# The Blind Sunflowers (film)

The Blind Sunflowers (Spanish: Los girasoles ciegos) is a 2008 Spanish film directed by José Luis Cuerda, who wrote the screenplay alongside Rafael Azcona, based on the 2004 novel The Blind Sunflowers by Alberto Méndez. The film stars Maribel Verdú, Javier Cámara and Raúl Arévalo.
This film was Spain's 81st Academy Awards official submission to Foreign Language Film category, but it was not selected.

## Plot

The plot follows the life of a family, former sympathizers of the Spanish Republic, during the early 1940s. Their lives are disrupted when a young priest falls in love with the mother. The film is set in Ourense, 1940 where a disorientated deacon, named Salvador returns to the seminary of Ourense where the Rector delays Salvador's access to priesthood for a year. Salvador begins teaching in a school where he meets with Lorenzo, the son of Elena, who Salvador thinks is widowed. This opportunity multiplies with the deacon becoming obsessed with her, abusing her mentally and physically. We realise that Salvador is threatening Elena's family because of his obsession.

## Cast

* Maribel Verdú as Elena
* Javier Cámara as Ricardo
* Raúl Arévalo as Salvador
* Roger Príncep [es] as Lorenzo
* José Ángel Egido as Rector
* Martín Rivas as Lalo
* Irene Escolar as Elenita
* Juan Antonio Quintana
* Fernando Ransanz
* David Janer as the falangist
* Ricardo de Barreiro [es] as Fernández
* Miguel de Lira as the brother
* Fanny de Castro as aunt Lola
* Carmen Losa as the nephew
* Mario Roldán
* Santi Prego [es]
* Xosé Manuel Olveira 'Pico'
* Íñigo Navares as Paquito
* Patrick Criado
* Sergio Murillo
* Daniel Heras
* Francisco Heras
* Laura Ponte as the woman who cleans
* Emiliano Otegui
* Camilo Rodríguez
* Karmele Aranburu [es] as the actress
* Luis Callejo as the military prosecutor
* Silvia Giner as the sister of Capitán Alegría
* Alexia Pardo

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Director | José Luis Cuerda | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Rafael Azcona & José Luis Cuerda | Won |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Original Score | Lucio Godoy | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Actor | Raúl Arévalo | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Actress | Maribel Verdú | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actor | José Ángel Egido | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best New Actor | Martiño Rivas | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Production Supervision | Emiliano Otegui | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Cinematography | Hans Burmann | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Editing | Nacho Ruiz Capillas | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Art Direction | Balter Gallart | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Costume Design | Sonia Grande | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Fermín Galán & Sylvie Imbert | Nominated |
| 2009 | 23rd Goya Awards | Best Sound | Alfonso Raposo, María Sternberg & Ricardo Steinberg | Nominated |
| 2009 | 18th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Leading Role | Maribel Verdú | Nominated |
| 2009 | 18th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Leading Role | Raúl Arévalo | Nominated |
| 2009 | 18th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Minor Role | José Ángel Egido | Won |