The Spanish Film Academy announced today the granting of the Pilar Bardem Prize ex aequo to directors Eva Libertad and Guillermo Galoe. The award, which focuses on Cinema, Aid, and Solidarity, highlights the accolades received by Libertad and Galoe at the most recent Goya Awards and the Cannes, Málaga, and Berlin festivals for their films Sorda and Ciudad sin sueño, respectively.

According to the Spanish Academy, these directors "are an example of cinema's ability to discover realities for us, transform our perspectives, and achieve changes in our society." The institution added that both have succeeded in making their films tools for social reflection, fostering a much-needed dialogue and proving that cinema can be an active vehicle for change in addition to an artistic expression.

Eva Libertad—winner of the Goya for Best New Director for Sorda in 2026—makes a reality previously unrepresented in Spanish cinema visible through an intimate and committed lens. In Sorda, the first Spanish feature film to win the LUX European Audience Film Award in 2026, she offers an emotional approach to the reality of non-hearing individuals and questions the social and cultural barriers that still persist in society. Its protagonist, Miriam Garlo, is the first deaf actress to win the Goya for Best New Actress. The film was also recognized at the Berlin and Málaga festivals.

Meanwhile, Guillermo Galoe detailed in Ciudad sin sueño the story of a teenager who, alongside his family and neighbors in La Cañada Real, watches as the world in which he grew up slips away. The film, featuring a cast composed entirely of non-professional actors from La Cañada Real itself, transports the viewer to an extraordinary reality that is both very close and often ignored.

The late actress Pilar Bardem previously received this distinction. The mother of actors Javier and Carlos Bardem, a multi-award winner and recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, gave her name to the award now presented by the Academy.