THE CHILEAN DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER WILL RECEIVE THE AWARD AT THE OPENING CEREMONY ON JUNE 9TH, WHERE HIS LATEST FEATURE FILM SPENCER WILL BE SCREENED. HIS FILMOGRAPHY INCLUDES SEVERAL OSCAR NOMINATIONS WITH INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED TITLES SUCH AS POST MORTEM, NO, THE CLUB, NERUDA, AND JACKIE.
The 51st Huesca International Film Festival will present the Carlos Saura City of Huesca Award to Chilean director and producer Pablo Larraín. The award recognizes one of the most globally renowned careers in the Ibero-American film industry. The festival in Huesca will pay tribute to his work during the opening ceremony on June 9th at the Teatro Olimpia. The event will also honor the recently deceased master of cinema from Alto Aragon who gives his name to the tribute, during what will be the first edition after his passing. “Recognizing Pablo Larraín’s career in such an emotional year is something very special for the festival. His name is a worldwide reference with over a hundred awards and recognitions at the most important festivals. He has created an iconic filmography with his own distinctive style. For all these reasons, we believe that he perfectly represents the spirit of the award, and honors the memory of the Huesca genius after whom the award is named” says Estela Rasal, director of the festival. The evening will conclude with a screening of the latest work by the South American filmmaker: Spencer, a film that brings to the big screen a crucial moment in the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and stars Kristen Stewart in a role that earned her nominations for both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes for Best Leading Actress.
Born in Santiago de Chile, Pablo Larraín made his debut as a director with Fuga in 2006, a co-production between Chile and Argentina that was awarded as the Best Latin American Film at the Málaga Festival, as well as recognitions in Trieste, Cartagena, and Montreal. Three years later, he premiered his second work, Tony Manero, at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, a film that earned him international recognition within the industry, with awards in Rotterdam, Warsaw, Turin, Havana, and Istanbul. His subsequent films would take him to the world’s major festivals: Post Mortem (2010) competed in the Official Selection at the Venice Film Festival, No (2012) marked his return to the French Croisette and received a nomination for the Academy Awards, while El Club (2015) won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as nominations for the Golden Globes, four Fénix Awards (including Best Picture), and the Platinum Award for Best Screenplay. In 2016, Neruda, a film about the iconic Chilean poet and politician, brought him back to the red carpet of the French Riviera and the Golden Globes, and also won the Fénix Award for Best Picture, Best Editing, and Best Costume Design.
ACCLAIMED IN IBEROAMERICA, EUROPE, AND HOLLYWOOD
With a prolific career in Iberoamerica, he made the leap to Hollywood and has been combining both industries ever since. He conquered the North American film industry with Jackie (2016) and the Oscar-winning actress, Natalie Portman in the role of the widow of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The film won the award for Best Screenplay at Venice, three Oscar nominations, and one for the Golden Globes. After this success, he would release Ema, also selected for the Italian festival. His most recent work is Spencer, about Diana of Wales, with which he would once again be in contention for the Golden Lion, and where his protagonist (Kristen Stewart) would be recognized with multiple awards, including those from various critics associations in the United States, including Denver, Seattle, Dallas, and Chicago.
His love for the art of cinema goes far beyond his work. Along with his brother Juan de Dios, he founded the production company Fabula, with which he has developed his own projects and those of other filmmakers. Under this label, he has supported talents such as fellow Chilean Sebastián Lelio, with whom he worked on, among others, A Fantastic Woman, winner of the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
Currently, he is working on several projects, including María, a production about Maria Callas in which Angelina Jolie has been confirmed to play the Greek-American soprano, one of the most admired voices in the history of opera and an icon in the collective imagination.
The Carlos Saura City of Huesca Award was created in 1991, but it wasn’t until 2019 that it took its current name with the endorsement of the master filmmaker from Huesca himself. The director of films such as Cría Cuervos, La Caza, Carmen, and ¡Ay Carmela! was the first to receive it in 1991, and since then, names like Fernando Trueba, Arturo Ripstein, and Julio Medem have been honored with this tribute. In 2014, it was redefined with the idea of awarding talent and projection; prominent figures such as Paula Ortiz, Isabel Peña and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Anna Castillo, Michel Franco, and Diego Luna last year, are some of the recognized figures in the last decade.
