The award will be presented on October 27th at the Opening Gala in the Palacio de la Prensa.
Once again, the Films by Women Madrid Festival wants to recognize the work and talent of women in the Spanish film industry. Our goal is to rewrite the narrative of film history from an inclusive and egalitarian perspective, one that also highlights the female role models who have shaped it.
To that end, we give visibility to the work of those who are part of the entire film production chain in Spain: from creation and production to distribution, promotion, and consumption.
These are the distinguished professionals who have been awarded the Madrid Women in Film Festival's Outstanding Professional Career Award to date:
2025: Zeltia Montes, composer.
2024: Nuria Vidal, film critic and writer.
2023: Catherine Gautier, programmer at the Filmoteca Española.
2022: Isabel Coixet, film director.
2021: Cecilia Bartolomé, film director.
2020: Eva Valiño, sound engineer.
2019: Teresa Font, film editor.
2018: Belén Atienza, producer.
In this edition, the Festival's Programming Committee has decided to highlight the impressive and fruitful career of producer Esther García, our winner of the Outstanding Professional Career Award at the Films by Women Madrid Festival 2026.
With over five decades of experience, Esther García is one of the most renowned executive producers in Spain, owning more than eight awards, including the National Film Award.She has worked at El Deseo since 1986, the company behind many of the most noteworthy projects in the Spanish film industry.
Biography
Throughout her over 50-year career, she has produced all of the films by acclaimed director Pedro Almodóvar since Matador. She has also worked with countless renowned directors, including Alex de la Iglesia, Guillermo del Toro, Isabel Coixet, Lucrecia Martel, Diego Galán, Pablo Trapero, Felix Sabroso, Damián Szifron, Luis Ortega, and Oliver Laxe, among others. Her work has been recognized on numerous occasions, not only at the Goya Awards but also at the Academy Awards, where her productions have received several nominations. In 2000, she was honored in her hometown as "Segovian of the Year." In 2015, at the Segovia European Film Festival, she received a lifetime achievement award, and in 2018, she received the National Film Award. In 2025, she received the Donostia Award from the San Sebastián Film Festival, the first time in history that it was awarded to a production company. She is currently an active member of the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España and the Hollywood Film Academy.
Producer
Feature Films
2025 “La Bola Negra”. Directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.
2025 "Amarga Navidad”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
2024 “Sirat”. Director Oliver Laxe.
2024 “La Habitación De Al Lado”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
2024 “Ramon Y Ramon”. Director Salvador Del Solar.
2021 “Madres Paralelas”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
2020 “Nieva En Benidorm”. Director Isabel Coixet.
2019 “Dolor Y Gloria”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
“La Deuda”. Director Gustavo Salvador Fontán.
2018 “El Ángel”. Director Luis Ortega.
“Zama”. Director Lucrecia Martel.
2015 “Julieta”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
“El Clan”. Director Pablo Trapero.
2013 “Relatos Salvajes”. Director Damian Szifron.
2012 “Los Amantes Pasajeros”. Director Pedro Almodovar.
2010 “La Piel Que Habito”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
“El Ultimo Verano De La Boyita”. Director Julia Solomonoff.
“Los Abrazos Rotos”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
2009 “El Patio De Mi Cárcel”. Director Belén Macías.
2008 “La Mujer Rubia”. Director Lucrecia Martel.
2007 “Cobrador.In God We Trust”. Director Paul Leduc.
2006 “Volver”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
2005 “The Secret Life Of The Words”. Director Isabel Coixet.
2004 “La Mala Educación”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
“Descongélate”. Directors Félix Sabroso y Dunia Ayaso.
2003 “My Life Without Me”. (Mi Vida Sin Mi). Director Isabel Coixet.
Production Director
2001 “La Niña Santa”. Director Lucrecia Martel
“Hable Con Ella”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
“El Espinazo Del Diablo”. Director Guillermo Del Toro.
“La Fiebre Del Loco”. Director Andres Wood.
“Almodóvar Siglo Xx”. Programa Para Vía Digital. Director Félix Cabez.
1998 “Todo Sobre Mi Madre”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
“A Trabajar”. Director Alain Guesnier.
1997 "Carne Trémula". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
1996 "Pasajes". Director Daniel Calparsoro.
1995 "La Flor De Mi Secreto". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
"Tengo Una Casa". Director Mónica Laguna.
1993 "Kika". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
1992 "Accion Mutante". Director Álex De La Iglesia.
1991 "Terra Fria". Director Antonio Campos.
"Tacones Lejanos". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
1990 "Atame". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
1989 “Delirios De Amor". Serie De Tv De 13 Capítulos.
1988 "El Juego Mas Divertido". Director Emilio Martínez Lázaro.
"Mujeres Al Borde De Un Ataque De Nervios". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
1987 "La Ley Del Deseo". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
"La Vida Alegre". Director Fernando Colomo.
"El Pecador Impecable". Director Augusto Martínez Torres.
Production Manager / Production Assistant
1986 "Matador". Director Pedro Almodóvar.
"El Año De Las Luces". Director Fernando Trueba.
1985 "Se Infiel Y No Mires Con Quien". Director Fernando Trueba.
1984 "El Cura Ya Tiene Hijo". Director Mariano Ozores.
