Nominated for 11 Goya Awards and winning Best Actor for David Verdaguer's resplendent lead performance, JOKES & CIGARETTES is an engaging biopic about Catalan comedian Eugenio Jofra, who made a name for himself with his all-black attire and dark glasses sitting atop a barstool, cigarette in hand, famously introducing his deadpan jokes with the phrase "Saben aquel que diu" ("Do you know the one…").

Beginning in the late '60s, during the decline of Franco's regime, the film follows Eugenio, then a simple jeweler, as he falls madly in love with singer — and future wife — Conchita (played by a wonderful Carolina Yuste, who garnered a Goya nomination for her performance) and joins her musical trade as one half of the duo "Els Dos." After Conchita suddenly leaves Barcelona, Eugenio undertakes an impromptu solo gig, but instead of soothing his audience with guitar-strumming, he cracks jokes — and discovers an audience eager to laugh after decades of repression.

Co-written and directed by Spanish auteur David Trueba, JOKES & CIGARETTES invites us into the private world of a man who channeled his own depression and insecurities to create one of Spain's most beloved characters.

Nominated for 11 Goya awards (and winner for Best Actor)