Biography
Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career that spanned over half a century, and his films won many international awards. Saura began his career in 1955 making documentary shorts. He gained international prominence when his first feature-length film premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 1960. Although he started filming as a neorealist, Saura switched to films encoded with metaphors and symbolism in order to get around the Spanish censors. In 1966, he was thrust into the international spotlight when his film The Hunt won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. In the following years, he forged an international reputation for his cinematic treatment of emotional and spiritual responses to repressive political conditions. By the 1970s, Saura was the best known filmmaker working in Spain. His films employed complex narrative devices and were frequently controversial. He won Special Jury Awards for Cousin Angelica (1973) and Cría Cuervos (1975) in Cannes, and he received an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nomination in 1979 for Mama Turns 100. In the 1980s, Saura was in the spotlight for his Flamenco trilogy – Blood Wedding, Carmen and El amor brujo, in which he combined dramatic content and flamenco dance forms. His work continued to be featured in worldwide competitions and earned numerous awards. He received two nominations for Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film for Carmen (1983) and Tango (1998). His films are sophisticated expression of time and space fusing reality with fantasy, past with present, and memory with hallucination. In the last two decades of the 20th century, Saura concentrated on works uniting music, dance and images.
Directed 54
2020s
- 2023
The Walls Can Talk
Director
- 2021
The King of All the World
Director
Goya, May 3rd
Director
Rosa Rosae. A Spanish Civil War Elegy
Director
2010s
- 2018
- 2016
J: Beyond Flamenco
Director
- 2015
- 2010
Flamenco Flamenco
Director
2000s
- 2009
I, Don Giovanni
Director
- 2008
Sinfonía de Aragón
Director
- 2007
Fados
Director
- 2005
Iberia
Director
- 2004
The 7th Day
Director
- 2002
- 2001
Bunuel and King Solomon's Table
Director
1990s
- 1999
Goya in Bordeaux
Director
- 1998
Tango
Director
- 1997
Little Bird
Director
- 1996
Taxi
Director
- 1995
Flamenco
Director
- 1993
Outrage
Director
Cuentos de Borges
Director
- 1992
- 1991
The King of Ads
Director
- 1990
1980s
- 1989
The Dark Night of the Soul
Director
- 1988
- 1986
El amor brujo
Director
- 1984
The Stilts
Director
- 1983
Carmen
Director
- 1982
Antonieta
Director
Sweet Hours
Director
- 1981
Blood Wedding
Director
1970s
- 1979
Mama Turns 100
Director
- 1978
Blindfolded Eyes
Director
- 1977
Elisa, My Life
Director
- 1976
- 1974
Cousin Angelica
Director
- 1973
Anna and the Wolves
Director
- 1970
The Garden of Delights
Director
1960s
- 1969
Honeycomb
Director
- 1968
Stress Is Three
Director
- 1967
Peppermint Frappé
Director
- 1966
The Hunt
Director
- 1964
- 1960
The Delinquents
Director
1950s
- 1958
Cuenca
Director
- 1957
La tarde del domingo
Director
- 1956
El pequeño Río Manzanares
Director
- 1955
El proceso
Assistant Director
La llamada
Director
Wrote 46
2020s
- 2023
The Walls Can Talk
Writer
- 2021
The King of All the World
Screenplay
Rosa Rosae. A Spanish Civil War Elegy
Screenplay
2010s
- 2018
- 2016
J: Beyond Flamenco
Writer
- 2015
- 2013
Carlos Saura's FlamencoHoy
Writer
- 2010
Flamenco Flamenco
Writer
2000s
- 2009
I, Don Giovanni
Writer
- 2008
Sinfonía de Aragón
Writer
- 2007
Fados
Writer
- 2002
- 2001
Bunuel and King Solomon's Table
Screenplay
1990s
- 1999
Goya in Bordeaux
Writer
- 1998
Tango
Writer
- 1997
Little Bird
Writer
- 1995
Flamenco
Writer
- 1993
Outrage
Writer
Cuentos de Borges
Adaptation
- 1992
- 1990
1980s
- 1989
The Dark Night of the Soul
Screenplay
- 1988
- 1986
El amor brujo
Writer
- 1984
The Stilts
Writer
- 1983
Carmen
Writer
- 1982
Antonieta
Writer
Sweet Hours
Writer
- 1981
Blood Wedding
Writer
1970s
- 1979
Mama Turns 100
Writer
- 1978
Blindfolded Eyes
Screenplay
- 1977
Elisa, My Life
Screenplay, Story
- 1976
- 1974
Cousin Angelica
Screenplay
- 1973
Anna and the Wolves
Writer
- 1970
The Garden of Delights
Writer
1960s
- 1969
Honeycomb
Idea, Screenplay
- 1968
Stress Is Three
Screenplay, Story
- 1967
Peppermint Frappé
Screenplay
- 1966
The Hunt
Screenplay
- 1964
Muere una mujer
Writer
- 1960
The Delinquents
Screenplay
1950s
- 1958
Cuenca
Story, Screenplay
- 1957
La tarde del domingo
Writer
Acted in 6
2020s
- 2026
The Kid in the Photo - Carlos Saura
Movie
- 2024
Miradas del cine español
Movie
2010s
- 2016
Matilde Coral, acariciando el aire
Carlos Saura
- 2013
Carlos Saura's FlamencoHoy
Inszenierung
1950s
- 1959
The Little Apartment
(uncredited)
- 1955
El proceso
Movie
Other crew 2
1980s
- 1983
Carmen
Choreographer
1950s
- 1958
Cuenca
Cinematography
Art department 2
2000s
- 2007
Fados
Production Design
- 2002
Edited 1
2020s
- 2021
Rosa Rosae. A Spanish Civil War Elegy
Editor
Camera 1
1950s
- 1955
Letter of Sanabria
Assistant Camera
Appearances24
2020s
- 2023
The Walls Can Talk
Self
- 2022
Donde acaba la memoria
Self
Goya, Carrière & the Ghost of Buñuel
Self
- 2021
Goyasaurio
Self
2010s
- 2018
Searching for Ingmar Bergman
Self - Filmmaker
Navajeros, censores y nuevos realizadores
Self (archive footage)
- 2017
Saura(s)
Self
Carlos Saura - Fotograf
Self
- 2015
Eduardo Ducay: el cine que siempre estuvo ahí
Self
Tras Nazarin: Following Nazarin
Self
- 2014
Aragón rodado
Self
- 2012
24 horas en la vida de Querejeta
Self
- 2010
Rafael Azcona
Self
2000s
- 2009
In the Lost City
Self
- 2008
Critic
Self
- 2007
Antonio Gades, la ética de la danza
Self
- 2005
Pablo G. del Amo, un montador de ilusiones
Self
- 2004
Portrait of Carlos Saura
Self
- 2000
Speaking of Buñuel
Self
1990s
- 1998
Les paradoxes de Buñuel
Self
- 1995
1980s
- 1989
Buñuel
Self
