My Prison Yard

My Prison Yard
My Prison Yard
	Theatrical release poster
Spanish	El patio de mi cárcel
Directed by	Belén Macías
Screenplay by	Belén Macías; Arantxa Cuesta; Elena Cánovas;
Produced by	Esther García
Starring	Candela Peña; Verónica Echegui; Ana Wagener; Violeta Pérez; Blanca Portillo; Patricia Reyes Spíndola;
Cinematography	Joaquín Manchado
Edited by	Alejandro Lázaro
Music by	Juan Pablo Compaired
Production; companies	El Deseo; Warner Bros. Pictures;
Release dates	22 September 2008 (SSIFF); 26 September 2008 (Spain);
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

My Prison Yard (Spanish: El patio de mi cárcel) is a 2008 Spanish prison drama film directed by Belén Macías. The female-dominated cast stars Candela Peña and Verónica Echegui alongside Ana Wagener, Blanca Portillo, Patricia Reyes Spíndola and Violeta Pérez.

Plot

A prison drama set in the 1980s, the plot tracks a group of female inmates who create a theatre group with help from a female prison officer, Mar.^[1]^[2]

Cast

Candela Peña as Mar^[3]
Verónica Echegui as Isa^[3]
Ana Wagener as Dolores^[3]
Blanca Portillo as Adela ^[3]
Patricia Reyes Spíndola as Aurora^[3]
Violeta Pérez as Rosa^[3]
Natalia Mateo [es] as Ajo^[3]
Maria Pau Pigem [ca] as Maika^[3]
Tatiana Astengo [es] as Luisa^[3]
Ledicia Sola [es] as Pilar ^[3]
Blanca Apilánez [es] as Cristina^[3]
Susi Sánchez as Julia^[3]
Nuria Mencía^[4]
Adriana Ugarte as Alejandra^[5]

Production

An El Deseo and Warner Bros. Entertainment España production,^[6] My Prison Yard began filming began on 8 October 2007.^[7] Shooting lasted for 8 weeks, taking place in between the Madrid region and the province of Guadalajara.^[8]

Release

The film was presented on 22 September 2008 at the Kursaal as part of the main competition of the 56th San Sebastián International Film Festival (SSIFF).^[9]

Reception

Irene Crespo of Cinemanía gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, considering that while not a promise of thematic renewal for Spanish cinema, the film seems to be a firm commitment to tell the social stories with renewed impetus.^[10]

Jay Weissberg of Variety considered the film an "ultra-straight" drama, taking "the prize for most earnest and least self-aware women-in-prison film of the decade, if not longer", assessing that while never rising above TV movie material the female cast pulled solid and genuinely sympathetic performances.^[4]

Accolades


Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2009	64th CEC Medals	Best Actress	Verónica Echegui	Nominated	^[11]^[12]
	23rd Goya Awards	Best New Director	Belén Macías	Nominated	^[13]^[14]
		Goya Award for Best Actress	Verónica Echegui	Nominated
		Goya Award for Best New Actress	Ana Wagener	Nominated
		Goya Award for Best Original Song	"Podemos volar juntos" by Raul Sánchez Zafra, Juan Pablo Compaired	Nominated
	18th Actors and Actresses Union Awards	Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role	Ana Wagener	Won	^[15]^[16]
		Best Film Actress in a Minor Role	Natalia Mateo	Nominated
		Best New Actress	Violeta Pérez	Won

References

^ "'Versión Española' emite 'El patio de mi cárcel', con Verónica Echegui, Candela Peña y Blanca Portillo". RTVE. 2 October 2015.
^ Marinero, Ismael (23 September 2008). "El patio de mi cárcel". Metrópoli – via El Mundo.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "El patio de mi cárcel". El Imparcial. 20 January 2009.
^ ^a ^b Weissberg, Jay (25 September 2008). "My Prison Yard". Variety.
^ Rubio Alcover, Agustín; Fernández Fernández, César (2015). "Círculos sin fronteras. Paraísos artificiales y diversidad regional en el cine español contemporáneo (la representación del "mundo de la droga")" (PDF). Inter-Lignes. Revue de la Faculté libre des Lettres. 15: 14. ISSN 1959-6995.
^ "Belén Macías rueda "El patio de mi cárcel", con Blanca Portillo y Candela Peña". Público. 1 October 2007.
^ ""El patio de mi cárcel", mujeres encarceladas con final esperanzador". Público. 5 November 2007.
^ "'El patio de mi cárcel', primera cinta española en la Sección Oficial". ABC. 22 September 2008.
^ Pérez de Zabalza, Lucía (22 September 2008). "El drama 'El patio de mi cárcel', primera apuesta española para la Concha de Oro". El Mundo.
^ Crespo, Irene (26 September 2008). "El patio de mi cárcel". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
^ "Fernando Guillén, medalla de honor del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos". La Vanguardia. 16 January 2009.
^ ""Casual Day" triunfa en los premios de los escritores cinematográficos". Público. 26 January 2009.
^ "El patio de mi cárcel". Premios Goya. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
^ "Un total de 37 películas compiten en los Goya" (PDF). Revista Academia (152): 4. January 2009. ISSN 1136-8144.
^ "Penélope Cruz y Chus Lampreave, rivales en los Premios de la Unión de Actores". 20minutos.es (in Spanish). 19 January 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
^ "El filme ´Camino´ arrasa en los Premios de la Unión de Actores". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 11 March 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

[1] "'Versión Española' emite 'El patio de mi cárcel', con Verónica Echegui, Candela Peña y Blanca Portillo". RTVE. 2 October 2015.

[2] Marinero, Ismael (23 September 2008). "El patio de mi cárcel". Metrópoli – via El Mundo.

[elimparcial-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "El patio de mi cárcel". El Imparcial. 20 January 2009.

[weissberg-4] Weissberg, Jay (25 September 2008). "My Prison Yard". Variety.

[5] Rubio Alcover, Agustín; Fernández Fernández, César (2015). "Círculos sin fronteras. Paraísos artificiales y diversidad regional en el cine español contemporáneo (la representación del "mundo de la droga")" (PDF). Inter-Lignes. Revue de la Faculté libre des Lettres. 15: 14. ISSN 1959-6995.

[6] "Belén Macías rueda "El patio de mi cárcel", con Blanca Portillo y Candela Peña". Público. 1 October 2007.

[7] ""El patio de mi cárcel", mujeres encarceladas con final esperanzador". Público. 5 November 2007.

[8] "'El patio de mi cárcel', primera cinta española en la Sección Oficial". ABC. 22 September 2008.

[9] Pérez de Zabalza, Lucía (22 September 2008). "El drama 'El patio de mi cárcel', primera apuesta española para la Concha de Oro". El Mundo.

[10] Crespo, Irene (26 September 2008). "El patio de mi cárcel". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.

[11] "Fernando Guillén, medalla de honor del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos". La Vanguardia. 16 January 2009.

[12] ""Casual Day" triunfa en los premios de los escritores cinematográficos". Público. 26 January 2009.

[13] "El patio de mi cárcel". Premios Goya. Retrieved 15 February 2022.

[14] "Un total de 37 películas compiten en los Goya" (PDF). Revista Academia (152): 4. January 2009. ISSN 1136-8144.

[20min2009nom-15] "Penélope Cruz y Chus Lampreave, rivales en los Premios de la Unión de Actores". 20minutos.es (in Spanish). 19 January 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

[elperiodicoaragon2009-16] "El filme ´Camino´ arrasa en los Premios de la Unión de Actores". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 11 March 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

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