Blanca Portillo

You believe Blanca Portillo (Madrid, 1963). Whether in the shoes of a prince of Denmark or in those of a local woman from a remote town in La Mancha, she imprints so much authenticity on her characters that, when she dives into them, this actress who was going to be a conference hostess disa- ppears under the surface of those characters.

A Goya awardee for ‘Maixabel’ (Iciar Bollain, 2021). Best fe- male performance in San Sebastian for ‘Seven Billiard Tables’ (Gracia Querejeta, 2007) and in Cannes for the entire female cast of ‘Volver’ (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006). Five Max Awards. The Corral de Comedias Award for her entire career at the Almagro Festival. And now, the Honorary Spike at Seminci, which this year grants its maximum recognition to a per- former who, text after text, work after work, has established herself as a reference on the Spanish acting scene by dividing her talent between the stage and the film sets.

A long time has passed since, on vacation with her family on the coast of Levante, her holiday neighbours nicknamed her ‘the star of Torrevieja’ because of her tendency to play chil- dish antics. But it would not be until she reached the age of 17 that she made her stage debut in an amateur group.

Years later, RESAD and the first professional performances. The first review, in the mid-eighties, in Diario 16. The anecdo- tal incursions on the small screen. Secondary roles in cinema. The beginning of the new millennium brought the leading roles, the first nominations, the first awards. Television fame, a little later. The international consecration by the hand of Pedro Almodóvar, who, after Blanca had nailed that first supporting role in ‘Volver’, would make her the co-star of ‘Broken Embraces’. Her consolidation as an indispensable fi- gure in Spanish theatre in plays by Juan Mayorga and Tomaž Pandur. Her anthological performance in ‘Life is a Dream’, di- rected by Helena Pimenta. And, now, her Saint Teresa, under the direction of Paula Ortiz, whose international premiere will take place this year at our festival.