Julio Medem Lafont (born 21 October 1958) is a Basque film director, producer, editor, and screenwriter.

Biography

Medem was born on 21 October 1958 in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when he would take his father's

Super 8 Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to: Film * Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965 * Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format * ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction f ...

camera and shoot at night, while nobody was paying attention. After college graduation, with degrees in Medicine and

General Surgery General surgery is a Surgical specialties, surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and Abdomen, abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, Appendix (anatomy ...

, he worked as a film critic and later as a screenwriter, assistant director and editor. After a few shorts, he directed his first full-length feature, ''

Vacas ''Vacas'' (English: ''Cows'') is a 1991 Spanish film, written and directed by Julio Médem. The film stars Carmelo Gómez, Emma Suárez, Ana Torrent, and Karra Elejalde. An eerie family saga set in rural Basque Country, the cryptic film ...

'' (Cows) for which he won a

Goya Award The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...

. After this film he directed ''

The Red Squirrel ''The Red Squirrel'' () is a 1993 Spanish drama film directed by Julio Médem, starring Emma Suárez, Nancho Novo and María Barranco María de los Remedios Barranco García (born 11 June 1961) better known as María Barranco is a Spanish ac ...

'' and ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

'', both receiving good reviews at

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. His next film, '' Lovers of the Arctic Circle'', has been compared to the works of

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (, 27 June 1941 – 14 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the Three Colours trilogy, ''Three Colours'' ...

. In 2002 was released his following film, '' Sex and Lucia''. Medem explored the documentary format with his next production '' La pelota vasca'' ('The Basque Ball'), a film about the political problems of the Basque Country, which caused a furor amongst some victims of terrorism and far right politicians. Following this, his film ''

Caótica Ana ''Chaotic Ana'' () is a 2007 Spanish drama film written, directed, and edited by Julio Medem which stars Manuela Vellés as the title character. Plot A synopsis prior to the release of the film stated: :"''Caotica Ana'' is the story-journey o ...

'' debuted in 2007.

Filmography

Feature films

Narrative films

Documentary films

Short films

Super 8

* ''El ciego'' (''The Blind'', 1974) * ''El jueves pasado'' (''Last Thursday'', 1977) * ''Fideos'' (''Noodles'', 1979) * ''Si yo fuera poeta...'' (''If I Were a Poet'', 1981) * ''Teatro en Soria'' (''Theatre in Soria'', 1982)

35 mm

* ''Patas en la cabeza'' (''Nutty As a Fruitcake'', 1985) * ''Las seis en punta'' (''Six on the Dot'', 1987) * ''Martín'' (commissioned by TVE for their ''Siete huellas, siete'' 'Seven Tracks, Seven''series of short films, 1988) * ''El Diario Vasco'' (''The Basque Daily'', 1989)

DV

* ''Asi se hizo "Airbag"'' (making of Juanma Bajo Ulloa's film ''Airbag'', 1997) * ''Clecla'' (commissioned by notodofilmfest.com, 2001) * ''La pelota vasca'' (segment of ''¡Hay motivo!'' 'There Is Reason!'' 2003) * ''En las ramas de Ana'' (''In Ana's Branches'', commissioned by :es:Fotogramas and

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

for their ''N_ature movies'' series of short films, 2007) * ''Concha'' (''Mussel'', video installation commissioned by

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...

and shown at

Expo 2008 Expo 2008 was an international exposition held from Saturday 14 June to Sunday 14 September 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain, with the theme of "Water and Sustainable Development". The exposition was placed in a meander of the river Ebro. It was coordin ...

, 2008)

Music video

* "Océano de sol" for Antonio Vega (1994)

Commercials

* ''Runner'' for

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

's ''Attitudes'' campaign (agency: El Sindicato, 1999/2000) * ''Soplo/Tendedero'' (''Waft/Clothesline'') and ''Mediterraneo'' (''Mediterranean'') for Balay (agency: FCB Tapsa, 2002) * ''Vecina'' (''Neighbour'') and ''Brazalete'' (''Bracelet'') for

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...

(agency: Dayax, 2003)

TV series

* Jai Alai ( 2023)

Books

* Aspasia Amante De Atenas (2013)

Notes

External links

*
JulioMedem.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medem, Julio 1958 births Living people People from San Sebastián Film directors from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Spanish documentary filmmakers Spanish people of French descent Spanish people of German descent 20th-century Spanish screenwriters 20th-century Spanish male writers University of the Basque Country alumni 21st-century Spanish screenwriters