Alejandro González Iñárritu
Encyclopedia
Alejandro González Iñárritu (aleˈxandɾo ɣonˈsales iˈɲaritu; born August 15, 1963) is a Mexican
film director
.
González Iñárritu is the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and by the DGA of America for Best Director. He is also the first and only Mexican born director to have won the Prix de la mise en scene or best director award at Cannes (2006). His four feature films Amores perros
(2000), 21 Grams
(2003), Babel
(2006) and Biutiful
(2010) have gained critical acclaim worldwide including 12 Academy Award nominations.
to Hector González Gama and Luz María Iñárritu. He grew up in La Colonia Narvarte, a middle class neighborhood near downtown Mexico City. His father used to be a rich banker, but when Alejandro was five or six years old, he went bankrupt and lost everything. Alejandro says his father has been his inspiration because he took care of his family "with the virtue of a warrior". His father started a business by himself, buying fruits and vegetables in the Central de Abasto
market in order to sell them to restaurants during the day. Even though he faced some economic hardship he was very happy as a child. As an adolescent, first at seventeen then at nineteen years old, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a cargo boat working cleaning the floors and greasing the engines. The second time he went, he stayed in Europe and Africa staying one year surviving on just one thousand dollars. He attributes these physical and intellectual experiences during this time as a major influence in his work. He also believes that reading the classic existentialist writers during this period of his adolescence as greatly influential in his later film work.
He studied communications at Universidad Iberoamericana while simultaneously starting his career as a radio host in 1984 at the Mexican radio station WFM
. In 1988 he became the director of this rock and eclectic music station, becoming for five years the number one radio station in Mexico City for young audiences. From 1987 to 1989, he composed music for six Mexican feature films, including Garra de tigre (1989). He has called himself a frustrated musician and music has had more influence on him than film. He studied theater with well known Polish film director Ludwik Margules
. He later studied directing actors in Maine
and Los Angeles
under Judith Weston
. In the nineties he created Z films with Raul Olvera in order to start writing, producing and directing feature films, short films, audio, advertisements, and television programs. By 1995, Z films was one of the biggest and strongest film production companies in Mexico created with seven young directors that then all went on to direct feature films.
.
He met Guillermo Arriaga
, after 3 years and 36 drafts with the screenwriter, he ended up with three stories into the feature-length film, Amores perros
(2000) introducing Gael García Bernal
in his first role in cinema. This gritty look at the underbelly of Mexican life garnered an Academy Award
nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
as well as a BAFTA Film Award for "Best Film not in the English Language", the Critics Week Grand Prize and Young Critics Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival
. It was the most awarded film of that year with over sixty awards from film festivals worldwide.
González Iñárritu made the fifth short ("Powder Keg") in the BMW
The Hire series along with Ang Lee
, Wong Kar Wai, Guy Ritchie
and John Frankenheimer
. He also directed a segment of the independent feature 11'09"01 September 11 (2002), a collective movie about the influence of 9-11
on the world, along with Claude Lelouch, Shōhei Imamura
, Ken Loach
, Mira Nair
, Amos Gitai
and Sean Penn
.
. Again written by Guillermo Arriaga based on an idea by both, it starred Benicio del Toro
, Naomi Watts
and Sean Penn
. The film was presented at the Venice Film Festival
, winning the Volpi Cup
for actor Sean Penn
. At the 2004 Academy Awards
, Del Toro and Watts received nominations for their performances.
His project Babel
consists of four stories set in Morocco
, Mexico
, the United States
, and Japan
, in four different time frames. The film stars Brad Pitt
and Cate Blanchett
but introduced a full cast of non- actors and some new actors such as Adriana Barraza
, Rinko Kikuchi
. It was presented at Cannes 2006, where he earned the Best Director Prize
(Prix de la mise en scène). Babel was released in November 2006 and received seven nominations at the 79th annual Academy Awards
, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won the Best Motion Picture
in the drama category at the Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007. Gustavo Santaolalla
won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Score.
