Saura, Carlos (1932– )

Spanish film director and screenwriter. He was a key figure in the New Spanish Cinema movement of the 1960s. In his self-consciously theatrical works, many made in collaboration with the flamenco dancer and choreographer Antonio Gades (1936–2004), he has sought to examine the process of artistic creation. These include Bodas de sangre/Blood Wedding (1981), Carmen (1983), Tango (1998), and Goya (1999).

Saura's early films betrayed the influence of Luis Buñuel, Jean-Luc Godard, and the neo-realists. He worked as a photographer before studying film in Madrid, and made his directorial debut with Los golfos/The Hooligans (1959), the first of many films to offer a critique of Spanish society under the Franco regime. The constraints of censorship produced innovative, allegorical narratives such as La caza/The Hunt (1965) and Cría cuervos/Raise Ravens (1975). Mamá cumple cien años/Mama Turns 100 (1979) was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign film.

Among his other films are Peppermint frappé (1967), Ana y los lobos/Ana and the Wolves (1972), Elisa, vida mía/Elisa, My Love (1977), El amor brujo (1985), Ay, Carmela! (1990), Sevillanas (1992), Marathon (1993), Salomé (2002), and El séptimo día/The 7th Day (2004).