Alejandro Amenábar
Encyclopedia
Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born 31 March 1972) is a Spanish
- Chilean
film director
. Amenábar was born in Santiago, Chile
to a Spanish mother and Chilean father, but the family moved to Spain
just one year after his birth. He studied cinema at Madrid
's Universidad Complutense but eventually dropped out.
In addition to writing and directing his own films, Amenábar has maintained a notable career as a composer of film scores, including the Goya Awards
-nominated score for José Luis Cuerda's La lengua de las mariposas.
Amenábar was awarded the Grand Prix of the Jury at the International Venice Film Festival
in 2004 for Mar adentro
("The Sea Inside"), and in February 2005 the same film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
In February 2004, Amenábar came out
to the Spanish gay magazine Shangay Express.
Amenábar shot in 2008 an epic film called Ágora
which he wrote with Mateo Gil
. The film is set in Roman Egypt and is based on the life of philosopher and mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
- Chilean
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. Amenábar was born in Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
to a Spanish mother and Chilean father, but the family moved to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
just one year after his birth. He studied cinema at Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
's Universidad Complutense but eventually dropped out.
In addition to writing and directing his own films, Amenábar has maintained a notable career as a composer of film scores, including the Goya Awards
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
-nominated score for José Luis Cuerda's La lengua de las mariposas.
Amenábar was awarded the Grand Prix of the Jury at the International Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in 2004 for Mar adentro
Mar adentro
The Sea Inside is a 2004 film by the Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar. It is based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro , a Spanish ship mechanic left quadriplegic after a diving accident and his 29-year campaign in support of euthanasia and the right to end his life.- Plot summary :This is...
("The Sea Inside"), and in February 2005 the same film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
In February 2004, Amenábar came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
to the Spanish gay magazine Shangay Express.
Amenábar shot in 2008 an epic film called Ágora
Agora (film)
Agora is a 2009 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in 4th century Roman Egypt who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system...
which he wrote with Mateo Gil
Mateo Gil
Mateo Gil Rodríguez is a Spanish screenplay writer and director.-Writer:*Agora *Mar adentro *Vanilla Sky...
. The film is set in Roman Egypt and is based on the life of philosopher and mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia was an Egyptian Neoplatonist philosopher who was the first notable woman in mathematics. As head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, she also taught philosophy and astronomy...
.
Full length films
- Thesis (Tesis)TesisTesis is a 1996 Spanish film. It is the feature debut of director Alejandro Amenábar, and was written by him and Mateo Gil. The movie won seven 1996 Goya Awards , including the award for Best Film. It stars Ana Torrent, Fele Martínez and Eduardo Noriega...
(also known as Snuff) (1996) - Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos) (1997)
- The OthersThe Others (2001 film)The Others is a 2001 psychological horror film by the Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. It is inspired partly by the novella The Turn of the Screw....
(2001) - The Sea Inside (Mar adentro) (2004)
- AgoraAgora (film)Agora is a 2009 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in 4th century Roman Egypt who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system...
(2009)
Other works
- Al Lado del Atlas (1994) [Composer]
- Allanamiento de Morada (1998) [Composer]
- La lengua de las mariposas (1999) [Composer]
- Nadie conoce a Nadie (1999) [Composer]
- Vanilla SkyVanilla SkyVanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed, co-produced and co-written by Cameron Crowe. The film is an English-language remake of the 1997 Spanish movie Abre los ojos , the screenplay for which was written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil...
(2001) [Writer] - El Soñador (2004) [Writer and producer]
- Un viaje mar adentro (television feature) (2005) [Director]