Top 20 Spanish Directors
by ralogi | created - 17 Feb 2011 | updated - 08 Dec 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 ...
2. 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 ...
3. Carlos Vermut
Writer | Quién te cantará
Carlos Vermut was born on March 6, 1980 in Madrid, Spain. He is a writer and director, known for Quién te cantará (2018), Magical Girl (2014) and Manticore (2022).
4. 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, ...
5. Alberto Rodríguez
Writer | La isla mínima
Alberto Rodríguez was born on May 11, 1971 in Seville, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He is a writer and director, known for Marshland (2014), Unit 7 (2012) and Prison 77 (2022).
6. 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).
7. 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 ...
8. 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).
9. 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...
10. 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).
11. 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).
12. 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).
13. Enrique Urbizu
Director | La caja 507
Enrique Urbizu was born in 1962 in Bilbao, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain. He is a director and writer, known for La caja 507 (2002), No Rest for the Wicked (2011) and La vida mancha (2003).
14. Paco León
Actor | Kiki, el amor se hace
Paco León was born on October 4, 1974 in Seville, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He is an actor and writer, known for Kiki, Love to Love (2016), Carmina or Blow Up (2012) and Carmina y amén. (2014).
15. 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 ...
16. 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).
17. Nacho G. Velilla
Producer | Fuera de carta
Nacho G. Velilla was born in Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain. He is known for Chef's Special (2008), To Hell with the Ugly (2010) and A Stroke of Luck (2016).
18. Jaime Rosales
Director | La soledad
Jaime Rosales is not the run-of-the-mill kind of filmmaker. Always trying to find new ways of expressing his art and his technique, he may disconcert those who, having seen one of his films, think he can be classified in one category or another. Unfortunately for them, but luckily for those who are...
19. Jaume Balagueró
Director | [Rec]
Jaume Balagueró was born on November 2, 1968 in Lleida, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. He is a director and writer, known for REC (2007), Sleep Tight (2011) and The Nameless (1999).
20. 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 ...
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