Jose Luis Saenz de Heredia

José Luis Sáenz de Heredia was born on April 10, 1911 in Madrid, Spain. He was the fourth child of seven siblings. His parents were both teachers. He studied Philosophy and Letters at the University of Salamanca, where he founded the University cinema club. In 1934, he debuted as a screenwriter and director with Patricio miró a una estrella. He worked with Luis Buñuel, who was the head of production of Filmófono, a film company. He directed two films for Filmófono: La hija de Juan Simón (1935) and ¿Quién me quiere a mí? (1936). The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War caught him in Madrid, which was under the Republican control. He was arrested by a group of socialists because he was a cousin of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of Falange Española, a fascist party. He was saved by Buñuel, who intervened on his behalf and offered him to work in his film service. However, Sáenz de Heredia refused and joined the Nationalist side as a lieutenant. During the war, he made propaganda films for the Nationalists. After the war, he became one of the most prominent directors of the Francoist regime. He directed Raza (1942), an adaptation of a novel written by Franco himself under a pseudonym. The film was an allegory of the New Spain that emerged from the war. He also directed El Escándalo (1944), The Road to Babel (1945), Bambú (1945), Mariona Rebull (1947), Las aguas bajan negras (1948), La mies es mucha (1948), Don Juan (1950), The Eyes Leave a Trace (1952), Todo es posible en Granada (1954), Historias de la radio (1955), The Big Lie (1956), Faustina (1957), Diez fusiles esperan (1959), El Indulto (1960), The Reprieve (1961), The Mustard Grain (1962), Los derechos de la mujer (1963), The Fair of the Dove (1963), Franco, ese hombre (1964), Television Stories (1965), Fray Torero (1966), Pero... ¿en qué país vivimos? (1967), Relaciones casi públicas (1968), Juicio de faldas (1969), El Taxi de los conflictos (1969), ¡Se armó el belén! (1969), Don Erre que Erre (1970), El alma se serena (1970), Me debes un muerto (1971), La Decente (1971), Los Gallos de la madrugada (1971) and Proceso a Jesús (1973). Many of his films were censored or mutilated by the authorities for their political or social content. He also founded his own production company, La linterna mágica, and experimented with new technologies and genres. He received several awards from the Spanish Cinema Writers Circle and the Gold Medal from the Spanish Academy of Cinema in 2005. He died on November 4, 1992 in Madrid from a pulmonary edema. He was 81 years old.