Néstor Almendros
Spanish cinematographer (1930-1992)
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Néstor Almendros Cuyás, ASC (30 October 1930 – 4 March 1992) was a Spanish cinematographer.
30 October 1930
Néstor Almendros | |
|---|---|
Néstor Almendros (right) in 1968 | |
| Born | Néstor Almendros Cuyás 30 October 1930 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Died | 4 March 1992 (aged 61) New York City, U.S. |
Resting place | Calders, Catalonia, Spain |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Years active | 1950–1991 |
| Organization | American Society of Cinematographers |
He was one of the most highly appraised contemporary cinematographers,[1] having a working collaboration with filmmakers François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer and Robert Benton, while winning an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven.
Early life
Almendros was born in Barcelona, Spain.
At the age of 18, he moved to Cuba to join his exiled anti-Francisco Franco father. While staying in Havana, he wrote film reviews.
Almendros then went on to study film in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
He directed six shorts in Cuba and two in New York City.
Career
Early career
After the Cuban Revolution ended in 1959, Almendros returned to Spain and made several documentaries about the Castro regime. But after two of his shorts (Gente en la playa and La tumba francesa) were banned, he moved to Paris.
French New Wave
Almemdros became the favorite collaborator of French New Wave director Éric Rohmer. In the early 70s, he also started working with François Truffaut, Barbet Schroeder and other directors.
Hollywood career
Director Terrence Malick admired Almendros' work on Truffaut’s The Wild Child (1970), prompting him to hire Almendros to shoot Days of Heaven (1978), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Almendros was impressed by Malick's knowledge of photography and his willingness to use little studio lighting. The film's cinematography was modeled after silent films, which often used natural light.[2]
Along with three other nominations for Best Cinematography, Almendros became the Spanish person with the most nominations in Academy history.
Later career
In his later years, Almendros co-directed two documentaries about the human rights situation in Cuba: Improper Conduct (1984) about the persecution of gay people in the country; and Nadie escuchaba (Nobody Listened), about the alleged arrest, imprisonment and torture of former comrades of Fidel Castro.
Almendros also shot several prestigious advertisements for Giorgio Armani (directed by Martin Scorsese), Calvin Klein (directed by Richard Avedon) and Freixenet.
Legacy and honors
Human Rights Watch International has named an award after him by establishing the Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking and it is given every year at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.[3]
In 1980, Almendros won the César Award for François Truffaut's The Last Metro.[4]
Death
In 1992, Néstor Almendros died of AIDS-related lymphoma in New York City at the age of 61.[5][6][7]
Filmography
Cinematographer
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Una confusión cotidiana | Himself Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
|
| 1964 | Nadja à Paris | Éric Rohmer | |
| 1965 | Saint-Germain-des-Prés | Jean Douchet | Segments of Six in Paris |
| Place de l'Etoile | Éric Rohmer | ||
| 1989 | Life Lessons | Martin Scorsese | Segment of New York Stories |
Feature film
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | La Brigade des maléfices | Claude Guillemot | Episode "La créature" |
Documentary works
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | El Tomate | Fausto Canel | |
| Cooperativas Agropecuarias | |||
| 1960 | Gente en la playa | Himself | |
| 1966 | Une étudiante d'aujourd'hui | Éric Rohmer | |
| 1967 | La journée d'un journaliste | Himself | |
| 1971 | Le cochon aux patates douces | Barbet Schroeder | |
| Maquillages | |||
| Sing Sing | |||
| 1983 | L'Assemblea de Catalunya | Carlos Durán | With Juan Amorós |
| 1990 | Made in Milan | Martin Scorsese |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Fermière à Montfaucon | Éric Rohmer | TV short |
| 1972 | Chroniques de France | Jacques Scandelari Max Gérard Jean-Daniel Simon |
Episode "Chroniques de France N° 82" |
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1975 | The Gentleman Tramp | Richard Patterson | With Bruce Logan |
| 1977 | Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou | Roberto Rossellini | |
| 1978 | Koko: A Talking Gorilla | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1988 | Imagine: John Lennon | Andrew Solt |
Director
Short film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Una confusión cotidiana | Co-directed with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
Documentary short
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Gente en la playa | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Ritmo de Cuba | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 1967 | La journée d'un journaliste | Yes | No | No | |
| 1968 | Retour d'Henri Langlois à Paris | Yes | No | No | Co-directed with Bernard Eisenschitz |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Escuelas rurales | Yes | No | No | |
| 1984 | Improper Conduct | Yes | Yes | No | Co-directed with Orlando Jiménez Leal |
| 1987 | Nadie escuchaba | Yes | No | Yes | Co-directed with Jorge Ulla |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Days of Heaven | Won |
| 1979 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Nominated | ||
| 1980 | The Blue Lagoon | Nominated | ||
| 1982 | Sophie's Choice | Nominated | ||
| 1978 | British Society of Cinematographers | Best Cinematography in a Feature Film | Days of Heaven | Nominated |
| 1978 | César Awards | Best Cinematography | The Green Room | Nominated |
| 1979 | Perceval le Gallois | Nominated | ||
| 1980 | The Last Metro | Won | ||
| 1982 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Cinematographer | Sophie's Choice | Won |
| 1984 | Places in the Heart | Nominated |