Legendary Spanish Director Carlos Saura Dead at 91
After rising to prominence for his early politically charged films, Saura became an international figure in the 1980s for his Flamenco-infused dance dramas.
NOTE: This article is a republication- Source: IndieWire (Christian Zilko).
Carlos Saura, one of the most towering figures in the world of Spanish cinema, has died at the age of 91. The news was first announced by the Film Academy of Spain.
Born in Huesca, Aragón, Spain in 1932, Saura’s childhood in the shadows of the Spanish Civil War played a key role in shaping his creative worldview. When he began making films in the late 1950s, he rose to prominence for his willingness to criticize Francisco Franco for the effects his regime had on Spanish life.
His important early works included the 1966 drama “The Hunt,” which won Saura the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his portrait of Spanish Civil War veterans dealing with life after the conflict. He won another Silver bear in 1968 for “Peppermint Frappé,” a movie that was immortalized in film history when Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut interrupted its Cannes screening out of solidarity with protesting students and workers. His films “La Prima Angélica” and “Cría Cuervos” later won special jury prizes at Cannes in the 1970s.
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