf
Maria de Medeiros – The Portuguese House
Best supporting actor
Miguel Rellán – The Dinner
Juan Minujín – Sundays
Kandido Uranga – Maspalomas
Tamar Novas – Rondallas
Álvaro Cervantes – Deaf
Best new actor
Antonio ‘Toni’ Fernández Gabarre – Sleepless City
Julio Peña – The Captive
Hugo Welzel – Enemigos
Jan Monter Palau – Strange River
Mitch – Romería
Best new actress
Nora Hernández – The Dinner
Blanca Soroa – Sundays
Elvira Lara – The Exiles
Llúcia Garcia – Romería
Miriam Garlo – Deaf
Best cinematography
Rui Poças – Sleepless City
Bet Rourich – Sundays
Pau Esteve Birba – Los Tigres
Javier Agirre Erauso – Maspalomas
Mauro Herce – Sirât
Best sound
Aitor Berenguer, Gabriel Gutiérrez, Candela Palencia – The Captive
Andrea Sáenz Pereiro, Mayte Cabrera – Sundays
Daniel de Zayas, Gabriel Gutiérrez, Candela Palencia – Los Tigres
Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas, Yasmina Praderas – Sirât
Urko Garal, Enrique G. Bermejo, Alejandro Castillo – Deaf
Best editing
Victoria Lammers – Sleepless City
Andrés Gil – Sundays
José M. G. Moyano – Los Tigres
Cristóbal Fernández – Sirât
Bernat Vilaplana – She Walks In Darkness
Best art direction
Juan Pedro de Gaspar – The Captive
Koldo Vallés – The Dinner
Pepe Domínguez del Olmo – Los Tigres
Mikel Serrano – Maspalomas
Laia Ateca Font – Sirât
Best production design
Antonello Novellino - Sleepless City
Sergio Díaz Bermejo – The Captive
Itziar García Zubiri – Sundays
Begoña Muñoz Corcuera – Los Tigres
Oriol Maymó - Sirât
Best animation feature
Bella
Decorado
The Treasure Of Barracuda
Norbert
Olivia And The Invisible Earthquake
Best documentary
2025. We Are All Gaza
Eloy De La Iglesia. Adicto Al Cine
Flores Para Antonio
Afternoons Of Solitude
The Sleeper. El Caravaggio Perdido
Best Latin American film
Belén
The Mysterious Gaze Of The Flamingo
Manas
La Piel Del Agua
A Poet
Best European Film
Conclave
The Girl With The Needle
On Falling
It Was Just An Accident
Sentimental Value
Best special effects
Enemigos
Gaua
Los Tigres
Sirât
She Walks In Darkness
Best Hair and Makeup
The Captive
Gaua
La Tregua
Maspalomas
Sirât
Best costume
The Captive
Gaua
The Dinner
Sundays
Romería.
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