SUNCINE Golden Sun Award to José María Morales
A career dedicated to cinema and nature
The 33rd edition of SUNCINE honours José María Morales, founder of Wanda Films and the driving force behind Wanda Natura, with the Golden Sun Award in recognition of a career that brings together a passion for cinema, support for independent filmmaking and a commitment to raising awareness of and preserving our natural heritage.
Since founding Wanda Films in 1992, Morales has helped bring distinctive, diverse and internationally minded cinema to the screen. His work as a producer and distributor has supported Spanish, European and Latin American filmmakers, enabling their stories to reach cinemas and find their audiences.
Through Wanda Natura, this dedication finds an expression particularly close to SUNCINE’s values, placing biodiversity and our relationship with the natural world at the heart of cinematic storytelling. Productions such as Guadalquivir, Cantábrico and Dehesa, directed by Joaquín Gutiérrez Acha, and Panteras, directed by Andoni Canela, exemplify a sustained commitment to bringing nature to audiences with cinematic ambition, sensitivity and emotional power.
With this award, SUNCINE also recognises the role of a producer who believes in these stories and takes on the challenge of bringing them to life. This work is essential to ensuring that nature filmmaking continues to thrive, gains visibility and retains a place in cinemas.
The Golden Sun Award to José María Morales celebrates a vision of cinema as a space for discovery and awareness: films that invite us to look more closely at the world, understand the fragility of ecosystems and recognise our responsibility to protect them. His career embodies a conviction shared by SUNCINE: that moving audiences is a powerful way to inspire a desire to protect the natural world.
