2019 – 64th Edition

ALEJANDRO AMENÁBAR

Director

ALEJANDRO AMENÁBAR

ALEJANDRO AMENÁBAR

Born in Santiago de Chile in 1973, Alejandro Amenábar was only one year old when his parents decided to emigrate to Madrid a few days before Pinochet’s coup d’etat. From an early age he developed a passionate love for images and music, and grew up surrounded by VHS tapes that he never tired of watching, like for example Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

In 1991 he began his studies of Image and Sound at the Complutense University of Madrid, where after meeting another young man named Mateo Gil with whom he shared interests, he directed ‘La cabeza’, his first short film.

It was the second short by the then very young filmmaker that attracted the interest of José Luis Cuerda, who years later would produce ‘Thesis’ (1996), his groundbreaking feature film debut. The film premiered worldwide in the Panorama section of the Berlinale, before reaching the Spanish theaters, where it became the big hit of the season with around one million viewers. It was a huge success both with audiences and critics and earned him seven of the eight Goya Awards that he had been nominated for, including one as Best Film.

A year later, his second feature-length, ‘Open your eyes’, premiered internationally and eventually led to a ‘remake’ starring Tom Cruise retitled as ‘Vanilla Sky’ in 2001. That same year Amenábar stood again behind the camera to shoot ‘The Others’, a film starring Nicole Kidman and selected in Venice which opened him the doors of the international market: boxoffice grosses exceeded $200 million worldwide.

The Oscar and the Golden Globe in 2005 for Best Foreign Language Film bagged by ‘The Sea Inside’ were followed by fourteen Goya Awards and 60 more international prizes.

His filmography also includes ‘Agora’, starring Rachel Weisz, selected for participation in Cannes and the highest grossing film in Spain in 2009, and ‘Regression’, a film that delighted audiences in 2015 featuring Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson in the lead roles. A few weeks ago he presented his seventh and latest feature to date at the San Sebastian Festival: ‘While at War’.

Honorary awards of this edition

2019 – 64th Edition
Director
2024 - 69th Edition
Spike of Honour
Director.
2024 - 69th Edition
Spike of Honour
Director
2024 - 69th Edition
Spike of Honour
2023 - 68th Edition
Spike of Honour
Actress
2023 - 68th Edition
Spike of Honour
Photographer.
2023 - 68th Edition
Special Prize for Artistic Creation
Actress
2023 - 68th Edition
Spike of Honour
Actress
2023 - 68th Edition
Spike of Honour
Actress
2023 - 68th Edition
Spike of Honour
Actor
2022 – 67th Edition
Director
2022 – 67th Edition
Actress
2022 – 67th Edition
Director
2022 – 67th Edition
Producer
2022 – 67th Edition
Director
2022 – 67th Edition
Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Producer
2022 – 67th Edition
Director
1987 - 32nd Edition
Director
2021 – 66th Edition
Director of photography
2021 – 66th Edition
Actress
2021 – 66th Edition
Director
2021 – 66th Edition
Director of photography
2021 – 66th Edition
Actor
2021 – 66th Edition
Actor
2021 – 66th Edition
Director
2018 - 63rd Edition
Actor
2018 - 63rd Edition
Director
2018 - 63rd Edition
Actor
2014 - 59th Edition
Actriz
2017 - 62nd Edition
Actriz
2014 - 59th Edition
Director
2018 - 63rd Edition
Director
2015 - 60th Edition
Actor
2018 - 63rd Edition
Actor
2015 - 60th Edition
Directora
2018 - 63rd Edition
Director de fotografía
2015 - 60th Edition
Actriz
2015 - 60th Edition
Ex director de Seminci
2015 - 60th Edition
Productor
2016 - 61st Edition
Ex director de Filmoteca Española
2016 - 61st Edition
Director
2016 - 61st Edition
Actriz
2016 - 61st Edition
Actor
2016 - 61st Edition
Director
2017 - 62nd Edition
Actor
2017 - 62nd Edition
Actriz
2017 - 62nd Edition
Director
2017 - 62nd Edition
Productor
2008 - 53rd Edition
Director
2008 - 53rd Edition
Director
2008 - 53rd Edition
Director
2009 - 54th Edition
Director
2009 - 54th Edition
Actor
2010 - 55th Edition
Director
2010 - 55th Edition
Actriz
2011 - 56th Edition
Productor, Distribuidor
2011 - 56th Edition
Compositor
2012 - 57th Edition
Actriz
2012 - 57th Edition
Actriz
2013 - 58th Edition
Director
2006 - 51st Edition
Director
2013 - 58th Edition
Actriz
2007 - 52nd Edition
Actor
2013 - 58th Edition
Productor
2007 - 52nd Edition
Director
2013 - 58th Edition
Actriz
2008 - 53rd Edition
Director
2014 - 59th Edition
Actriz, Directora
1998 - 43rd Edition
Escritor
1998 - 43rd Edition
Director
1999 - 44th Edition
Director
1999 - 44th Edition
Directora
2000 - 45th Edition
Director
2000 - 45th Edition
Guionista
2001 - 46th Edition
Director
2001 - 46th Edition
Actor
1994 - 39th Edition
Director
2002 - 47th Edition
Director
1995 - 40th Edition
Director
2003 - 48th Edition
Director
1995 - 40th Edition
Director
2004 - 49th Edition
Director
1996 - 41st Edition
Director
2004 - 49th Edition
Compositor
1996 - 41st Edition
Director
1996 - 41st Edition
Director
1997 - 42nd Edition
Productor
1998 - 43rd Edition
Director
1993 - 38th Edition
Escritor
1993 - 38th Edition
Director
1993 - 38th Edition
Director
1994 - 39th Edition
Director
1988 - 33rd Edition
Director
1994 - 39th Edition
Productor
1988 - 33rd Edition
Director
1994 - 39th Edition
Actor
1989 - 34th Edition
Actor
1994 - 39th Edition
Director
1989 - 34th Edition
Director
1994 - 39th Edition
Director
1991 - 36th Edition