The call was at 3:30am. I was fast asleep. It was from Johnny Walker, the undisputed Patriarch and Elder Statesman of the Camino worldwide. He knew what time it was in Australia.

Someone’s died, I thought.
I took the call.

John doesn’t get excited.
But he was excited.

He apologised for calling me at that time in the morning but he figured I’d want to know: The Way, My Way had just won the Premio International Pentafinium Jacobeo Award in the Fine Arts Category.

John explained to me that this award is given out only once in three years, that it’s awarded by the Spanish Federation of Friends of the Camino de Santiago, and that it’s a big deal.

I figured it was a big deal, otherwise John wouldn’t be phoning me at 3:30am.

I subsequently received an email from the Federation’s President, Juan Guerrero Gil, formally notifying me of the win. In the email he quoted the jury’s reasons for awarding the Fine Arts award to The Way, My Way –

The jury members valued the following aspects of the winning work:

Australian filmmaker and writer Bill Bennett deserves recognition for his exceptional work promoting the Camino de Santiago internationally.

Through this film, Bill Bennett undoubtedly fulfils the criteria of the 2026 International Pentafinium Jacobeo Award: recognition by the Federation of the creative work of people and institutions who have made a notable contribution to the care, promotion and development of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.

With The Way, My Way, Bill Bennett has achieved global distribution and reach, connecting with audiences around the world through cinema screenings in the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as distribution on global streaming platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV and YouTube. The 2026 International Pentafinium Jacobeo Award therefore recognises the film’s worldwide distribution and reach.

Unlike other films about the Camino de Santiago, Bill Bennett’s The Way, My Way has been described as “one of the most authentic films ever made about the Camino de Santiago.” It combines actors with real pilgrims, demonstrating artistic quality and originality while conveying the Camino values upheld by the Federation.

The story emerges naturally from the pilgrim’s everyday experience—with its moments of doubt, fear and overwhelming joy—without concealing anything. Its message has universal appeal and can be understood by pilgrims, women and men, across all five continents.

I’m deeply honoured by this award. I never thought in my wildest dreams that when I set off from St Jean Pied de Port in April 20113 that it would lead to this. In fact, I had no thoughts at all about writing a book, much less making a movie.

My main overwhelming thought was:
Can I do this?
Can I walk the Camino?

And now this award. Like the Malaspina Award I received last year from the Spanish Embassy in Australia for “strengthening cultural ties between Australia and Spain” with the book and film, similarly the wonderful award I received from the Australian Friends of the Camino earlier this year, recognising the film’s role in bringing awareness of the Camino to the world.

These awards are more important to me than any film awards, because they recognise not so much the artistic merit in the work, but the powerful transformative impact the film has on the world at large.

I’ve come to discover that this is why I now make films.