Platino Awards

Overview

The Platino Awards (Premios Platino del Cine Iberoamericano) honor the best in Ibero-American cinema and television, encompassing work from 23 participating countries: Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The 12th ceremony took place on April 27, 2025, at the Palacio Municipal IFEMA in Madrid. I'm Still Here (dir. Walter Salles, Brazil) won Best Ibero-American Fiction Film, Best Director, and Best Actress (Fernanda Torres). The film had already won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in March 2025, making it the first Brazilian film to win that Oscar.

The awards are promoted by EGEDA (Entidad de Gestion de Derechos de los Productores Audiovisuales) and FIPCA (Federacion Iberica de Productores Cinematograficos y Audiovisuales). The 12th edition featured 44 nominated works from 16 countries, with 35 films and 9 series competing across 23 categories. The ceremony was broadcast through television networks across the Americas and via the SmartPlatino TV platform. The 13th edition will take place in Xcaret, Riviera Maya, Mexico.

The full Platino Awards rules and regulations (Bases XII Edicion) are published on the official website.

Eligibility and Submission Rules

The Platino Awards use a country-based pre-selection system rather than open submissions. The process operates as follows:

1. Participating countries: 23 Ibero-American nations are eligible. Each country proposes national candidates for each category.
2. National pre-selection: In countries with existing Film and Television Academies, EGEDA and FIPCA coordinate with those academies to determine candidates. The FIPCA representative for each member association communicates the final national pre-selections to the Platino Awards Director General. In countries without academies, FIPCA proposes candidates after consulting with representative producer associations and national film institutes.
3. Submission limits per country: Each country may propose up to 3 candidates per category for Best Fiction Film, Best Comedy Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Animated Film, and Best Miniseries or Television Series. For all other categories (Best First Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Sound, and Cinema and Education in Values), each country may propose up to 2 candidates.
4. Co-productions: When a film is a co-production between multiple Ibero-American countries, the pre-selection can be carried out simultaneously by all co-producing countries.
5. Feature film definition: Films must be 60 minutes or longer, produced originally for theatrical exhibition. For television categories, series must have premiered their season between January 1 and December 31 of the eligibility year.
6. Deadline: National pre-selections must be communicated to the Director General by January 12, 2025 (for the 12th edition). The Executive Committee, with support from advisors and jury members, then selects the final nominees (a maximum of 20 per category) by February 16, 2025.

The Executive Committee reserves the right to declare a candidacy ineligible if discrepancies are found, and can fill empty categories at its discretion. The organization does not take responsibility for errors or omissions in submitted data. If falsified information is detected, the candidacy can be eliminated.

Voting Process

After national pre-selections are completed, an international jury selects the final nominees in each category. The jury may include an preliminary jury for certain categories. From the maximum of 20 candidates per category, the international jury selects the final nominees (typically 4 per category).

The final winners are determined by the international jury's vote. The jury's decision is final and cannot be appealed. For the 12th edition, the jury selected 44 nominated works (35 films and 9 series) from 16 countries.

The Platino Awards also include an Audience Award (Premio del Publico), sponsored by Iberia. For the 13th edition, public voting runs from March 23 to April 9, 2026, through the Platino Audience Award portal. The public can vote once in at least one of six categories: Best Fiction Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Miniseries/TV Series, Best Actor in a Series, and Best Actress in a Series. A raffle among participants awards Iberia Plus Avios for travel and accommodation to attend the ceremony.

Key Categories

The Platino Awards present 23 categories:

Film categories:

• Best Ibero-American Fiction Film
• Best Ibero-American Comedy Film
• Best Director
• Best Actor (Lead Performance) and Best Actress (Lead Performance)
• Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress
• Best Screenplay
• Best First Film (opera prima)
• Best Cinematography
• Best Art Direction
• Best Editing
• Best Sound
• Best Original Score / Music
• Best Animated Film
• Best Documentary Feature
• Cinema and Education in Values

Television categories:

• Best Miniseries or Television Series
• Best Series Creator
• Best Actor in a Miniseries/TV Series
• Best Actress in a Miniseries/TV Series
• Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries/TV Series
• Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries/TV Series

Special categories:

• Audience Award (public vote)
• Honorary Platino (career achievement, selected by the Executive Committee)

Recent Ceremony (12th Platino Awards, April 2025)

The 12th ceremony was held on April 27, 2025, at the Palacio Municipal IFEMA in Madrid. Key winners:

I'm Still Here swept the top film prizes, adding the Platino to its Oscar and Golden Globe wins. One Hundred Years of Solitude won 3 television awards. The 11th edition (2024) was held at the El Gran Tlachco theater in Xcaret Park, Riviera Maya, Mexico, where Society of the Snow (La Sociedad de la Nieve) won Best Film and Best Director (Juan Antonio Bayona).

