Julio Medem Lafont (born 21 October 1958) is a Basque film director, producer, editor, and screenwriter.

Biography

Medem was born on 21 October 1958 in

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the ...

, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when he would take his father's Super 8 camera and shoot at night, while nobody was paying attention. After college graduation (where he earned degrees in Medicine and

General Surgery General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thy ...

) he worked as a film critic and later as a screenwriter, assistant director and editor. After a few shorts he directed his first full-length feature, ''

Vacas ''Vacas'' (English: ''Cows'') is a 1991 Spanish film, written and directed by Julio Médem. The film stars Carmelo Gómez, Emma Suárez, Ana Torrent, and Karra Elejalde. An eerie family saga set in rural Basque Country, the cryptic film follo ...

'' ('Cows') for which he won a

Goya Award The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...

. After this film he directed ''

The Red Squirrel ''The Red Squirrel'' ( es, La ardilla roja, links=no) is a 1993 Spanish drama film directed by Julio Médem, starring Emma Suárez, Nancho Novo and María Barranco. Plot Jota, a failed musician whose girlfriend has recently left him, is about ...

'' and ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

'', both receiving good reviews at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

. His next film, '' Lovers of the Arctic Circle'', has been compared to the works of

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...

. In 2002 was released his following film, '' Sex and Lucia''. Medem explored the documentary format with his next production ''

La pelota vasca ''The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone'' ( es, La pelota vasca: la piel contra la piedra; eu, Euskal pilota: larrua harriaren kontra) is a 2003 Spanish documentary film written and directed by Julio Medem. Overview The film's purported intention i ...

'' ('The Basque Ball'), a film about the political problems of the Basque Country, which caused a furor amongst some victims of terrorism and far right politicians. Following this, his film ''

Caótica Ana ''Chaotic Ana'' ( es, Caótica Ana, links=no) is a 2007 Spanish drama film written, directed, and edited by Julio Medem which stars Manuela Vellés as the title character. Plot A synopsis prior to the release of the film stated: :"''Caotica An ...

'' debuted in 2007.

Filmography as director

Feature films

Narrative films

* ''

Cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

'' (1996) * '' Lovers of the Arctic Circle'' (1998) * '' Sex and Lucia'' (2001) * '' Chaotic Ana'' (2007) * ''

Room in Rome ''Room in Rome'' ( es, Habitación en Roma, links=no) is a 2010 Spanish erotic romantic comedy-drama film directed by Julio Medem starring Elena Anaya and Natasha Yarovenko, depicting the emotional and sexual relations of two women throughout a ...

'' (2010) * 7 days in Havana (2011) (Segment la tentacion de Cecilia) * '' Ma Ma'' (2015) * '' The Tree of Blood'' (2018)

Documentary film

* '' The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone'' (2003)

Short films

Super 8

* ''El ciego'' (''The Blind'', 1974) * ''El jueves pasado'' (''Last Thursday'', 1977) * ''Fideos'' (''Noodles'', 1979) * ''Si yo fuera poeta...'' (''If I Were a Poet'', 1981) * ''Teatro en Soria'' (''Theatre in Soria'', 1982)

35 mm

* ''Patas en la cabeza'' (''Nutty As a Fruitcake'', 1985) * ''Las seis en punta'' (''Six on the Dot'', 1987) * ''Martín'' (commissioned by

TVE TVE may stand for: Television * Televisión Española, a Spanish state-owned public-service television broadcaster ** TVE HD, a high-definition channel run by Televisión Española * Televisão Educativa, a defunct Brazilian TV network * TV Eduk ...

for their ''Siete huellas, siete'' 'Seven Tracks, Seven''series of short films, 1988) * ''El Diario Vasco'' (''The Basque Daily'', 1989)

DV

* ''Asi se hizo "Airbag"'' (making of Juanma Bajo Ulloa's film ''Airbag'', 1997) * ''Clecla'' (commissioned by notodofilmfest.com, 2001) * ''La pelota vasca'' (segment of ''¡Hay motivo!'' 'There Is Reason!'' 2003) * ''En las ramas de Ana'' (''In Ana's Branches'', commissioned by :es:Fotogramas and

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

for their ''N_ature movies'' series of short films, 2007) * ''Concha'' (''Mussel'', video installation commissioned by

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 te ...

and shown at

Expo 2008 Expo 2008 was an international exposition held in the year 2008 from 14 June (Saturday) to 14 September (Sunday) in Zaragoza, Spain, with the theme of "Water and Sustainable Development". The exposition was placed in a meander of the river Eb ...

, 2008)

Music video

* "Océano de sol" for Antonio Vega (1994)

Commercials

* ''Runner'' for

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. ...

's ''Attitudes'' campaign (agency: El Sindicato, 1999/2000) * ''Soplo/Tendedero'' (''Waft/Clothesline'') and ''Mediterraneo'' (''Mediterranean'') for Balay (agency: FCB Tapsa, 2002) * ''Vecina'' (''Neighbour'') and ''Brazalete'' (''Bracelet'') for

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Feb ...

(agency: Dayax, 2003)

Tv Series

* Jai Alai ( 2023)

Books

* Aspasia Amante De Atenas (2013)

Notes

External links

*
JulioMedem.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medem, Julio 1958 births Living people People from San Sebastián Film directors from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Spanish documentary filmmakers Spanish people of French descent Spanish people of German descent 20th-century Spanish screenwriters 20th-century Spanish male writers University of the Basque Country alumni 21st-century Spanish screenwriters