The 25 best directors from Spain
by CZJFan87 | created - 18 Dec 2012 | updated - 04 Jun 2014 | Public
1. Alejandro Amenábar
Writer | The Others
Is the son of a Spanish mother and a Chilean father. His family moved back to Spain when he was 1 year old, and he grew up and studied in Madrid. He wrote, produced and directed his first short film La cabeza at the age of 19, and he was 23 when he directed his feature debut Thesis (1996). His film ...
"Mar Adentro", "Tesis", "Abre los Ojos", "The Others", "Ágora"
2. Luis Buñuel
Writer | Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie
The father of cinematic Surrealism and one of the most original directors in the history of the film medium, Luis Buñuel was given a strict Jesuit education (which sowed the seeds of his obsession with both religion and subversive behavior), and subsequently moved to Madrid to study at the ...
"Un chien andalou", "L'âge d'or", "Viridiana", "Belle de jour", "Tristana", "La Voie Lactée", "Le Fantôme de la Liberté"...
3. J.A. Bayona
Director | La sociedad de la nieve
Juan Antonio García Bayona is a Spanish film director. He directed the 2007 horror film The Orphanage, the 2012 drama film The Impossible, and the 2016 fantasy drama film A Monster Calls. Bayona's latest film is the 2018 science fiction adventure film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth ...
"The Impossible", "El orfanato"
4. Emilio Martínez Lázaro
Director | Ocho apellidos vascos
Emilio Martínez Lázaro was born in 1945 in Madrid, Spain. He is a director and writer, known for Spanish Affair (2014), The Other Side of the Bed (2002) and Lulú de noche (1986). He was previously married to Sol Alameda.
"8 apellidos vascos", "El otro lado de la cama", "Los 2 lados de la cama", "Las 13 rosas"...
5. Pedro Almodóvar
Writer | Hable con ella
The most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel was born in a small town (Calzada de Calatrava) in the impoverished Spanish region of La Mancha. He arrived in Madrid in 1968, and survived by selling used items in the flea-market called El Rastro. Almodóvar couldn't study ...
"Hable con ella", "Volver", "Todo sobre mi madre", "Carne trémula", "¡Átame", "La mala educación"...
6. Rodrigo Cortés
Director | Buried
Rodrigo Cortés was born in 1973 in Pazos Hermos, Ourense, Galicia, Spain. He is a director and editor, known for Buried (2010), Love Gets a Room (2021) and Red Lights (2012).
"Buried", "Red Lights"...
7. Fernando Trueba
Writer | Belle Epoque
Trueba studied Imagen at the Facultad de Ciencias de la Información, was cinema critic for the newspaper 'El País' and for 'La Guía del Ocio' and also founded the journal "Casablanca". At the movies his first success was Opera Prima (1980) following the style of the "comedia madrileña". He had ...
"La niña de tus ojos", "Two Much", "Belle Époque", "Chico & Rita", "El embrujo de Shangai", "El milagro de Candeal"...
8. Achero Mañas
Director | El Bola
Born in 1966, Achero Mañas first followed in the steps of his mother, actress Paloma Lorena (who played in two of his films), but he soon turned from thespian to film director. He made three shorts before meeting with success - both public and critical - with Pellet (2000), the sensitive portrait ...
"El bola", "Noviembre", "Todo lo que tú quieras"
9. Álex de la Iglesia
Director | El bar
Álex de la Iglesia is one of the most popular and respected European filmmakers of his generation. Considered a genre of his own, based on his skill and originality in a range of cinematographic art styles, he has currently finished shooting the second season of "30 Coins", the successful HBO Max ...
"La comunidad", "El día de la bestia", "la chispa de la vida"...
10. Gracia Querejeta
Director | Siete mesas de billar francés
Gracia Querejeta was born on August 13, 1962 in Madrid, Spain. She is a director and writer, known for Siete mesas de billar francés (2007), 15 Years and One Day (2013) and Cuando vuelvas a mi lado (1999).
"Cuando vuelvas a mi lado", "Héctor"...
11. Luis García Berlanga
Writer | El verdugo
Berlanga commenced his studies in Valencia in1928, although in 1929 his family sent him and his brother Fernando (due to a lung disease) to the Beau-soleil hospital school in Switzerland. In 1930, he returned to the San José School in Valencia where he stayed until 1931, the year in which the ...
"Bienvenido Mr. Marshall", "Todos a la cárcel", "Patrimonio nacional", "La escopeta nacional", "Calabuch", "Paris Tumbuctú", "La vaquilla"...
12. Daniel Monzón
Writer | Celda 211
Daniel Monzón was born in 1968 in Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain. He is a writer and director, known for Cell 211 (2009), El corazón del guerrero (1999) and El nino (2014).
