Julio Medem
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Julio Medem was born in San Sebastian in northern Spain. As a teenager
Medem made short movies with a super-8 camera owned by his father. Some
of those films are "El ciego" (1976), "El jueves pasado" (1977) and
"Fideos" (1979.) Wanting to know more about the darkest corners of the
human mind, Medem studied psychiatry. In 1985 Medem received a degree
in medicine from the University of the Basque Country. In 1986 Medem
directed "Patas en la cabeza," a 35MM short that won an award in the
international Festival of Bilbao. In 1987, after winning the Telenorte
prize for another short movie, "Las seis en punta", he decided to
become a professional filmmaker. Medem worked as assistant, editor and
screenwriter in differents projects for cinema and TV. He also wrote
several screenplays, but they were all refused by most of production
companies in Spain. Finally, in 1991, Medem received a call from a new
production company called SOGETEL. They were interested in his script
titled "Vacas," about the fight between two families during three
generations, from 1875 until 1936. Medem directed the film for SOGETEL
and it was released in 1992. "Vacas" was brilliantly received and
became a big success. It won the Goya Award from the Spanish academy
for best new director, and won prizes in the festivals of Tokyo, Torino
and Alexandria. In 1993 Medem made his second movie, "La ardilla roja."
"La ardilla roja" confirmed Medem's talents and won prizes in Fort
Lauderdale, Bogota and Bucarest. His third movie, "Tierra," released in
1996, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. In 1998 Medem released
"Los amantes del Circulo Polar," considered his best movie by most of
his fans. It also became a box-office hit with more than one million
spectators in Spain. "Los amantes del Circulo Polar" was also released
worldwide. In 2001 his fourth movie, "Lucia y el sexo," became a huge
hit and began the career of actress Paz Vega who won the Goya for best
new actress. In 2003 the release of "La pelota vasca," a documentary
that portrays the phenomenon of nationalism in the Basque Country of
northern Spain, was very polemical.
Julio Medem is for sure the most important and original Spanish filmmaker.
Julio Medem is for sure the most important and original Spanish filmmaker.
