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

Spanish film The art of motion-picture making within Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema. Only a small portion of box office sales in Spain are generated by domestic films. The different Spanish governments have t ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, writer and producer.

Biography and career

Aguirre was born in Donostia-San Sebastián in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. 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 (; ) is the highest prize given to a competing film at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was introduced in 1957. In 1953 and 1954, the highest prize had been called the Gran Premio. In 1955 and 1956 it was replace ...

at the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; , ) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spain, Spanish city of Donostia, Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Countr ...

. 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 Jacinto Molina Álvarez (September 6, 1934 – November 30, 2009) known by his stage name Paul Naschy, was a Spanish film actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures&md ...

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 from 1966 to 1977. The couple had a daughter, Arantxa Aguirre, who also works as a director. Javier was married to actress Esperanza Roy when he died.

Death

Aguirre died on 4 December 2019 in a

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

hospital after a long illness. He was still married to actress Esperanza Roy at the time of his death.

Filmography

Short films

*''Tiempo de dos'' (1960) *''Pasajes tres'' (1961), (winner of the

in the Best Short Film category at the San Sebastián Film Festival) *''A ras del río'' (1961) *''Tiempo de playa'' (1961) *''Espacio dos'' (1961) *''Playa insólita'' (1962) *''Tiempo abierto'' (1962), (award for Best Short Film in Spanish Language at the San Sebastián Film Festival) *''Vizcaya cuatro'' (1962) *''Toros tres'' (1962) *''Tiempo de pasión'' (1963) *''Blanco vertical'' (1963) *''Mujer contra toro'' (1963) *''Canto a la esperanza'' (1963) *''Artesanía en el tiempo'' (1964) *''Espacio muerto'' (1965) *''La España diferente'' (1969) *''Vau seis'' (1970) *''UTS cero (Realización I)'' (1970) *''Temporalidad interna'' (1970) *''Múltiples, número indeterminado'' (1970) *''Impulsos ópticos en progresión geométrica (realización II)'' (1970) *''Che Che Che'' (1970) (about

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

) *''Fluctuaciones entrópicas'' (1971) *''Tercer plan de desarrollo económico y social'' (1972) *''Costa del Sol malagueña'' (1972) *''Tautólogos plus X'' (1974) *''Vibraciones oscilatorias'' (1975) *''Exosmosis'' (1975) *''Continuum I'' (1975) *''Underwelles'' (1975) (about

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

)

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