"Celda 211", "la caja Kovak"...
13. Víctor Erice
Director | Cerrar los ojos
Víctor Erice was born on June 30, 1940 in Karrantza, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain. He is a director and writer, known for Close Your Eyes (2023), El Sur (1983) and The Spirit of the Beehive (1973).
"El espíritu de la colmena", "El sur", "El sol del membrillo"
14. Antonio Mercero
Director | Planta 4ª
Spanish director, author of great success TV series and several award-winning films. His father, a staff chief in a local tyre factory, was shot by the anarchists in the Spanish Civil War when he was only 6 months old. His mother wanted him to study Law, and that's what he did. He starting studying...
"La cabina" (c), "La guerra de papá", "Planta 4ª", "la hora de los valientes"...
15. Icíar Bollaín
Director | Te doy mis ojos
Born in Madrid, Iciar Bollain has worked as an actress in films such El Sur (1983), directed by Víctor Erice; Sublet (1991) directed by Chus Gutiérrez, Malaventura (1988) directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón; El Mejor de los Tiempos (1990) and Un Paraguas para Tres (1992) directed by Felipe Vega, ...
"Te doy mis ojos", "También la lluvia", "Hola, ¿estás sola?", "Flores de otro mundo"...
16. Gerardo Herrero
Producer | El secreto de sus ojos
Gerardo Herrero was born on January 28, 1953 in Madrid, Spain. He is a producer and director, known for The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), Under Therapy (2023) and Comanche Territory (1997).
"Heroína", "El misterio Galíndez", "El principio de Arquímedes", "Una mujer invisible"...
17. Ángeles González Sinde
Writer | Una palabra tuya
Ángeles González Sinde was born in 1965 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain. She is a writer and actress, known for Una palabra tuya (2008), La suerte dormida (2003) and Lucky Star (1997).
"Una palabra tuya", "La suerte dormida".
18. Nacho Vigalondo
Writer | Los cronocrímenes
Nacho Vigalondo was born in 1977 in Cabezón de la Sal, Cantabria, Spain. He is a writer and actor, known for Timecrimes (2007), Colossal (2016) and Extraterrestrial (2011).
"Choque" (c), "Los cronocrímenes", "Extraterrestre"...
19. Fernando León de Aranoa
Writer | A Perfect Day
Fernando León de Aranoa was born on May 26, 1968 in Madrid, Spain. He is a writer and director, known for A Perfect Day (2015), The Good Boss (2021) and Mondays in the Sun (2002).
"Los lunes al sol", "Familia", "Barrio", "Princesas"...
20. Santiago Segura
Actor | Torrente: El brazo tonto de la ley
Born in Madrid, Santiago Segura started his career by making his first short movie at the age of fourteen. After studying Arts in Madrid, he finally decided to become a filmmaker. His first short film Relatos de la medianoche (1989) was made with a budget of only 7.000 pts. (about 60 dollars).
After...
"Torrente" 1,2,3,4...
21. Carlos Saura
Writer | Carmen
Spanish director, writer, producer (2 films) and actor (2 films). His interest in cinema started when he was very young. His mother, who was a pianist, instilled in him the liking for music, and his brother, Antonio, who was a painter, the passion for art. When he was an teenager he started to ...
"La caza", Los golfos", "Peppermint frappé", "La prima Angélica"...
22. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo
Writer | Azuloscurocasinegro
Daniel Sánchez Arévalo was born on June 24, 1970 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain. He is a writer and director, known for Dark Blue Almost Black (2006), Fat People (2009) and Traumalogía (2007).
"AzulOscuroCasiNegro", "Gordos", "Primos"...
23. Julio Medem
Director | Lucía y el sexo
Julio Medem was born in San Sebastian in northern Spain. As a teenager Medem made short movies with a super-8 camera owned by his father. Some of those films are "El ciego" (1976), "El jueves pasado" (1977) and "Fideos" (1979.) Wanting to know more about the darkest corners of the human mind, Medem...
"Lucía y el sexo", "La pelota vasca", "Habitación en Roma", "La ardilla roja", "Tierra"
24. José Luis Garci
Director | Canción de cuna
Born on January 20th of 1944 in Madrid, Spain, José Luis Garci is without a doubt one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film in Spain and perhaps the best known writer in the country. He has left a distinguished talent in his successful movies throughout the years: La ...
"You're the one", "El abuelo", "Canción de cuna"...
25. Isabel Coixet
Director | My Life Without Me
Isabel Coixet was born on April 9, 1960 in Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is a director and writer, known for My Life Without Me (2003), The Secret Life of Words (2005) and The Bookshop (2017).
"Elegy", "My Life Without Me", "Mapa de los sonidos de Tokio"...
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