Alejandro Amenabar is known for his successful directorial work. In his piggy bank are such famous films as "Others", "Vanilla Sky", "The Sea Inside", "Agora", "Open Eyes". We learn about the most interesting moments in the life of a popular filmmaker from our article.
Childhood and youth
Alejandro Amenabar was born in 1973, on March 31 in Santiago. Due to the difficult political situation, the family of the future director had to leave his native land and look for the most suitable place for permanent residence. The choice of the head of the family settled on Spain. Here Alejandro graduated from high school, and then entered the Complutense University of Madrid at the Faculty of Information Sciences. Not having finished the last year, the young man decided to leave the school and do what he really liked.
The fact is that at that time Alejandro was seriously carried away by the shooting of short films.
First successes
In 1991, Alejandro Amenabar won his first award from the Independent Film Association for a short film called The Head.
In 1992, the Spanish director won an award at a film festival in Elche and Karabanchel for a short thriller called Hymenoptera.
After 2 years, Alejandro again immediately awarded 2 prizes for the painting "Moon". The first is for the best music from the Independent Association of Unprofessional Filmmakers, and the second is for the best script (Luis Garcia Berlanga Award).
Feature Films Alejandro
The first full-length picture of Alejandro Amenabar - “Thesis”. The film was released in 1996. It is known that the picture was shot in just 5.5 weeks, and the budget amounted to 116 million dollars. It should be noted that the project was received positively by both critics and viewers.
Alejandro called one of the sinister characters of the horror picture in the name of his picky professor. Later, the famous filmmaker apologized for this publicly.
It is worth saying that the film “Thesis” received 7 Goya awards in its homeland, the Grand Prix of the Brussels Festival and other equally significant awards, including for the most original script and directorial debut.
In 1997, Alejandro Amenabar, films with which millions of viewers have already watched, releases its new project called “Open Your Eyes”. The film won 9 Goya awards, an award from the Berlin Film Festival and Grand Prix in Tokyo.
The story tells about a guy Cesar, whose face is disfigured during the accident. It is known that the script for the film Alejandro wrote during the flu. Then he regularly saw nightmares, which he later poured in his film. It should be noted that in the film “Open Your Eyes” Amenabar played a cameo role.
The next successful project of Alejandro was a film called "Vanilla Sky", in which Tom Cruise played the main role. He also acted as the producer of the picture. This time, critics underestimated the director’s project. Many claimed that the script was “licked” from Amenabar’s previous film, Open Your Eyes.
year 2000
One of Alejandro's most successful paintings is The Others. The film made a splash on the audience and critics. The main role was played by Nicole Kidman. The film was released in large screens in 2001. The project received 8 Goya awards, including for the best film, directing and original screenplay. It should be said that “Others” has become the best picture in Spain.
In 2004, Alejandro Amenabar released a film called "The Sea Inside." The story tells about the life of a paralyzed Roman Sampedro. The main role in the film is played by Javier Bardem. It is worth saying that at the festival in Venice, the project won a jury award. Javier himself received the Volpi Cup for the best role. In 2005, the film won the Oscar in the nomination "Best Foreign Film".
In 2009, a Spanish filmmaker released a historical drama called The Agora, starring Rachel Weisz . The story tells of Hypatia of Alexandria, the first female scientist to be a mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer.
It is known that the picture was not as successful as other projects of Alejandro. Critics reacted ambiguously to her. With a total budget of $ 70 million. Agora raised just $ 39 million. It should be noted that in Italy the painting was completely banned, considering it a "anti-Christian pamphlet."
The next project of the famous Spanish filmmaker is "Return". The picture is perhaps the most unfortunate in Alejandro Amenabar. The main role in the film was played by Emma Watson.
Director’s personal life
For several years, no one heard anything about Alejandro Amenabar’s personal life. He never had any girls, and annoying paparazzi never "banged" him with anyone. Only in September 2004 did it become known that the Spanish filmmaker is homosexual. He stated this publicly to Shangay magazine.
We wish Alejandro Amenabaru new and more successful projects in the future!