18 nominations and two wins: Catalan cinema at the Oscars

It's another special week for the Catalan film industry, as 'Sirât' heads to Hollywood to compete in two categories at the 2026 Oscars.

Óliver Laxe's film had been shortlisted for three other Oscars: Best Cinematography, Casting, and Original Score. The movie was selected by Spain to represent the country in September and was shortlisted in December.

'Sirât' joined 14 other films from around the world in the shortlist of the Best International Feature Film category, including Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value' (Norway) and Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' (France).

The film will now compete against Brazil's 'The Secret Agent,' France's 'It Was Just an Accident,' Norway's 'Sentimental Value,' and Tunisia's 'The Voice of Hind Rajab.' 

For Best Sound, Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas, and Yasmina Praderas will compete against movies such as 'F1,' 'Frankenstein,' 'One Battle After Another,' and 'Sinners.'

Catalan history at Oscars

The last Catalan Oscar nominations came two years ago, when J. A. Bayona's 'Society of the Snow' went for two Academy Awards, Best International Feature Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, while Pablo Berger's 'Robot Dreams' was in contention for Best Animated Feature Film. 

Sadly for Catalonia, neither production took home the golden statue, but the films of Bayona and Berger added three more nominations to the history of Catalan talent competing in Hollywood. 

The 2026 nominations of 'Sirât' now mean that Catalan productions have been nominated for Oscars 18 times.

Two films with Catalan ties have before taken home the glory. The feat was first accomplished by Néstor Almendros in 1979, when he picked up the Oscar award for Best Cinematography for Terrence Malick's 'Days of Heaven'.

The second film with Catalan participation to take home an Oscar was 'Pan's Labyrinth', when Montse Ribé and David Martí won the award for Best Makeup in 2007.

The first Spanish nomination came in 1953, also came from Catalonia thanks to the painter Antoni Clavé. The multifaceted artist was responsible for Catalonia's debut at the Oscars with a double nomination, for Best Art Direction – Color and Best Costume Design – Color for the film 'Hans Christian Andersen,' directed by Charles Vidor, although the film didn't take home either of the awards. 

Eight years later, in 1961, Valencian filmmaker Luis García Berlanga's 'Plácido' was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie was shot in Manresa and was produced by Alfredo Matas' Jet Films, at that time based in Madrid but which moved its headquarters three years later to Barcelona, the company owner's hometown.

In 1964, Francesc Rovira Beleta was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for 'Los tarantos'. Four years later, he returned to the Los Angeles gala for 'Bewitched Love', although he didn't win on either occasion.

In the 80s, and after winning one Oscar, Néstor Almendros earned three more nominations in the same category: in 1980 for 'Kramer vs. Kramer', 1981 for 'The Blue Lagoon', and in 1983 for 'Sophie's Choice'. 

Catalonia then had to wait twenty years to cross the ocean again. In 2004, the documentary by Carles Bosch and Josep Maria Domènech 'Balseros' picked up a nomination but not a win.

Two years later, however, Montse Ribé and David Martí from the studio DDT SFX won the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for 'Pan's Labyrinth'.

'Chico and Rita' by Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba stood for the Oscar in 2012 for Best Animated Feature Film but was unsuccessful. 

Lastly, the short film 'Timecode', by Juanjo Giménez, was nominated in 2016.