Saura, who died on Friday at the age of 91, was to receive the Academy’s honorary Goya at the annual ceremony.
His widow, Eulalia Ramón, read to applause the words that Saura wrote before he died: “I am very sorry that I cannot be there savoring this award with you.”
The filmmaker was credited with leading the awakening of Spanish arthouse cinema after decades of Francisco Franco’s fascist dictatorship.
“As Bestas”, which in Galician means “The beasts” and is a tense thriller, won nine awards, including best film, director, actor and music.
Spanish film star Penelope Los Margines’, a film about housing problems. The winner of this category was Susi Sánchez for her role in ‘Lullaby’.