In 2006, Arriaga and González Iñárritu had a falling out when Arriaga started a personal campaign stating that screenwriters and directors should share credit as the auteur in the film industry. González Iñárritu pushed back by saying that someone who has never set foot on a set or directed an image of a film could not possibly claim auteurship of an audiovisual medium. Because the relation had ended long before the shooting of "Babel" started, Arriaga's behavior led to his dis-invitation from the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Sources in the industry believe that it is unlikely that the pair will ever work together again.
In 2007, González Iñárritu made the short film, ANNA, which was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival inside Chacun son cinéma. It was part of the 60th anniversary of the film festival and it was a series of shorts by 33 world-renown film directors such as Roman Polanski
, Abbas Kiarostami
, the Coen brothers
, Theo Angelopoulos
, David Cronenberg
, the Dardenne brothers
, Manoel de Oliveria, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Aki Kaurismaki
, Takeshi Kitano
, David Lynch
, Nanni Moretti
, Gus Van Sant
, Lars Von Trier
, Wim Wenders
, and Zhang Yimou
.
In 2008, he produced the feature film Rudo y Cursi
, a comedy-drama directed by Carlos Cuarón
in which Gael García Bernal
and Diego Luna
play professional soccer playing brothers.
In 2010, González Iñárritu directed Write the Future, a football-themed commercial for Nike
ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, which featured footballers Didier Drogba
, Wayne Rooney
, Theo Walcott
, Franck Ribéry
, Ronaldinho
, Cristiano Ronaldo
, Fabio Cannavaro
, Andrés Iniesta
, Gerard Piqué
, Cesc Fàbregas
, Landon Donovan
, Tim Howard
, tennis player Roger Federer
, basketball player Kobe Bryant
, the famous cartoon character Homer Simpson
, and long-time González Iñárritu collaborator Gael García Bernal
, among several others.
His latest film, Biutiful
, starring Javier Bardem
, premiered at Cannes on May 17, 2010, with Bardem winning for Best Actor
(shared with Elio Germano
for La Nostra Vita
). It is his first film in his native language since his debut feature Amores perros
. It has been selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 83rd Academy Awards
. It made the January shortlist and then made the final list of five nominees. It was also been nominated for the 2011 Golden Globes in the category of Best Foreign Film, for the 2011 BAFTA awards in the category of Best Film Not in the English Language and Best Actor, and for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and Best Actor.
with his wife María Eladia Hagerman de González and their two children María Eladia and Eliseo.
a series of three films that share the theme of death.
A highly acclaimed film from 2000 set in Mexico City
. Three individuals are connected by the event of a violent car crash.
The 2003 film was nominated for two acting Academy Awards
. In this particular tale, three individuals are connected by a violent accident involving an automobile as well.
Taking place in Mexico
, Japan
, Morocco
and the United States
, this interconnecting story tells of four families that face a tragedy that begins with the purchasing of a rifle and traverses across four countries in three different continents. Inarritu was awarded the best director
honour at the Cannes Film Festival
for this highly acclaimed film. The film won and was nominated for many awards from respectable Film institutions (including the Academy Awards
).
Other Feature Length Films
Javier Bardem
as Uxbal attempts to atone for his life's mishaps as a blackmarketeer in the slums of Barcelona, and faces death. Uxbal is diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and faced with the difficult task to find closure in his life. Balancing a dysfunctional home life rooted by his unfaithful, bi-polar ex-wife, Uxbal tries to raise his young son and daughter without his ex-wife's abuse. As a blackmarketeer, Uxbal scrambles to make amends for exploiting illegal immigrants that he traffics yet also befriends. He has the ability to usher spirits to their resting peace. Biutiful was given the Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture. The film, like the Death trilogy, also has a strong theme of mortality.
, Golden Lion
, European Film Award, DGA Award, PGA Award, César Award
, Silver Ribbon, Prix de la mise en scène, BAFTA, Ariel Award
, Golden Globe, David di Donatello
and ALFS Award.
Academy Awards
:
BAFTA Awards:
Cannes Film Festival
:2000: Young Critics Award - Best Feature (Amores perros, won)
2006: Golden Palm (Babel, nominated)
2006: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Babel, won)
2006: Best Director (Babel, won)
2010: Golden Palm ('Biutiful, nominated)
Directors Guild of America Awards
:
Golden Globe Awards:2007: Best Director (Babel, nominated)
2011: Best Foreign Film (Biutiful, nominated)
Independent Spirit Awards
:
PGA Awards:
Venice Film Festival
:
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
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:...
