To the 91 years old, passed away Carlos SauraSpanish filmmaker and head of productions such as Mom is a hundred years old, Hurry up, hurry up, Carmen, birdy, flamingo and Elisa, my life, among many others. Saura was about to receive a Goya de Honor during the gala of the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences. The purpose of this award is to recognize a person’s career in the film industry.
Of course, the aforementioned body mourned the sensitive death through Fernando Méndez-Leite, president of the Film Academy:
«The Film Academy is currently very moved by the death of Carlos Saura, one of the great directors in the history of Spanish cinema, whose highly personal, varied and highly creative work has left an indelible mark on the history of our cinema. and Spanish culture. Personally, I am very affected, because I had the pleasure of knowing and dealing with Carlos for many years, whom I considered a teacher and a friend.»
Fernando Mendez-Leite.
Unfortunately, Carlos Saura was already facing some health complications in the recent past. During September, he canceled his participation in the San Sebastián Festival after suffering a fall. His intention was to present his latest film, the walls speak.
It was that same month when the Film Academy announced that Carlos Saura would receive the Goya of Honor 2023. His children, Antonio and Anna Saura, expressed words of gratitude on behalf of his father:
«Thanks to the Academy I receive this award with great joy and enthusiasm. I am 90 years old and I will be 91 in January and there are more than 50 films between feature films and documentaries, which have filled a large part of my life as a professional: the other has been my six sons and my daughter Anna.»
Carlos Saura.
Carlos Saura himself mentioned that, throughout his career, he had the fortune not only to direct movies, but also theater and opera. Besides, always showed a great fondness for drawing and photography. “I receive with great joy and gratitude this award given to me by the Academy, which I also want to thank for the great work it does promoting and protecting our cinema and our culture, which is one of the most important things we have,” his letter concluded.
Carlos Saura has been one of the Spanish filmmakers whose work has had the greatest impact abroad. The first big step in the internationalization of his work was taken with the gulfsthe dramatic feature film screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or for best film.
From this production, Carlos Saura reaped other international successes. Among them those of Crying, The hunt, Cousin Angelica, Breeding ravens and of course, Carmen. The latter garnered three Oscar nominations in 1984 and became Best Foreign Language Film at the BAFTAs.
«He has endowed the cinema with impeccable brushstrokes, with a language that has used his imagination to tell stories, with an expressiveness that only demonstrated his love for cinema, for art, for culture. We could not understand Spanish cinema without Carlos Saura, without his personal contribution to the cinema of our time. We will be missing, forever, one of the key figures in cinematography in our country,” said the Film Academy. Furthermore, they announced that on Saturday they will perform a tribute at the Goya Awards.