Luis Bunuel

Luis Buñuel was a Spanish filmmaker who worked in Spain, Mexico, and France. He was a leading figure in Surrealism, the tenets of which suffused both his life and his work. He was an unregenerate atheist who was preoccupied with themes of gratuitous cruelty and eroticism. He earned fame with such films as Viridiana (1961), The Exterminating Angel (1962), Belle de Jour (1967), and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). He collaborated with Salvador Dali on the films Un Chien Andalou (1929) and L'Age d'Or (1930), which are considered the birth of cinematic surrealism. He also founded a film magazine, Objetivo, that raised the level of film criticism in Spain and informed readers about prohibited films. He was arrested and imprisoned several times by the Spanish authorities for his political views and his films. He renounced his Spanish citizenship in 1949 and became a Mexican citizen. He received many awards and honors for his work, including the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the BAFTA Award, and the Career Golden Lion. He was nominated once for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. He was the father of director Miguel Buñuel and the uncle of actor Javier Buñuel. He died in Mexico City on July 29, 1983, at age 83, from cirrhosis.