All told, 20,000 Species of Bees has been the recipient of over three dozen awards, including three Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, a testament to the sensitivity and skill Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren brought to this touching narrative.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 14, 2025

20000 Species of Bees [...] was a delicate reminder of those who do accept us and open the door. Even if just a crack. Those people are there and they change lives.

| Original Score: A | Jul 22, 2024

[A] willingness to look at delicate matters in totality, combined with a spectacular cast of performers all given highly detailed characters to work with, makes 20,000 Species of Bees an exceptional family drama.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 12, 2024

It conveys the calm and warmth of summer holidays, and uses said context to develop a complex narrative, which manages to put us in the shoes of a girl who tries to communicate to her family that she does not feel like what she is. Full review in Spanish.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 25, 2024

By showing this as a process of growth, albeit one fraught with emotional obstacles, Urresolo Sologuren adds something new to the discourse, while young Otero’s entrancing debut holds the attention even without major dramatic quakes.

| Jun 21, 2024

Warmly humanist and deeply empathetic first feature… announcing the arrival of a bold new filmmaking voice.

| Jun 21, 2024

20,000 Species of Bees is a slow burn where most scenes are understated and intimate but culminate into a work that stands strong in the end.

| Original Score: 8.5/10 | Jun 20, 2024

A warmly empathetic view of both a trans child and her surrounding family.

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 20, 2024

Writer-director Estíbaliz Urresola Solaguren drops us into a family’s life to let us live with them and gradually figure out, as they do, what’s going on. She strings together clues but lets the story reveal itself in its own time.

| Jun 17, 2024

The film will speak to anyone who feels they are playing an artificial role in their life or in an internal war of deciding what is true to them versus what may be more comfortable for the rest of the world.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 14, 2024

The film never veers into coming-out clichés, painting an artful portrait of a family learning to lean on each other.

| Original Score: 8.0/10 | Jun 14, 2024

It's strange that the movie can be so observant and inherently compassionate in one way, while also being so melodramatic in the other.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 14, 2024

The film blooms in moments where, instead of literally addressing Coco's gender trouble, we’re simply allowed to inhabit it.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 10, 2024

Despite its limitations, 20,000 Species of Bees is crafted from a place of empathy so often lacking in conversations about trans childhood.

| Original Score: B | Jun 10, 2024

What I do find, however, is a rather futile and lethargic drama, one that slowly weakens its naturalistic approach as it routinely embellishes its discourse on femininity, self-acceptance and childhood gender identity. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 16, 2024

The movie veers in so many directions that it loses focus, and while there are some sweet moments, it lacks any real sting.

| Jan 11, 2024

This is a sincere and painful portrait that, while breathing intensely, avoids relying on pathos.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 28, 2023

The story is strong enough to make this a compelling and emotive piece, but it could easily have been improved by an editor strong enough to hem this neatly around its fraying edges.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 9, 2023

Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s film works this device a bit too hard but generally avoids preachiness.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 31, 2023

Not only are there too many ill-defined people on-screen, but the meandering structure never offers a way in. That said, the film looks beautiful, skilfully using the setting and culture. And the cast is excellent across the board.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 31, 2023