Antonio Chavarrías

Antonio Chavarrías
Born 1956
Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, producer
Years active 1989-present
Website
oberoncinematografica.com

Antonio Chavarrías (Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, 1956) is a Spanish filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. Some of his most recognised films are Childish Games (2012), showed in the Berlinale (2012), Celia's lives (2006), exhibited in the San Sebastián International Film Festival or You'll be back (2002), which granted him a nomination for the Goya's Awards for the Best Adapted Screenplay (2002).

As a producer Chavarrías has made several films. Many of them have been exhibited and rewarded in world renowned festivals such as Cannes, Rotterdam, Sundance or Berlin. In 1990, Antonio Chavarrías founds his film producer Oberon Cinematográfica, through which he has produced the first movies of directors such as Claudia Llosa or Marc Recha, proving his capacity to discover new talents. Claudia Llosa has won at festivals as important as Rotterdam or Berlin. She has also been nominated for an Oscar for her second feature: The milk of sorrow (2009). In the same way, Marc Recha was nominated for the Golden Palm for his film Pau and his brother (2001).

As screenwriter and director

Antonio Chavarrías is the scriptwriter and director of Childish Games (2012), a movie which was exhibited in the Official Section of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012. This film is starred by Juan Diego Botto, Bárbara Lennie, Mágica Pérez and Nora Navas.

In 2006 Chavarrías wrote and directed Celia's lives, a drama which was showed in the Official Section of the San Sebastián International Film Festival (2006) and in the Marrakech International Film Festival (2006). The leading cast is composed of Najwa Nimri, Luis Tosar, Daniel Giménez Cacho and Aida Folch.

Chavarrías is also the screenwriter and director of You'll be back (2002), based on the Francisco Casavella's novel: A Spanish dwarf commits suicide in Las Vegas. The movie obtained the Award for Best Director in the Mar Del Plata Film Festival and gained the Ariel Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography as well. You'll be back (2002) was also nominated for the Goya's Award for the Best Adapted Screenplay.

Some others of his prominent films are Susanna (1996), Manila (1991) and A shadow in the garden (1989) for which Chavarrías has also won several awards and has participated in many festivals.

Nowadays, Antonio Chavarrías is preparing his new project: The Chosen, a historical thriller about the assassination of Leon Trotsky. It's scheduled to be filmed in early 2015 and the action will take place between Barcelona and Mexico. This new project is a co-production between Oberon Cinematográfica and Alebrije Cine y Video, a film producer directed by Mónica Lozano and known for movies such as Instructions not included (2013) or Love's a bitch (2000).

As producer

In 1990 Antonio Chavarrías founds Oberon Cinematográfica, from where he has produced over thirty films, both of their own and from other directors. Some of his most recognised productions are:

Other awards and recognitions

In 2012, the book collection Filmmakers of the Film Library of Catalonia published a book dedicated to Antonio's film career. The book was written by Elisabet Cabeza, a journalist and university processor specialized in cinema.

Antonio Chavarrías was vice president of the Spanish Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences from 2000 to 2003.

A really forceful film (...) Chavarrías leads this story through the path opened by Bayona's or Balagueró's cinema. However, he adds to the film a difficult touch of clarity or naturalness, especially because of the great job of his leading couple

                                                  E. Rodríguez Marchante: ABC Newspaper

The film director eventually leads to a realistic epilogue a horror story even more terrifying if possible (...)

                                                          Fausto Fernández: Fotogramas

A genre product done with competence and fitted with an atmosphere subtly similar to Polanski (...)

                                          Jordi Batlle Caminal: La Vanguardia Newspaper

External references