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Fernando de Fuentes

Mexican film director From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fernando de Fuentes Carrau[a] (December 13, 1894 – July 4, 1958) was a Mexican film director, considered a pioneer in the film industry worldwide. He is perhaps best known for directing the films El prisionero trece, El compadre Mendoza, and Vámonos con Pancho Villa, all part of his Revolution Trilogy on the Mexican Revolution.

Born(1894-12-13)December 13, 1894
Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
DiedJuly 4, 1958(1958-07-04) (aged 63)
Mexico City, Mexico
OccupationsFilm director, screenwriter, film producer
Yearsactive1932–1958
Quick facts Born, Died ...
Fernando de Fuentes
Born(1894-12-13)December 13, 1894
Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
DiedJuly 4, 1958(1958-07-04) (aged 63)
Mexico City, Mexico
OccupationsFilm director, screenwriter, film producer
Years active1932–1958
Notable work
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Biography

Early life and education

De Fuentes Carrau was born in Veracruz on December 13, 1894, and spent part of his adolescence in Monterrey. He studied philosophy and engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans.[1]

Career

On his return to Mexico he worked as executive assistant of Venustiano Carranza during the Mexican Revolution. After his marriage in 1919, he moved to Washington, D.C., and worked at the Mexican Embassy. Back in Mexico, he wrote poetry and undertook journalism as a hobby, and worked in the film industry in exhibition. In 1932 he made his first film, El Anónimo, and in the same year Una Vida por Otra, in 1933 El prisionero trece, La calandria, El Tigre de Yautepec and El compadre Mendoza, considered one of his masterpieces, in the Mexican Revolution Trilogy, (El Compadre Mendoza, Vámonos con Pancho Villa and El prisionero trece).

In 1934 he directed El Fantasma del Convento, and Cruz Diablo. In 1935 he made Vámonos Pancho Villa, and La Familia Dressel, in 1936 Las Mujeres Mandan and one of the greatest hits in the history of the Mexican cinema, Alla en el Rancho Grande – a film that developed a complete new genre the "comedia ranchera", with this film he was awarded the Medalla al Mérito Cinematográfico by President Lázaro Cárdenas. This film also won first place at the Venice Film Festival in 1938. It was the first International award won by a Mexican film.

Described as "the Mexican John Ford" (New York Times), Fernando de Fuentes was by far the most talented filmmaker of early Mexican sound cinema. This tragic trilogy set during the Mexican Revolution was possibly his greatest achievement. Prisoner 13 (1933, 76 mins.) concerns a son who pays for his father's faults and a desperate mother who tries at all costs to save her son's life. El Compadre Mendoza (1933, 85 mins.) examines the corrupted ideals of the Revolution by way of an opportunistic landowner, who must choose between remaining loyal to a general in Zapata's army (and facing financial ruin) or saving his own skin. Lastly, Fuentes' sweeping epic Let's Go with Pancho Villa (1936, 92 mins.) follows the adventures of six young men who leave their rural homes to join Pancho Villa's army, enduring hardship, loss, and disillusionment over the Revolution in the process. Shot by Gabriel Figueroa (The Fugitive), one of the world's most gifted black and white cinematographers.

His filmography covers almost all the different genres from drama, comedy, horror, family, historical, to classics and documentaries.

Marriage and children

De Fuentes married Magdalena Reyes Moran in San Antonio, Texas, in 1919. They had two children, Magdalena and Fernando.

Death

Fernando de Fuentes died on July 4, 1958, in Mexico City, aged 63.[1]

Filmography

Director

Producer

Writer

Editor

Notes

  1. [a]
    In this Mexican name, the surname is de Fuentes and the second or maternal family name is Carrau.

References

External links

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