History

The Platino Awards were established in 2014 by EGEDA and FIPCA to create a pan-regional recognition body for Ibero-American cinema. Before the Platinos, filmmakers from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries competed primarily at national ceremonies (Goya Awards in Spain, Ariel Awards in Mexico) and international festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin), with no dedicated platform celebrating the shared cinematic culture of the Ibero-American region.

The first ceremony took place in 2014 in Panama City. Subsequent editions have rotated among host cities including Madrid, Mar del Plata, Punta del Este, Riviera Maya, and back to Madrid for the 12th edition in 2025. The 13th edition will return to Xcaret, Mexico.

The awards expanded to include television categories in recent editions, reflecting the growing production quality and international reach of Ibero-American series on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Max. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Colombia, Netflix) and Senna (Brazil) were among the most nominated television productions at the 12th edition.

Business Impact for Filmmakers

For filmmakers from smaller Ibero-American industries (Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Bolivia), the Platinos provide visibility across a much larger market. A Platino nomination introduces a film to audiences and distributors in Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and other major markets within the region.

Cross-border distribution: The Platino Awards are broadcast across the Americas through television networks and the SmartPlatino TV platform, giving nominated films exposure in markets where they might not otherwise have distribution. A nomination or win frequently leads to distribution deals in territories across the Ibero-American region, particularly for films from smaller producing countries.

Co-production signal: Ibero-American co-production treaties are among the most active in the world, with bilateral agreements connecting Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile. Platino recognition provides a quality signal that co-production partners, sales agents, and broadcasters use when evaluating projects. The Dog Thief (Bolivia/Chile/Mexico/Ecuador/France/Italy), which won Best First Film at the 12th edition, illustrates the multi-country co-production model that the Platinos encourage.

Oscar amplification: The Platino Awards' timing in April places them after the Academy Awards, allowing Oscar-winning Ibero-American films to reinforce their regional profile. I'm Still Here used its Oscar win for Best International Feature Film in March 2025 to build momentum into the Platino ceremony in April, sweeping Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress. This dual recognition strengthens a film's commercial position across both the Ibero-American market and the broader international arthouse circuit.

Streaming platform visibility: The inclusion of television categories has made the Platinos relevant to the streaming industry, which has invested heavily in Ibero-American content. Netflix's One Hundred Years of Solitude winning 3 awards at the 12th edition demonstrates how the Platinos recognize the growing convergence between cinema and streaming television in the region. For filmmakers working in series production, a Platino nomination provides validation that can lead to subsequent series greenlights and international co-production opportunities.

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Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

• Country-based pre-selection, not open submission: Filmmakers cannot submit directly to the Platino Awards. Each of the 23 participating Ibero-American countries proposes national candidates through their national Film and Television Academies or FIPCA representatives. In countries without academies, FIPCA proposes candidates after consulting with producer associations and national film institutes. This means a filmmaker's path to a Platino nomination runs through their national academy, not through direct submission.
• Submission limits per country: Each country may propose up to 3 candidates per category for major film categories and up to 2 candidates for most other categories. This cap means that in countries with strong film output (Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil), many eligible films will not make the national pre-selection cut.
• Co-productions can be submitted by multiple countries: When a film is a co-production between multiple Ibero-American countries, the pre-selection can be carried out simultaneously by all co-producing countries. This is an advantage for co-productions, but it also means the same film may appear multiple times in the candidate pool from different countries.
• Feature films must be 60+ minutes and originally for theatrical exhibition: Films produced directly for streaming without a theatrical-first release may not qualify for the film categories. Television series have separate eligibility requirements based on season premiere dates.
• Executive Committee can declare candidacies ineligible: The Executive Committee reserves the right to declare a candidacy ineligible if discrepancies are found, and can fill empty categories at its discretion. If falsified information is detected, the candidacy can be eliminated. This gives the committee significant discretionary power over the final nominee list.

Prestige Tier

The Platino Awards are the leading awards for Ibero-American cinema and television, encompassing work from 23 Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. Among regional awards, the Platinos are unique in their pan-Ibero-American scope, covering Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and parts of the Caribbean. The awards rank below the Goya Awards (Spain) and the Ariel Awards (Mexico) in domestic prestige within those individual countries, but they provide the only cross-regional recognition platform for Ibero-American cinema as a whole. A Platino win provides visibility across a much larger market than any single national award, introducing films to audiences and distributors in Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and other major territories. The timing in April places the Platinos after the Academy Awards, allowing Oscar-winning Ibero-American films to reinforce their regional profile. The inclusion of television categories has made the Platinos relevant to the streaming industry, which has invested heavily in Ibero-American content. For filmmakers from smaller producing countries (Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Bolivia), the Platinos provide visibility that no national award can match.

See Also

For understanding how regional co-production networks function, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue across Latin American and Iberian markets, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For evaluating the cost of an awards campaign against projected returns, use the Ad Spend Break-Even Calculator.