Albert Serra
Spanish filmmaker (born 1975)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albert Serra Juanola (Catalan: [əlˈβɛrt ˈsɛrə]; born 9 October 1975) is a Spanish filmmaker and producer. His films usually explore the imminence of death through the slow cinema genre.[1]
.jpg)
He is best known for Story of My Death (2013), which won the Golden Leopard, The Death of Louis XIV (2016) and Pacifiction (2022). For the latter he was nominated for the Palme d'Or and the César Award for Best Director.
Career
Serra is the manager of the production company Andergraun Films, set up by Montse Triola primarily to produce Serra's films.[2][3]
His 2006's Honour of the Knights, an adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote, had its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. It appeared in seventh place on Cahiers du Cinéma's top ten list of 2007.[4]
Serra's Story of My Death (2013), about an aging Casanova and his encounter with Count Dracula, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 66th Locarno Film Festival, where it won the Golden Leopard.[5]
His French language feature debut, The Death of Louis XIV (2016), which follows the final days of Louis XIV (Jean-Pierre Léaud), had its world premiere at the Special Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.[6] It received the Prix Jean Vigo.
Serra's Liberté (2019), about a group of libertines that spend a night of sexual debauchery in a forest, had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize.[7] It was received with polarizing reviews, for its graphic sequences.[8]
His 8th feature film, Pacifiction (2022), about French contemporary colonialism in Tahiti, marked Serra's first film to have its world premiere at the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. It received nine nominations at the 48th César Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. It also appeared in first place on Cahiers du Cinéma's top ten list of 2022.
His documentary Afternoons of Solitude (2024), about the Peruvian bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Shell.[9]
His English language feature debut, Out of This World, is expected to premiere in 2026. It follows an American delegation traveling to Russia in the midst of the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present).[10]
Filmography
Feature films
| Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Crespià, the film not the village | Crespià | |
| 2006 | Honour of the Knights | Honor de cavalleria | |
| 2008 | Birdsong | El cant dels ocells | |
| 2011 | The Lord Has Worked Wonders in Me | El senyor ha fet en mi meravelles | |
| 2013 | Story of My Death | Història de la meva mort | |
| 2016 | The Death of Louis XIV | La Mort de Louis XIV | French language debut |
| 2019 | Liberté | ||
| 2022 | Pacifiction | Pacifiction – Tourment sur les îles | |
| 2024 | Afternoons of Solitude | Tardes de soledad | Documentary |
| TBA | Out of This World | Post-production; English language debut | |
Short films
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Bauçà | |
| 2011 | 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero | Collection of one-minute short films by 60 filmmakers |
| 2014 | Cubalibre | Part of the 101-hour installation The Three Little Pigs |
| 2020 | My Influences | Part of the Spaces series for the Thessaloniki International Film Festival |
| 2022 | Filmoteca de Catalunya 10 anys al Raval | Short film for the 10th anniversary of the Filmoteca de Catalunya |
Film installations
| Year | Original title | English title | Premiere exhibition venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Els noms de Crist | The Names of Christ | Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Spain |
| 2013 | Els tres porquets | The Three Little Pigs | dOCUMENTA (13), Germany |
| 2015 | La singularitat | Singularity | 56th Venice Biennale, Italy |
| 2018 | Roi Soleil | — |
Galeria Graça Brandão, Portugal |
| 2019 | Personalien | — |
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain |
| 2025 | Tauromaquia | — |
Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium |
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Pacifiction | Nominated | [11] |
| 2022 | Louis Delluc Prize | Best Film of the Year | Pacifiction | Won | [12] |
| 2023 | César Awards | Best Film | Pacifiction | Nominated | [13] |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||||
| 2023 | Lumière Awards | Best Film | Pacifiction | Nominated | [14] |
| Best Director | Won | ||||
| 2009 | Gaudí Awards | Best Film in Catalan Language | Birdsong | Won | [15] |
| Best Director | Won | ||||
| 2023 | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Pacifiction | Won | [16] | |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||||
| Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| Best Editing | Nominated |
Other awards:
- Honor of the Knights (2006)
- 2006 Viennale Directors' Fortnight – FIPRESCI Prize[17][18][19]
- Best Feature Film, also Holden Award for Best Script – Special Mention, at the 2006 Torino Film Festival[20]
- Grand Prize at the 2006 Entrevues Belfort film festival[21]
- Best Emerging Director and Best Film in Catalan Language awards, 2006 Barcelona Cinema Awards[22]
- Selected by Cahiers du Cinéma as one of the 10 best films of 2007.[23][24][25]
- Birdsong (2008)
- 2008 Cannes Directors' Fortnight[26]
- Grand Prize at the 2008 Split International Film Festival
- Grand Prize at the 2008 Entrevues Belfort film festival[27]
- Story of My Death (2013)
- Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival[28][29][30]
- Silver Puma for Best Director at the 2014 UNAM International Film Festival (FICUNAM)[31]
- Best wardrobe at the 2014 Gaudí Awards[32]
- The Death of Louis XIV (2016)
- Toronto International Film Festival – Official Selection[33]
- New York Film Festival – Official Selection[34]
- Winner in feature film category, 2016 Prix Jean Vigo[35]
- Best International Film at the 2016 Jerusalem Film Festival[36]
- Pacifiction (2022)
- 10th Feroz Awards – Nomination for the Arrebato Award (Fiction)[37]
- Tromsø International Film Festival - Winner FIPRESCI Prize [38]
- International Cinephile Society - Best Director (2022), Ex Aqueo with Laura Citadella (Trenque Lauquen) [39]
- Selected by Cahiers du Cinéma as the best film of 2022 [40]