General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Azuloscurocasinegro

Azuloscurocasinegro (also written AzulOscuroCasiNegro, international title DarkBlueAlmostBlack) is a 2006 Spanish tragicomedy and the feature debut of director and screenwriter Daniel Sánchez Arévalo. It follows Jorge, a 25-year-old who takes over his father's job as a building doorman after the father suffers a cerebral stroke, while his imprisoned brother Antonio asks him for an unexpected favor involving Paula, a fellow prisoner who wants to become pregnant.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Original title / international title	Azuloscurocasinegro / DarkBlueAlmostBlack¹
Director and writer	Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, his first feature film¹
Release	Spain, 31 March 2006; France, 28 February 2007; Belgium, 11 April 2007¹
Running time	105 minutes¹
Main cast	Quim Gutiérrez (Jorge), Marta Etura (Paula), Antonio de la Torre (Antonio), Raúl Arévalo, Héctor Colomé¹
Goya Awards 2007	Three wins from six nominations: Best New Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best New Actor³^•²
Production	Tesela Producciones Cinematográficas, producer José Antonio Félez; distributed in Spain by Alta Films¹

Spoilers

Plot

Jorge has inherited his father's job after the older man, a doorman named Andrés, was left paralyzed by a cerebral infarction. He juggles the porter's lodge, caring for his father, and finishing a degree, while trying to find other work; employers reject him because he must remain available for his father.¹^•⁴ His brother Antonio, serving a prison sentence, stages theater works behind bars and is in love with Paula, an inmate who collaborates with him and wants to have a child as soon as possible. Through Antonio, Jorge meets Paula, and the strange relationship that develops pushes him to stop feeling responsible for everything and face his own desires, disregarding what others expect of him.¹^•²

Around this core, the film weaves parallel stories: Jorge's ex-girlfriend Natalia, who has spent time in Germany, and his friend Israel, who passes his free time with Jorge and is shaken to discover that his father may be gay.⁵ Critics identified the film's central theme as the lack of freedom of decision, whether imposed by other people's expectations, the walls of prison, or self-censorship.⁶

Origin and production

The film grew out of Sánchez Arévalo's short Física II (2004), which swept Spanish festival awards and was shortlisted for the 2005 Oscars; the feature expanded characters the director had already studied in the short.⁵^•⁷ Sánchez Arévalo, born in Madrid in 1970, had worked as a television screenwriter after completing a business degree, then studied at Columbia University's film master's program before directing a string of award-winning shorts including ¡Gol! (2002) and Profilaxis (2003).⁷^•⁵

The film was produced by José Antonio Félez for Tesela PC with support from the ICAA and TVE, shot by cinematographer Juan Carlos Gómez, edited by Nacho Ruiz Capillas, and scored by Pascal Gaigne.⁸^•⁹ Cineuropa's review credited Ruiz Capillas's lively editing, with fragmented shots and interwoven parallel storylines, as part of the film's success.⁵

Reception and awards

Festival run. After causing a sensation at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival in March 2006, where it won the Special Jury Prize, Best Screenplay, and the Critics' Prize, the film screened in the Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) section at Venice 2006, where it took the Fedeora Award for Best Film, the Label Europa Cinemas Award, and the UAAR Award.¹⁰^•³ It went on to win the Grand Prize for Best Film at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the Stockholm Film Festival's Best Directorial Debut, Santa Barbara's Nueva Vision Award, and the Violette d'Or at Toulouse Cinespaña, among others; IMDb lists 23 wins and 11 nominations overall.³ A later festival catalog states the film gathered more than 50 awards at festivals worldwide.¹¹

Goya Awards. At the 2007 Goya ceremony the film received six nominations and won three: Best New Director for Sánchez Arévalo, Best Supporting Actor for Antonio de la Torre, and Best New Actor for Quim Gutiérrez, in Gutiérrez's first leading role.³^•² Marta Etura was nominated for Best Lead Actress, and the film itself was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.³

Box office. Released nationally in Spain in March 2006 by Alta Films, the film reached the top 10 of the most-seen Spanish titles of 2006, with international sales handled by Sogepaq.⁹

Cast and legacy

The film introduced or consolidated several actors of their generation. For Quim Gutiérrez it was his first lead role and brought the Goya for Best New Actor; Marta Etura, already a shooting star of 2006, played the prisoner Paula; and Antonio de la Torre, whose collaboration with Sánchez Arévalo had begun on the short Profilaxis, said the role of Antonio changed his career and his life.²^•⁹^•¹² Raúl Arévalo has described 2006 as the year the film showed him what an artistic family was; he repeated with the director in Gordos (2009) and Primos (2011).¹³

The title itself is symbolic: it can denote a state of mind, an uncertain future, or a color that varies with mood.² Sánchez Arévalo returned to its themes of brothers, family, and finding one's place in the world throughout his later career, from Gordos to La gran familia española and Diecisiete, and has said Diecisiete has the strongest link back to Azuloscurocasinegro.¹⁴

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2000s › Biographical and historical drama films 2000s › Released 2006 to 2009

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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