Agustí Villaronga's film Pa negre has been selected by the Spanish Film Academy to take part in the Oscars in the Foreign Film category. As of today, Villaronga's film will set out on the race to win one of the most sought-after statuettes in the film industry.

For Joel Joan, President of the Catalan Academy of Cinema, this candidature represents an important milestone for Catalan cinema. "We are overcome with joy and very proud that for the first time a film made here at home and with Catalan actors has made it to Hollywood".

The other candidates were La piel que habito, by Pedro Almodóvar, and La voz dormida, by Benito Zambrano.

The reactions of some Academy members consulted on the choice of Pa negre are quite explicit: Josep Maria Civit, a director of photography, highlighted the fact that professional colleagues in the Spanish Academy have chosen Agustí's film to represent us in Hollywood. Teresa Enrich, a producer, expressed her delight at the choice of Villaronga: "As the producer of Agustí's first film, Tras el cristal, I can only say that I'm very happy for him, for all of us who have supported him and for the industry in Catalonia." The producer Lluís Miñarro said that this "is a very significant milestone, because for the first time a Catalan person will get to the Academy of Hollywood." Judith Colell, a film director and Vice-president of the Spanish Academy underlined the fact that "a film that is so good and in Catalan has been selected to represent the Spanish Academy."

Pa negre, acclaimed by critics and public

The Catalan production, set in post-war rural Catalonia, was released in October 2010 and since then has been recognised at various festivals and competitions. The film, produced by Massa d'Or and Televisión de Catalunya, was the overriding success at the Gaudí Awards of the Catalan Academy of Cinema, where it won 13 of the 15 statuettes for which it was nominated, among which there stand out that of Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, based on the novel of the same name by Emili Teixidor.

Pa negre also triumphed at the Goya Awards. The film's success was confirmed by its 9 statuettes, won in the main categories.

Applauded by critics and public alike, Pa negre also won the Silver Shell for Best Actress, Nora Navas, at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.

Agustí Villaronga was recently honoured with the National Cinematography Prize awarded by the Ministry of Culture.