Carlos Saura

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Carlos Saura (born 4 January 1932, Atarés, Huesca) is a Spanish film director.

Born into a family of artists (his mother was a painter and his brother, Antonio Saura, a painter), he developed his artistic sense in chilhood by doing photography. He obtained his directing diploma in Madrid in 1957 at the Institute of Cinema Research and Studies, where he also taught until 1963.

In 1957-1958, he created his first documentary film (Cuenca). In 1960, with "Golfos", he described the problem of juvenile delinquency in the poor neighbourhoods of Madrid. In 1963, with the film "Llanto por un bandido", he also made a historical reconstruction.

In 1965, his style, both lyrical and documentary, centred on the problems of the poor, received the recognition of the international community at the Berlin Film Festival, where he received the Silver Bear for his film "La caza". In 1967, his film "Peppermint Frappé" also received a prize at Berlin.

The movies "La prima Angélica" (Cousin Angélica) of 1973 and "Cria Cuervos" (Feeding the Ravens) of 1975 received the special prize of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. His movie "Mama cumple 100 años" (Mom is celebrating her 100 years) was nominated at the Oscar, for the best foreign film in 1979.

In 1990, he received the Goya Award for the best director and best script for his film "¡Ay, Carmela!" (1989). He was chosen as director for the official film of the 1992 Olympic Games of Barcelona, "Marathon" (1993). Nowadays, Carlos Saura is considered a classic director in the history of contemporany European cinema.