.
González Iñárritu is the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and by the DGA of America for Best Director. He is also the first and only Mexican born director to have won the Prix de la mise en scene or best director award at Cannes (2006). His four feature films Amores perros
Amores perros
Amores perros is a 2000 neorealist Mexican film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Amores Perros is the first movie in Iñárritu's trilogy of death, and was followed by 21 Grams and Babel. It is a triptych; an anthology film, sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Pulp Fiction," containing...
(2000), 21 Grams
21 Grams
21 Grams is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, and Benicio del Toro....
(2003), Babel
Babel (2006 film)
Babel is a 2006 international drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, starring an ensemble cast. The multi-narrative drama completes Iñárritu's Death Trilogy, following Amores perros and 21 Grams....
(2006) and Biutiful
Biutiful
Biutiful is a drama film directed by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Javier Bardem. It is González Iñárritu's first feature since Babel and fourth overall, and his first film in his native Spanish language since his debut feature Amores perros...
(2010) have gained critical acclaim worldwide including 12 Academy Award nominations.
Early life and career
He was born in Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
to Hector González Gama and Luz María Iñárritu. He grew up in La Colonia Narvarte, a middle class neighborhood near downtown Mexico City. His father used to be a rich banker, but when Alejandro was five or six years old, he went bankrupt and lost everything. Alejandro says his father has been his inspiration because he took care of his family "with the virtue of a warrior". His father started a business by himself, buying fruits and vegetables in the Central de Abasto
Central de Abasto, Mexico City
The Central de Abasto is Mexico City’s main wholesale market for produce and other foodstuffs run similarly to traditional public markets. It was constructed to be the meeting point for producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers for the entire country...
market in order to sell them to restaurants during the day. Even though he faced some economic hardship he was very happy as a child. As an adolescent, first at seventeen then at nineteen years old, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a cargo boat working cleaning the floors and greasing the engines. The second time he went, he stayed in Europe and Africa staying one year surviving on just one thousand dollars. He attributes these physical and intellectual experiences during this time as a major influence in his work. He also believes that reading the classic existentialist writers during this period of his adolescence as greatly influential in his later film work.
He studied communications at Universidad Iberoamericana while simultaneously starting his career as a radio host in 1984 at the Mexican radio station WFM
WFM
WFM is a three-letter acronym with multiple meanings, as described below:* Waveform monitor a type of oscilloscope used to monitor video signals* Western Federation of Miners, an important American labor union* Whole Foods Market...
. In 1988 he became the director of this rock and eclectic music station, becoming for five years the number one radio station in Mexico City for young audiences. From 1987 to 1989, he composed music for six Mexican feature films, including Garra de tigre (1989). He has called himself a frustrated musician and music has had more influence on him than film. He studied theater with well known Polish film director Ludwik Margules
Ludwik Margules
Ludwik Margules Cobes was a Mexican theatre, opera and film director. Being an active member of the Mexican theatre circuit for more than fifty years, Margules taught acting and directing methods in several institutions, eventually founding his own acting academy, the Foro Teatro Contemporáneo...
. He later studied directing actors in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
under Judith Weston
Judith Weston
Judith Weston is an American author, script analyst, actress and teacher.-References:* Weston, Judith Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television Michael Wiese Productions, 1996. ISBN 9780941188241...
. In the nineties he created Z films with Raul Olvera in order to start writing, producing and directing feature films, short films, audio, advertisements, and television programs. By 1995, Z films was one of the biggest and strongest film production companies in Mexico created with seven young directors that then all went on to direct feature films.
Path to fame
Alejandro wrote, produced and directed a half-length feature in 1995, Detrás del dinero, that aired on national TV and starred Spanish actor/singer Miguel BoséMiguel Bosé
Miguel Dominguín Bosé is a Latin Grammy-winning Spanish/Italian musician and actor.-Early life:Bosé was born in San Fernando Hospital in Panama City, Panama, the son of the famous Italian actress Lucia Bosé and the legendary bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín. He is also a cousin of Carmen...
.
