Archibaldo Burns Luján (7 April 1914 - 24 January 2011) was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

writer and film director. He was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1914. He is the descendant of the Scottish poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

Career as film director

He was sent to Europe at the age of 12, studying in England and then France. Upon his return to Mexico, he administered the cotton ranches of his family in Torreón, Coahuila. At the same time, he became interested in cinema. His first collaboration was with Alejandro Galindo in ''Refugiados en Madrid'' (1938). He also worked with

Chano Urueta Santiago Eduardo Urueta Sierra (24 February 1904 – 23 March 1979), more commonly known as Chano Urueta, was a Mexican film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Filmography Director *1928: ''El Destino (1928 film), El Destino'' *1933: ...

in ''La noche de los mayas'' (1939). His first solo effort as director was the short film ''Perfecto luna'' (1959), based on a story by

Elena Garro Elena Garro (December 11, 1916 – August 22, 1998) was a Mexican author, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, short story writer, and novelist. She has been described as one of the pioneers and an early leading figure of the Magical Realism move ...

. This movie was entered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

but had the misfortune of being shown in a defective copy. It was lost in a fire at the former Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City. Burns made his feature film debut with ''Juego de mentiras'' (1967); it was later released commercially under the title ''La venganza de la criada''. Other films such as ''Juan Pérez Jolote'' (1973), adapted from a novel by Ricardo Pozas, and the short film ''Un agujero en la niebla'' (1967) won awards at international film festivals. He also adapted and directed ''Oficio de tinieblas'' (1979), based on a novel by

Rosario Castellanos Rosario Castellanos Figueroa (; 25 May 1925 – 7 August 1974) was a Mexican poet and author. She was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century. Throughout her life, she wrote eloquently about issues of cultural and gend ...

. Some of his films suffered the censure of censors, such as ''El reventón'' (1975).

As a writer

As a writer, Burns has published novels (''En presencia de nadie'', 1964 and ''Botafumeiro'', 1994) and short stories (''Los presentes'', 1954 and ''El Cuerpo y el delito'', 1966). He was a student of Seki Sano, the Japanese director who taught in Mexico for many years. As a theatre director, he staged ''La paloma de Amuy'' by

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

in 1953.Obit
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Archibaldo Mexican film directors Mexican male writers 1914 births 2011 deaths