AlejandroAmenabar's Oscar-nominated The Sea Inside dominated Spain's 19th annualGoya Awards ceremony on Sunday night, making history by winning 14 statues inthe 15 categories in which it was nominated..

Sea Inside (Mar Adentro) beat the competition - includingPedro Almodovar's Bad Education (La Mala Educacion) which went homeempty-handed - in the best film and director categories, and incredibly nabbedstatues for its entire lead cast - Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Duenas,Celso Bugallo, Mabel Rivera and Tamar Novas.

TheSogecine-Himenoptero co-production also won a slew of technical prizes,including for Jo Allen and Manuel Garcia's also Oscar-nominated make-up andhair, Javier Aguirresarobe's photography and Amenabar's own music. Amenabar andco-writer Mateo Gil were awarded best original script. Its only loss was in theartistic direction category, which went to veteran Gil Parrondo for Tiovivoc. 1950.

Sea Inside was theexpected big winner - perhaps signalled by the absence at the ceremony of fellowbest director nominees Almodovar and Carlos Saura (The 7th Day), andbest film nominee Jose Luis Garci (Tiovivo c. 1950).

Othertitles able to snatch up key prizes in categories where Sea Inside wasnot nominated included Pablo Malo's Frio Sol De Invierno, the best newdirector winner, and Fernando Trueba's El Milagro De Candeal, bestdocumentary and best original song. Multiple-nominated political thriller Wolf(El Lobo) went home with editing and special effects nods, while periodpiece Bridge Of San Luis Rey won its sole nomination for best wardrobe.

In theGoya audience for the first time ever was the president of Spain, Jose LuisRodriguez Zapatero whose attendance was seen as a belated "thank you" to anindustry that overwhelmingly supported his underdog candidacy last year.

Hispresence inspired a small spattering of political statements. Filmax presidentJulio Fernandez, whose production P3K Pinocho 3000 won best animatedfeature, called on the government to act against piracy. Mercedes Sampietro,president of the Spanish Film Academy, said supporting Spanish cinema wouldrequire "sensitivity, imagination and courage" on the part of the newadministration.

Also inthe audience was Penelope Cruz, who lost out on her best actress nomination forItalian co-production Don't Move (Non Ti Muovere), but was an elegantsolo presenter for the night's final award for best film. The Sea Insideproducer Fernando Bovaira dedicated that Goya to the Spanish public and its"warm embrace" of the movie.

The winnerfor best adapted script, Motorcycle Diaries' Jose Rivera, was a no-show,but best foreign Spanish-language film winners, Uruguayans Pablo Stoll and JuanPablo Rebella, were on hand for Whisky. Fatih Akin's Head-On wonbest European film. Veteran actor Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez was this year's Goyaof Honor recipient.