"El Pan Debajo Del Brazo". Director Mariano Ozores.
"Los Pazos De Ulloa". Series for Tv, 5 Episodes. Director Gonzalo Suárez.
"Cristina Y La Reconversión Sexual". Director Francisco Lara Polop.
"Flecha Negra". Director John Hough.
1983 "La Mujer Del Juez". Director Francisco Lara Polop.
"La Lola Nos Lleva Al Huerto". Director Mariano Ozores.
"Agitese Antes De Usarla". Director Mariano Ozores.
"Los Caraduros". Director Mariano Ozores.
1982 "El Hijo Del Cura". Director Mariano Ozores.
"Padre No Hay Mas Que Dos". Director Mariano Ozores.
"El Currante". Director Mariano Ozores.
"El Tesoro De Las Cuatro Coronas". Director Fernando Baldi.
1981 "El Profesor Eroticus". Director Luis María Delgado.
"Pajaros De La Ciudad". Director José Sánchez Álvaro.
1980 "Los Bingueros". Director Mariano Ozores.
"Yo Hice A Roqui Iii". Director: Mariano Ozores.
"Amor Y Veneno”. Director Stefano Rolla.
1979 "Avisa A Curro Jimenez". Director Rafael Romero Marchent.
1978 "Siete Chicas Peligrosas". Director: Pedro Lazaga.
1976 "Curro Jimenez". Series for Tve, 26 Episodes.
1975 “Pim, Pam, Pum ...,¡Fuego!”. Director: Pedro Olea.
Short film producer
2023 “Extraña Forma De Vida”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
2020 “La Voz Humana”. Director Pedro Almodóvar.
1997 "Tiempo Muerto". Directors Santiago Tabernero and Iñigo Rotaeche.
1994 "La Terraza De Miguel". Director Simona Benzakein.
TVE Shows producer
2005 “Mujeres”. Directors Félix Sabroso and Dunia Ayaso.
2022 “Mentiras Pasajeras”. Director Felix Sabroso Y Marta Font.
Documentaries
2017 “El Silencio De Otros”. Directors Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar.
2015 “Manda Huevos”. Director Diego Galán (Productoras Cerezo P.C. & El Deseo D.A., S.L.U.).
2013 “Con La Pata Quebrada”. Director Diego Galán (Productoras Cerezo P.C. & El Deseo D.A.,S.L.U.).
2012 “The Labeque Way”. Director Felix Cábez (Productoras El Deseo D.A., S.L.U. & Roswell Producciones.
2010 “José Y Pilar”. Director Miguel Gonçalves Mendes (Productoras El Deseo D.A., S.L.U., Jumpcut y O2 Cinema Ltda).
2009 “El Señor De Sipán”. Director José Manuel Novoa.
2008 “Historias De Las Montañas De La Bruma”. Director Larry Levene (Productoras El Deseo D.A., S.L.U. y Levinver).
2004 “Los Sin Tierra”. Director Miguel Barros (Productoras El Deseo y Produce +).
“Caravan, Mercaderes De La Sal”. Director Gerardo Olivares (Productoras El Deseo y Transglobe).
“César Y Zain”. Director Lorenzo J. Levene (Productora El Deseo).
2003 “Eyengui, Dios Del Sueño”. Director José Manuel Novoa (Productoras El Deseo y Transglobe).
Awards
- Goya Award for Best Production Direction for the film “Acción Mutante”.
- Goya Award for Best Production Direction for the film “Todo Sobre Mi Madre”.
- Santander City Sports Film Festival. Honorable Mention.
- “Segovian of the Year”. 2000.
- Honorable Mention. Fedepe Awards (Federación Española De Mujeres Empresarias)) for Professional Career. 2001.
- Goya Award for Production Direction for the film “La Vida Secreta De Las Palabras”.
- Goya Award for Best Film for “La Vida Secreta De Las Palabras”.
- Goya Award for Best Film for “Volver”.
Tributes:
- Tribute at the Certamen Internacional De Cortos De Soria, 2014.
- Tribute at the Muestra De Cine Europeo De Segovia (MUCES), 2015.
- National Film Award, 2018.
- Special Award at the Lebu Film Festival, Chile, 2019.
- Dos Orillas Award at the Semana Internacional De Santander,, 2021.
- Honorary Award at the Huellas Festival (Vieux Boucau Les Bains, France), 2023.
- Donosti Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival, 2025.
- Special Award Diputación de Segovia, 2025.
The award
The 2026 Outstanding Professional Career Award, an emblematic jewel-like award designed by renowned designer Chus Burés, will be presented during the festival's Opening Gala next Tuesday, October 27.
Chus Burés is a Spanish designer passionate about jewelry as a cultural expression and artistic adornment. He exhibited his first silver jewelry collection at the prestigious Juana de Aizpuru Gallery in Madrid in 1985, and from that moment on, his collections were presented in various Spanish and international cities. His great versatility and creative force led him to begin, in 1990, a series of experimental collaborations, which he carried out with great skill and mastery alongside internationally renowned artists such as Miquel Barceló, Louise Bourgeois, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Carmen Herrera, Julio Le Parc, Santiago Sierra, and Jesús Soto, among others. His collaborations also include major figures in Spanish cinema such as Pedro Almodóvar, Bigas Luna, and Adolfo Arrieta.
