Carlos Saura

Carlos Saura was born on January 4, 1932 in Huesca, a city in Aragon, Spain. He was the second of four children of a pianist mother and a lawyer father. He developed an interest in cinema and photography at an early age. He studied engineering at the University of Madrid but dropped out to pursue his passion for filmmaking. He enrolled in the Institute of Cinematographic Research and Experiences (IIEC) in 1952 and graduated in 1957. He made his first short film, La tarde del domingo (Sunday Afternoon), in 1955. He gained international recognition with his first feature film, Los golfos (The Delinquents), in 1960. The film was a realistic portrayal of the lives of young criminals in the slums of Madrid. It was selected for the Cannes Film Festival but faced censorship problems in Spain. Saura continued to make films that challenged the Francoist regime and its repression of political and social freedoms. He used metaphors and symbolism to avoid censorship and to express his criticism of the dictatorship. Some of his most acclaimed films from this period are La caza (The Hunt, 1966), Peppermint frappé (1967), La prima Angélica (Cousin Angelica, 1973) and Cría cuervos (Raise Ravens, 1976). These films won several awards at international film festivals such as Berlin, Cannes and San Sebastián. Saura also collaborated with the actress Geraldine Chaplin, who became his partner and muse for many years. They had one son together, Carlos Saura Medrano, who is also a film director. After the death of Franco in 1975 and the transition to democracy in Spain, Saura explored new themes and genres in his films. He became fascinated by flamenco dance and music and made a trilogy of films based on famous works: Bodas de sangre (Blood Wedding, 1981), Carmen (1983) and El amor brujo (Love the Magician, 1986). These films featured the dancer Antonio Gades and showcased the beauty and passion of flamenco art. They were also nominated for Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Saura also made films about other aspects of Spanish culture and history, such as ¡Ay Carmela! (1990), a comedy-drama about two entertainers during the Spanish Civil War; Sevillanas (1992), a documentary about the Sevillian folk dance; Flamenco (1995), a musical documentary about flamenco performers; Goya en Burdeos (Goya in Bordeaux, 1999), a biographical film about the painter Francisco Goya; Buñuel y la mesa del rey Salomón (Buñuel and King Solomon's Table, 2001), a fantasy film about the filmmaker Luis Buñuel; Salomé (2002), a film adaptation of the biblical story; Fados (2007), a musical documentary about the Portuguese genre of fado; Io, Don Giovanni (I, Don Giovanni, 2009), a biographical film about the composer Lorenzo Da Ponte; Flamenco Flamenco (2010), a sequel to Flamenco; and Jota de Saura (2016), a musical documentary about the Aragonese folk dance. Saura also worked as a photographer and published several books of his photographs. He received many honors and awards for his contribution to cinema, such as the Gold Medal of Fine Arts in Spain, the Gold Medal of the Spanish Academy of Cinema, the Goya Honorary Award, the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, the European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. He died on February 10, 2023 in Collado Mediano, a town near Madrid, at the age of 91. He was married three times and had seven children. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important Spanish filmmakers of all time.