Fourfilms, Alatriste, Volver, Pan's Labyrinth and Salvador dominated the nominations for this year's Goya Awards.

Thenominees were announced in Madrid by a team led by the newly-elected presidentof the Academy, writer-director Angeles Gonzalez Sinde. The ceremony for the 21st annual edition of the awards will be held over the lastweekend in January.

Alatriste led the nominations with 15 nods including best film, director (AgustinDiaz-Yanes), adapted script, actor (Mortensen) and supporting actor (JuanEchanove).

One ofSpain's most expensive films ever, budgeted at Euros 24m, Alatriste dominatedthe local box office this year with Euros 16.7m in ticket sales.

Withnumerous international awards already to its name and Spain's nomination to theforeign-language Oscar, Pedro Almodovar's Volver took14 Goya nods including for best film, director, original script and actress forPenelope Cruz.

Volver's female cast, which shared best actress kudos at Cannes this year,nabbed a remarkable three of four nominations in the best supporting actresscategory for Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas and Blanca Portillo. Alatriste's AriadnaGil is the fourth candidate.

Thisyear's roster of nominees represents numerous names from beyond Spain's bordersyet the competition is limited at the top to four titles.

MexicanGuillermo del Toro's Spanish Civil War-set fable Pan's Labyrinth (ElLaberinto Del Fauno) and Manuel Huerga's Salvador, about Catalan anarchist Salvador Puig Antich, round out the best filmand director categories.

Among Labyrinth's 13 nods is also best original script, actor (Sergi Lopez), actress(Maribel Verdu) and new actress (Ivana Baquero), while Salvador is nominated in 11 categories including best adapted script, actor(Daniel Bruehl), actress (Maribel Verdu) and supporting actor (LeonardoSbaraglia). Alatriste, Volver, Labyrinth and Salvador all sealed nods in multiple technical categories as well.

Festivalfavourite DarkBlueAlmostBlack was a surpriseentrant, earning a respectable six nominations, including best new director andoriginal script nods for Daniel Sanchez Arevalo.

Othernew director nominees are Jorge Sanchez Cabezudo for thriller La Noche DeLos Girasoles (also up for best original script),Carlos Iglesias for Crossing Borders (Un Franco, 14 Pesetas) and Javier Rebollo for All About Lola (Lo Que Se De Lola).

Largelyoverlooked by the Academy was Antonio Banderas' Summer Rain (El Camino DeLos Ingleses), which earned two nods for best adaptedscript and new actor Alberto Amarilla, and Milos Forman's Spanish production Goya'sGhosts, starring Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard andNatalie Portman and nominated for wardrobe, hair and makeup and specialeffects.

Alsoabsent from top categories is Antena 3-backed epic Los Borgia, nominated for its production design, artistic direction, editing andwardrobe.

WithEuros 5.4m in ticket sales, Borgia isthe fourth top grossing film in Spain this year behind Estudios Picasso,Universal and Origen's Alatriste(Euros 17m), El Deseo's Volver (Euros 10m) andEstudios Picasso and Tequila Gang's Labyrinth(Euros 5.4m), but ahead of MediaPro's Salvador(Euros 2.3m).

JuanDiego is the fourth best actor candidate for Vete De Mi, for which he won best actor kudos in San Sebastian last September.Competing with Cruz and Verdu for best actress are up-and-comers Marta Eturafrom DarkBlueAlmostBlack and Silva Abascal of TheSilly Lady (La Dama Boba).

Supportingactor nominees include DarkBlueAlmostBlack'sAntonio de la Torre, Vete De Mi's Juan Diego Botto, Alatriste's Echanove and Salvador's Sbaraglia.

Bestnew actor and actress candidates include: Summer Rain's Amarilla, JavierCifrian for El Proximo Oriente, Quim Gutierrez for DarkBlueAlmostBlack andWalter Vidarte for La Noche De Los Girasoles; and Ariana Ugarte for Cabeza DePerro,, singer Bebe for La Educacion De La Hadas (also up for best adaptedscipt), Labyrinth's Baquero and Veronica Echegui for Bigas Luna's Yo Soy LaJuani.

WoodyAllen's Scoop was nominated for best European filmalong with Agnieszka Holland's Copying Beethoven,Stephen Frears' The Queen and Ken Loach's The WindThat Shakes The Barley.

Vyingfor best foreign Spanish-language film are Matias Bize's En La Cama from Chile, Juan Carlos Valdivia's American Visa from Bolivia, Alejandro Doria's Las Manos from Argentina and Rodrigo Triana's Sonar No Cuesta Nada from Colombia.

Meanwhilethis weekend, Angeles Gonzalez Sinde was elected the new president of theSpanish Film Academy, taking over the reigns from outgoing president, actressMercedes Sampietro.

Firstand second vice-presidents will be directors Enrique Urbizu and Manuel GomezPereira. Gonzalez Sinde thus follows in the footsteps of her father, formerAcademy president Jose Maria Gonzalez Sinde.

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