Santiago Ahuanojinou Zannou (born 1977) is a Spanish filmmaker.
Biography
Zannou was born in 1977 in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, son to a father from
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
and a mother from
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
.
He was raised in
Carabanchel
Carabanchel is a district of Madrid, Spain. It lies on the southern (right) bank of the Manzanares, spanning southward down to the M-40 ring road. The district is made up of the neighbourhoods of Abrantes, Comillas, Opañel, Puerta Bonita, San ...
,
leaving for
Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
at age 19.
He moved to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
to study filmmaking at the (CECC).
Zannou's debut film ''
The One-Handed Trick'' (2008) earned him the
Goya Award for Best New Director
The Goya Award for Best New Director ( es, Premio Goya a la Mejor Dirección Novel, links=no) is the Goya awarded yearly to the best debuting director. The award was first presented at the fourth edition of the Goya Awards with Ana Díez being the ...
(the film also won Best New Actor and Best Original Song).
It was followed by two documentary films, namely ' (2009; a documentary about the
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol) has represented Spain in international men's football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in ...
) and ''La puerta de no retorno'' (2011; tracking the return of his father Alphonse Zannou to Benin with his family 40 years after leaving).
His second fiction feature ''
Scorpion in Love
''Scorpion in Love'' ( es, Alacrán enamorado, links=no) is a 2013 Spanish romantic drama film directed by Santiago A. Zannou and starring Álex González, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Carlos Bardem, Judith Diakhate and Javier Bardem. It is based ...
'' (2013), penned alongside
Carlos Bardem
Carlos Encinas Bardem (born 7 March 1963) is a Spanish actor and writer. He is often cast in tough guy roles, if not outright villains.
Biography
Born in Madrid on 7 March 1963, he is the son of actress Pilar Bardem and brother of actors Mó ...
, earned him a nomination to the
Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Spanish ''Premio Goya al mejor guión adaptado'') is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards.
For the first two editions of the Goya Awards, only one award for screenplays was pre ...
.
Filmography
References
1977 births
Living people
Film directors from Madrid
Spanish film directors
21st-century Spanish screenwriters
Spanish documentary film directors
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