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"Witty, passionate, provocative, and always exquisitely made, the films of Fernando Trueba are among the treasures of modern cinema. Hopefully, this brief sampler of his will encourage you to discover the full range and depth of this important artist." —Richard Peña, Director Emeritus, New York Film Festival
Leading up to the U.S. release of Academy Award-winning director Fernando Trueba's Memories of My Father, the Quad is proud to present a selection from Trueba's extensive filmography.
Starting his career as a film critic for El País, Fernando Trueba has cited Billy Wilder and Jean Renoir as influences on his work. Trueba's first film Opera Prima (1980) is a playful romantic comedy that was lauded in Spain but had not reached stateside audiences. Over a decade later, Trueba shot to worldwide prominence with Belle Époque (1992), winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and bringing Penélope Cruz to the world stage of cinema. Trueba and Cruz re-teamed for the Spanish Civil War drama La Niña de Tus Ojos (1998), winning multiple Goya Awards (including Best Film and Best Actress). In 2000, Grammy Award-winning Trueba turned his lens onto another of his passions, Latin Jazz, in the documentary film Calle 54. Ten years later, Trueba combined his romantic sensibilities and passion for music in the Latin music-infused animated feature Chico & Rita (2010), the first Spanish full-length animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award. In a stylistic shift, Trueba's next film returned to a more formal, classic structure with The Artist and the Model, set in 1943 occupied France and starring Jean Rochefort as a sculptor who finds inspiration in the form of a Spanish refugee.