Almodóvar, Pedro (1951– )

Spanish film director and screenwriter. His films are often camp, frenetic melodramas, saturated in glossy colours and costumes, and populated by eccentrics. They include Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto?/What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984), Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios/Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), La Flor de mi secreto/The Flower of My Secret (1995), and Todo sobre mi madre/All About My Mother (1999), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000.

Almodóvar's characters are steeped in the post-Franco Spanish subculture of hedonism and he has sometimes been accused of excess in his portrayal of sex and violence. He has been the most commercially successful Spanish film-maker in both domestic and foreign markets. His other films include Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón/Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls in the Crowd (1980), Laberinto de pasiones/Labyrinth of Passions (1982), Matador (1986), La Ley del deseo/The Law of Desire (1987), Atame!/Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990), Tacones Lejanos/High Heels (1991), and Kika (1993).