Awards weekend: 'Three Identical Strangers' a surprise winner at DGAs; 'The Silence of Others' takes Goya

Strangers director Tim Wardle bested tough competition including filmmakers behind RBG, Free Solo and Won't You Be My Neighbor?

An image from "Three Identical Strangers," directed by Tim Wardle. Photo courtesy Neon

It was a busy weekend for movie awards, and not just in Park City.

While the Sundance Film Festival handed out prizes in Utah Saturday night, the Directors Guild of America presented its annual honors in Hollywood. Tim Wardle, director of the hit Three Identical Strangers, won Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary, in something of a surprise.

Wardle was up against Morgan Neville of Won't You Be My Neighbor?, E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin of Free Solo, Betsy West and Julie Cohen of RBG and RaMell Ross of Hale County This Morning, This Evening.

"So this just happened," Wardle tweeted early Sunday. "We were massive outsiders and somehow won."

So this just happened. We were massive outsiders and somehow won. Thank you @RawTVLtd @NEONrated @CNNFilms @Channel4 @Becky__Read @HughesHallett Currently sitting in the Chateaux Marmont with @Michael_Harte next to Alfonso Cuarón, Sasha Baron Cohen and Kate Beckinsdale https://t.co/fOIgeeONGw

— Tim Wardle (@ttwardle) February 3, 2019

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On the other side of the Atlantic, the Goya Awards -- the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards -- were held in Seville, Spain on Saturday.

The Silence of Others, directed by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, won the top documentary award. The film tells the story of the "pact of silence" that has prevented Spain from coming to terms with monstrous political crimes committed during the Franco era. From the 1930s when fascist dictator Francisco Franco came to power until his death in 1975, tens of thousands of people were killed by the regime, and thousands more were tortured. 

On stage, the filmmakers said they shared the award with "the thousands of victims and survivors of the Francoist dictatorship." 

Compartimos este #Goya2019 con las miles de víctimas y supervivientes de la dictadura franquista, las que se nos han ido y las que luchan día a día, hoy, por su derecho a la justicia y a la verdad.
Los directores @AlmuDocu y @robertbahar recogen el @PremiosGoya a Mejor Documental pic.twitter.com/WdR2rpCRxh

— El Silencio de Otros (@SilenceofOthers) February 4, 2019

Camino a Sevilla a la ceremonia de los Goya con algunxs de lxs protagonistas de #Elsilenciodeotros ! □□ pic.twitter.com/j1vV2XJMGM

— El Silencio de Otros (@SilenceofOthers) February 2, 2019

Both The Silence of Others and Three Identical Strangers were shortlisted for the Academy Awards.