Isaki Lacuesta

ISAKI LACUESTA _ Director, scriptwriter, producer

Isaki Lacuesta (1975, Girona) has written and directed ten feature films (between documentary and fiction) and several documentaries for TV.

"Un año una noche" (2022) was presented in the Official competition of Berlin International Film Festival, and his previous film, "Entre dos aguas" (2018) was awarded with the Golden Shell to the best film in San Sebastian, best film and best actor in Mar del Plata, Fotogramas del Plata for the best Spanish Film of the year and seven Gaudi awards (including best film and director).

His films have been shown at festivals around the world and in prestigious artistic centers such as MOMA in New York, the National Gallery in Washington (which dedicated a complete retrospective to him in 2013), Lincoln Center and Anthology Film Archives (New York). The Paris Centre Pompidou dedicated to his work a complete retrospective of his films (November 2018- January 2019) and the book "Le Cinéma d'Isaki Lacuesta" .

Among other awards in his career, he has received the Golden Shell for the Best International film in San Sebastian Film Festival (twice), Generalitat de Catalunya National Cinematic Prize, the Golden FIPA in the Biarritz International Audiovisual Programs, Gaudi for the Best Film (three times).

Other retrospectives have been dedicated to Lacuesta in Switzerland (2016 Swiss Cinematheque), Italy (Poppoli Film Festival 2012, Florence), France (Toulouse Film Festival 2012), Germany (Tübingen Film Festival 2012), Colombia (Cali International Film Festival 2010), etc.

In 2009, the publisher Phaidon Publishing House chose Lacuesta for their book ‘Take 100: The Future of Film’ as one of the directors destined to mark the future of world cinema, chosen by the artistic directors of the ten most prestigious film festivals in the world. His project with the Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase, In Between Days (2009), was presented at the Locarno Film Festival.

 

He has made several short films and installations for exhibitions and written several feature and documentary scripts (Goya Prize for Best Documentary for Garbo: the spy). He was professor of cinema (Masters in documentary film at the Pompeu Fabra University and the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, among others) and collaborated in different media writing articles about cinema, music and literature. Lacuesta has collaborated with architects (RCR, Pritzker Prize in 2017), musicians (El Teatre Magnetic, Albert Pla, Pau Riba, Kiko Veneno, Refree, Victor Nubla, Anahit Simonian & Greg Cohen...), painters (Miquel Barceló, Frederic Amat, Antoni Tàpies...), poets (Josep Palau i Fabre, Enric Casasses, Perejaume...) and contemporary dancers (Cesc Gelabert, with whom codirected “Tranç”).

Lacuesta was co-curator of the Catalon Pavilion in the Venice Architecture Biennale (2016) and has worked with RCR in the exhibitions about their architectural work “Papers” (Barcelona, 2015) and ICO (Madrid, 2016).

Filmography (feature films)

 

2022. “One year one night.

Berlinale, official competition.

Signis Prize.

 

2018. “Entre dos aguas”.

Golden Shell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 2017.

 

2015 _ The Next Skin(Co-directed with Isa Campo).

Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Official Selection.

Goya best supporting actress.

Gaudi Best Film, best Script, best main actress.

Sant Jordi Award best Spanish film of the year, best actress.

Malaga film festival: best director, best actress, best edition, Special prize of the Jury, Critics prize, Youth audience award.

Toulouse Film Festival: best actor.

Días de cine TVE awards: best actress.

2014 _ Dying Beyond Their Means

San Sebastian Film Festival (2014, official selection, non competition).

2011 _ The Double Steps

Golden Shell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 2011.

Best Film in the Guadalajara International Film Festival 2011.

2011 _ The Clay Diaries

San Sebastian international Film Festival 2011, Zabaltegi.

Golden FIPA in the Biarritz International Audiovisual Programs Festival 2012.

2010 _ All the Night Long (TCM)

San Sebastian 2010 (Zabaltegi).

Malaga Film Festival (2011, official selection, non-competition).

Audience Award at the Memorimages Festival 2010.

Prize for Best Documentary in the Toulouse Cinespaña Festival 2011.

2009 _ The Damned

FIPRESCI Orize at San Sebastian Festival, Official Selection.Sant Jordi Prize for Best Actress: Bárbara Lennie.Critical Eye Award for Bárbara Lennie.Prize for Best Film in the Cuenca International Festival (Ecuador). SIGNIS Prize at the Buenos Aires Human Rights International Festival.

2006 _ The Legend of Time

Special Jury Prize for Best Film at Las Palmas Film Festival.Prize for Best Actor for Israel Gómez at Las Palmas Festival.Silver Apricot Prize at the Yerevan International Film Festival.Prizes for Best Film and Best Sound at Alcances Festival (Cádiz).Spanish Film Commission Prize at the San Sebastian Festival.Prizes for Best Film, Director and Script at the Cuenca International Film Festival (Ecuador). Catalan Critics Association Prize for Best Spanish Film of the Year.Audience Award at the Tuebingen Latin Film Festival.Special Jury Mention and Youth Jury Award at the Nantes Festival.

2002 _ Cravan vs Cravan

Sant Jordi Prize for Best Spanish Directorial Debut 2002.Audience Award and Best Breakout Director Award at the Sitges International Film Festival. Victoria Prize for Best Film at the Vitoria Film Festival.Special Jury Mention for Script and Direction at the Tudela Debut Film Festival.Cinema Rescat Prize for best use of archival footage in a film.

 

 

Photos Isaki Lacuesta by: Óscar Orengo, Jorge Fuembuena, Amanda Villavieja, Isa Campo