THE GOYA AWARD WINNER, ALSO HONORED AT THE SAN SEBASTIÁN FILM FESTIVAL, HAS A FILMOGRAPHY OF NEARLY FIFTY TITLES
A SOLID AND EVER-GROWING CAREER IN FILM, THEATER, AND TELEVISION THAT BEGAN UNDER THE DIRECTION OF CARLOS SAURA IN THE SEVENTH DAY
THE 53RD EDITION OF THE FESTIVAL WILL OPEN ON JUNE 6 WITH THIS AWARD CEREMONY AND A SCREENING OF ONE OF HER MOST RECENT FILMS, THE GIRLS ARE ALRIGHT
The Ciudad de Huesca Carlos Saura Award recognizes the career and rising trajectory of Irene Escolar. The award will be presented during the opening gala on June 6 at 9:00 PM. Born in Madrid, Escolar boasts one of the most solid and internationally projected careers in the Spanish audiovisual scene. Her filmography includes An Autumn Without Berlin (for which she won a Goya), Official Competition, The Girls Are Alright, You Have to Come and See It, as well as series like The Long Shadows, The Lawyers, Tell Me Who I Am, and Isabel.
In theater, she has earned two Max Award nominations, three Valle-Inclán Award nominations, and the Madrid Community Theater Prize for her contribution to the performing arts.
This honorary award acknowledges an innate and versatile talent. Escolar, though part of a well-known acting family, has forged her own path through artistic rigor and commitment. “Uncompromising and driven by an artistic strength that shatters glass ceilings,” says festival director Estela Rasal. The Teatro Olimpia evening will conclude with the screening of The Girls Are Alright, directed by Itsaso Arana in her directorial debut, and starring Escolar, Bárbara Lennie, and Arana herself. Produced by Jonás Trueba, the film premiered at the Karlovy Vary Festival and received Goya and Feroz Award nominations.
Escolar has a special connection to this award: her first film role was in The Seventh Day, directed by Carlos Saura, based on the real-life Puerto Hurraco tragedy, where she acted alongside Victoria Abril, Juan Diego, and Eulalia Ramón. She will also be honored in a region she knows well, having filmed The Skin of the Wolf in the Pineta Valley and Boltaña.
The award’s history began in 1991 with Carlos Saura himself as its first recipient. In 2019, it was renamed to include his full name. In recent years, recipients have included Paula Ortiz, Isabel Peña & Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Anna Castillo, Michel Franco, Diego Luna, Pablo Larraín, and last year, Isaki Lacuesta.
A UNIQUE STYLE FORGED WITH TALENT AND ARTISTIC RIGOR
Irene Escolar (Foto-Pablo Zamora)
Irene Escolar Navarro (b. 1988, Madrid) has acted in 23 films and 28 stage productions, working with some of the most acclaimed directors in Spain and Europe. Raised in a family deeply rooted in the performing arts, she has developed a distinct style built on discipline and talent. She studied at Cristina Rota’s school, Teatro de la Abadía, and the Venice Biennale, training with directors such as Declan Donnellan, Thomas Ostermeier, and Jan Lauwers. She also studied English philology, classical, and contemporary dance.
Her professional journey covers nearly all facets of the performing arts. In theater, she has collaborated with Pascal Rambert, Álex Rigola, Miguel del Arco, and Andrés Lima. In film, she has worked with Hugh Hudson, Carlos Saura, Jonás Trueba, José Luis Cuerda, and Lois Patiño. Her breakout leading role came in 2015 with An Autumn Without Berlin, for which she received multiple awards, including the Goya for Best New Actress and a Special Mention from the San Sebastián Film Festival jury.
She has been nominated three times for the Valle-Inclán Awards (El Público, Vania, Mammón) and received the Madrid Community Theater Prize in 2019. Key projects include Escenario 0, which she co-created, produced, and starred in alongside Bárbara Lennie, and the series Tell Me Who I Am, where she plays the lead, premiered in 2020 at the San Sebastián Film Festival.
More recently, she appeared in Official Competition by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, You Have to Come and See It by Jonás Trueba, and the play Finlandia by Pascal Rambert. Her 2024 releases include: The Disney+ series The Long Shadows (dir. Clara Roquet); the film Ariel (dir. Lois Patiño) and the series The Lawyers, where she plays Manuela Carmena. Looking ahead to 2025, she is set to appear in the main cast of the series La Ruta. Vol. 2: Ibiza.
