Pedro Almodóvar

Pedro Almodóvar (b. 1949, Calzada de Calatrava, Spain) lived in Madrid from the age of 17, where he became a crucial figure in the underground movement “movida madrileña.” He began in 1974 as a self-taught filmmaker, creating his first feature in 1980: the “punk” movie Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980). He secured international recognition with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1987). During the 1980s he gained a reputation as an iconic auteur. The central themes of almost all his films are interpersonal relationship issues, human isolation, love and passion. The Flowers of My Secret (1995) took Best Actress at KVIFF 31. All about My Mother (1999) and Talk to Her (2002) won Oscars. Other Almodóvar films have also screened at KVIFF: Bad Education (2004), Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009) and The Skin I Live In (2011).

Source: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2016