He met Guillermo Arriaga
Guillermo Arriaga
Guillermo Arriaga Jordán is a Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer. Self-defined as “a hunter who works as a writer,” he authored Amores Perros, received a BAFTA Best Screenplay nomination for 21 Grams, and received the 2005 Cannes Best Screenplay Award for The Three Burials of...
, after 3 years and 36 drafts with the screenwriter, he ended up with three stories into the feature-length film, Amores perros
Amores perros
Amores perros is a 2000 neorealist Mexican film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Amores Perros is the first movie in Iñárritu's trilogy of death, and was followed by 21 Grams and Babel. It is a triptych; an anthology film, sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Pulp Fiction," containing...
(2000) introducing Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
in his first role in cinema. This gritty look at the underbelly of Mexican life garnered an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination 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...
as well as a BAFTA Film Award for "Best Film not in the English Language", the Critics Week Grand Prize and Young Critics Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival
2000 Cannes Film Festival
The 2000 Cannes Film Festival started on May 14 and ran until May 25. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film Dancer in the Dark by Lars von Trier.-Jury:* Luc Besson, President * Jonathan Demme * Nicole Garcia...
. It was the most awarded film of that year with over sixty awards from film festivals worldwide.
González Iñárritu made the fifth short ("Powder Keg") in the BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
The Hire series along with Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
, Wong Kar Wai, Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
and John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
. He also directed a segment of the independent feature 11'09"01 September 11 (2002), a collective movie about the influence of 9-11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on the world, along with Claude Lelouch, Shōhei Imamura
Shohei Imamura
was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards.His eldest son Daisuke Tengan is also a script writer and film director, and worked on the screenplays to Imamura's filmsThe Eel , Dr...
, Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
, Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
, Amos Gitai
Amos Gitai
Amos Gitai , born 11 October 1950 in Haifa, Israel, is an Israeli filmmaker and director. He is mainly known for making documentaries and experimental / minimalist feature films...
and Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
.
Move to Hollywood
After the success of Amores perros González Iñárritu decided to direct his second film, this time in the U.S., titled 21 Grams21 Grams
21 Grams is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, and Benicio del Toro....
. Again written by Guillermo Arriaga based on an idea by both, it starred Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
, Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
and Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
. The film was presented at the 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...
, winning the Volpi Cup
Volpi Cup
The Volpi Cups are the principal awards given to actors at the Venice Film Festival. Formal acting awards were introduced in the second festival . Initially they were called Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment. The name Volpi Cup was introduced the following year...
for actor Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
. At the 2004 Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, Del Toro and Watts received nominations for their performances.
His project Babel
Babel (2006 film)
Babel is a 2006 international drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, starring an ensemble cast. The multi-narrative drama completes Iñárritu's Death Trilogy, following Amores perros and 21 Grams....
consists of four stories set in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, in four different time frames. The film stars Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
and Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
but introduced a full cast of non- actors and some new actors such as Adriana Barraza
Adriana Barraza
Adriana Barraza is a Mexican film and television actress and director. She has also been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Broadcast Film Critics Association and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is also a veteran actress of Televisa telenovelas...
, Rinko Kikuchi
Rinko Kikuchi
, born , January 6, 1981, is a Japanese actress. Kikuchi is the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years. She is currently Japan's only living female Academy Award nominee in acting categories...
. It was presented at Cannes 2006, where he earned the Best Director Prize
Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
(Prix de la mise en scène). Babel was released in November 2006 and received seven nominations at the 79th annual Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won the Best Motion Picture
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, since its institution in 1951. The organizer, Hollywood Foreign Press Association , is an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications...
in the drama category at the Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007. Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006.-Life and career:...
won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Score.
In 2006, Arriaga and González Iñárritu had a falling out when Arriaga started a personal campaign stating that screenwriters and directors should share credit as the auteur in the film industry. González Iñárritu pushed back by saying that someone who has never set foot on a set or directed an image of a film could not possibly claim auteurship of an audiovisual medium. Because the relation had ended long before the shooting of "Babel" started, Arriaga's behavior led to his dis-invitation from the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Sources in the industry believe that it is unlikely that the pair will ever work together again.
