Javier Aguirre Fernández (13 June 1935 – 4 December 2019) was a

Spanish film Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

director, writer and producer.

Biography and career

Aguirre was born in Donostia-San Sebastián in Spain. Aguirre developed an interest in film at an early age. When he was a teenager, he started collaborating for entertainment magazines like ''Radiocinema'', '' Film Ideal'', and others. In 1955, when he was around 20 years old, he founded and directed the San Sebastián Film Club. From 1956 to 1957, Aguirre organized film courses and film festivals. During those years, he also studied at the Instituto de Investigaciones y Experiencias Cinematográficas (IIEC). He worked as an assistant director until he started directing his own short films in the 1960s. He started his work as a director in 1961, directing a documentary short titled ''Pasajes tres'', which received the

Golden Shell The Golden Shell ( es, Concha de Oro; eu, Urrezko Maskorra) is the highest prize given to a competing film at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It was introduced in 1957. In 1953 and 1954, the highest prize had been called the Gran Premio. In 19 ...

at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. He had a prolific career, directing 45 feature films, 10 short films, 2 documentaries, and 25 documentary shorts. Aguirre also wrote and produced most of his films. Spanish horror movie fans know him as the director of three popular

Paul Naschy Paul Naschy (born Jacinto Molina Álvarez, September 6, 1934 – November 30, 2009) was a Spanish film actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures— The Wolfman, ...

horror films, ''El jorobado de la Morgue'' (1973, aka ''Hunchback of the Morgue''), ''El gran amor del conde Drácula'' (1973, aka ''Count Dracula's Great Love'') and ''El asesino esta entre los trece'' (aka ''The Killer is One of the Thirteen'').

Personal life

Aguirre was married to actress

Enriqueta Carballeira Enriqueta is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ana Enriqueta Terán (born 1918), Venezuelan poet *Enriqueta Augustina Rylands (1843–1908), the founder of the John Rylands Library, Manchester *Enriqueta Basilio (born 1948), Mex ...

from 1966 to 1977. The couple had a daughter,

Arantxa Aguirre Arantxa Aguirre Carballeira (born 1965) is a Spanish film director specialising in documentaries. She is also a scriptwriter. She is the daughter of noted Spanish film director Javier Aguirre and Spanish actress Enriqueta Carballeira. Her best ...

, who also works as a director. Javier was married to actress

Esperanza Roy Esperanza Fuentes Roy (born 22 November 1935) is a Spanish actress. Career Roy began acting with revue shows before she debuted in film in 1962. Prior to acting, Roy had trained professionals as a dancer. In the 1970s, Roy would appear in seve ...

when he died.

Death

Aguirre died on 4 December 2019 in a Madrid hospital after a long illness. He was still married to actress Esperanza Roy at the time of his death.

Filmography

* ''Los oficios de Cándido'' (1965) * ''Los chicos con las chicas'' (1967) * ''Los que tocan el piano'' (1968) * ''Una vez al año ser hippy no hace daño'' (1969) * ''Soltera y madre en la vida'' (1969) * ''De profesión, sus labores'' (1970) * ''El astronauta'' (1970) * ''Pierna creciente, falda menguante'' (1970) * ''Soltero y padre en la vida'' (1972) * ''El jorobado de la Morgue'' (1973) aka ''The Hunchback of the Morgue'' * ''El gran amor del conde Drácula'' (1973) aka ''

Count Dracula's Great Love ''Count Dracula's Great Love'' (Spanish: ''El gran amor del conde Drácula'') is a 1972 Spanish film directed by Javier Aguirre, and starring Paul Naschy as Count Dracula. The film also features Rosanna Yanni, Haydee Politoff (whom Naschy did not ...

'' * ''Volveré a nacer'' (1973) * ''El insólito embarazo de los Martínez'' (1974) * ''Vida íntima de un seductor cínico'' (1975) * ''El mejor regalo'' (1975) * ''El asesino está entre los trece'' (1976) aka ''The Killer is One of the Thirteen'' * ''Ligeramente viudas'' (1976) * ''La iniciación en el amor'' (1976) * ''Acto de posesión'' (1977) * ''Esposa de día, amante de noche'' (1977) * ''Carne apaleada'' (1977) * ''Rocky Carambola'' (1979) * ''El consenso'' (1980) * ''La guerra de los niños'' (1980) * ''Los pecados de mamá'' (1980) * ''Cariñosamente infiel'' (1981) * ''La segunda guerra de los niños'' (1981) * ''Vida/Perra'' (1982) * ''En busca del huevo perdido'' (1982) * ''Las locuras de Parchís'' (1982) * ''Martes y trece, ni te cases ni te embarques'' (1982) * ''Los pajaritos'' (1983) * ''Parchís entra en acción'' (1983) * ''La monja alférez'' (1987) * ''El polizón de Ulises'' (1987) * ''La diputada'' (1988) * ''El amor si tiene cura'' (1991) * ''Continuum'' (1994) * ''Voz'' (2000) * ''Zero/infinito'' (2002) * ''Variaciones 1/113'' (2003) * ''Medea 2'' (2006) * ''Dispersión de la luz'' (2006) * ''Sol'' (2009, Documentary)

References

External links

*
Javier Aguirre
on the Experimental Cinema Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Aguirre, Javier 1935 births 2019 deaths Film directors from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Spanish film directors Spanish male screenwriters Spanish film producers People from San Sebastián