In 2007, González Iñárritu made the short film, ANNA, which was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival inside Chacun son cinéma. It was part of the 60th anniversary of the film festival and it was a series of shorts by 33 world-renown film directors such as Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
, Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...
, the Coen brothers
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
, Theo Angelopoulos
Theo Angelopoulos
Theodoros Angelopoulos is a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer.-Life:Angelopoulos studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, but after his military service went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne. He soon dropped out to study film at the IDHEC before returning...
, David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
, the Dardenne brothers
Dardenne brothers
Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne are a Belgian filmmaking duo...
, Manoel de Oliveria, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Aki Kaurismaki
Aki Kaurismäki
-Career:After studying Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment , Dostoyevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki...
, Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
, David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, Nanni Moretti
Nanni Moretti
Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor.-Life and work:Moretti was born in Bruneck, South Tyrol , in 1953 to parents who were teachers...
, Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
, Lars Von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
, Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
, and Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
.
In 2008, he produced the feature film Rudo y Cursi
Rudo y Cursi
Rudo y Cursi is a 2008 Mexican film starring Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón and produced by Cha Cha Cha Films...
, a comedy-drama directed by Carlos Cuarón
Carlos Cuarón
Carlos José Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican screenwriter, film producer and film director. He is the brother of Alfonso Cuarón.- Biography :Carlos Cuarón was born in Mexico City and studied English literature at UNAM...
in which Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
and Diego Luna
Diego Luna
Diego Luna is a Mexican actor known for his childhood telenovela work, a starring role in the film Y tu mamá también, and supporting roles in American films. He is also known for his roles in Rudo y Cursi and Milk. Luna also had minor roles in Frida and Before Night Falls...
play professional soccer playing brothers.
In 2010, González Iñárritu directed Write the Future, a football-themed commercial for Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, which featured footballers Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...
, Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
, Theo Walcott
Theo Walcott
Theo James Walcott is an English footballer of Jamaican descent who plays for Arsenal and the England national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton F.C. Academy. He is a striker who is usually deployed on the right wing as a wide forward to exploit his speed...
, Franck Ribéry
Franck Ribéry
Franck Ribéry is a French international footballer who currently plays for German club Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. He primarily plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and is known for "pace, energy, skill and precise passing." Ribéry is described as a player who is "fast, tricky and...
, Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
, Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
, Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro, Ufficiale OMRI is a former Italian footballer considered one of the greatest defenders of all time and was given the name "Muro di Berlino" which means The Berlin wall by Italian supporters. He spent the majority of his career in Italy...
, Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....
, Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a central defender for FC Barcelona.A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Josep Guardiola's leadership, helping...
, Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...
, Landon Donovan
Landon Donovan
Landon Timothy Donovan is an American soccer player for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer in the United States. He usually plays as a withdrawn forward, and can also be used as an attacking midfielder on either wing....
, Tim Howard
Tim Howard
Timothy Matthew Howard is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Everton and the United States national team....
, tennis player Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, basketball player Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
, the famous cartoon character Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, and long-time González Iñárritu collaborator Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
, among several others.
His latest film, Biutiful
Biutiful
Biutiful is a drama film directed by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Javier Bardem. It is González Iñárritu's first feature since Babel and fourth overall, and his first film in his native Spanish language since his debut feature Amores perros...
, starring Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
, premiered at Cannes on May 17, 2010, with Bardem winning for Best Actor
Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
(shared with Elio Germano
Elio Germano
Elio Germano is an Italian actor.Born in Rome, he debuted, aged twelve, in the Castellano e Pipolo's movie Ci hai rotto papà...
for La Nostra Vita
La nostra vita
La nostra vita is a 2010 Italian film directed by Daniele Luchetti. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, with Elio Germano sharing the prize for Best Actor with Javier Bardem for his role in the Mexican film Biutiful directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.-Cast:* Elio...
). It is his first film in his native language since his debut feature Amores perros
Amores perros
Amores perros is a 2000 neorealist Mexican film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Amores Perros is the first movie in Iñárritu's trilogy of death, and was followed by 21 Grams and Babel. It is a triptych; an anthology film, sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Pulp Fiction," containing...
. It has been selected as the Mexican entry for the 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...
at the 83rd Academy Awards
83rd Academy Awards
The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ...
. It made the January shortlist and then made the final list of five nominees. It was also been nominated for the 2011 Golden Globes in the category of Best Foreign Film, for the 2011 BAFTA awards in the category of Best Film Not in the English Language and Best Actor, and for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and Best Actor.
Personal life
He now lives in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with his wife María Eladia Hagerman de González and their two children María Eladia and Eliseo.
Feature films
Death Trilogya series of three films that share the theme of death.
- Amores perrosAmores perrosAmores perros is a 2000 neorealist Mexican film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Amores Perros is the first movie in Iñárritu's trilogy of death, and was followed by 21 Grams and Babel. It is a triptych; an anthology film, sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Pulp Fiction," containing...
(2000)
A highly acclaimed film from 2000 set in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. Three individuals are connected by the event of a violent car crash.
- 21 Grams21 Grams21 Grams is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, and Benicio del Toro....
(2003)
The 2003 film was nominated for two acting Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. In this particular tale, three individuals are connected by a violent accident involving an automobile as well.
- Babel (2006)
Taking place in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, this interconnecting story tells of four families that face a tragedy that begins with the purchasing of a rifle and traverses across four countries in three different continents. Inarritu was awarded the best director
Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
honour at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
for this highly acclaimed film. The film won and was nominated for many awards from respectable Film institutions (including the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
).
Other Feature Length Films
- BiutifulBiutifulBiutiful is a drama film directed by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Javier Bardem. It is González Iñárritu's first feature since Babel and fourth overall, and his first film in his native Spanish language since his debut feature Amores perros...
(2010)
Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
as Uxbal attempts to atone for his life's mishaps as a blackmarketeer in the slums of Barcelona, and faces death. Uxbal is diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and faced with the difficult task to find closure in his life. Balancing a dysfunctional home life rooted by his unfaithful, bi-polar ex-wife, Uxbal tries to raise his young son and daughter without his ex-wife's abuse. As a blackmarketeer, Uxbal scrambles to make amends for exploiting illegal immigrants that he traffics yet also befriends. He has the ability to usher spirits to their resting peace. Biutiful was given the Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture. The film, like the Death trilogy, also has a strong theme of mortality.
Short films
- Detrás del dinero (1995) (TV)
- El Timbre (1996)
- Powder Keg (2001) ("The Hire" series for BMWBMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
) - 11'09"01 September 11 (2002)
- Chacun son cinema (2007) (segment "ANNA")
Awards and nominations
He has been nominated for many awards including: Academy Award, Palme d'OrPalme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
, Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
, European Film Award, DGA Award, PGA Award, César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
, Silver Ribbon, Prix de la mise en scène, BAFTA, Ariel Award
Ariel Award
The Ariel is the Mexican Academy of Film Award. It has been awarded annually since 1947. The award recognizes excellence in motion picture making, such as acting, directing and screenwriting in Mexican cinema. It is considered the most prestigious award in the Mexican movie industry.- History :The...
, Golden Globe, David di Donatello
David di Donatello
David di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The...
and ALFS Award.
Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
:
- 2001: Best Foreign Language Film (Amores perros - Mexico, nominated)
- 2007: Best Director (Babel, nominated)
- 2007: Best Picture (Babel, nominated)
- 2011: Best Foreign Language Film ("Biutiful"-Mexico, nominated)
BAFTA Awards:
- 2002: Best Film Not in the English Language (Amores perros, won)
- 2007: Best Film (Babel, nominated)
- 2007: David Lean Award for Direction (Babel, nominated)
- 2011: Best Film Not in the English Language (Biutiful, nominated)
Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
:
- 2000: Critics Week Grand Prize (Amores perros,
Directors Guild of America Awards
Directors Guild of America Awards
The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D.W. Griffith....
:
- 2007: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Babel, nominated)
Golden Globe Awards:
- 2007: Best Picture - Drama (Babel,
Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
:
- 2002: Best Foreign Film (Amores perros, nominated)
- 2004: Special Distinction Award (21 Grams, won)
PGA Awards:
- 2007: Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award - Theatrical (Babel, nominated)
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...
:
- 2002: UNESCO Award (September 11, won)
- 2003: Golden Lion (21 Grams, nominated)