José Juan Bigas Luna (19 March 1946 – 5 April 2013) was a Spanish
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
, designer and artist. His films are typically characterised by a strong emphasis on the
erotic, often related to food, something for which he admitted a strong passion. His work often explores and parodies clichés of Spanish identity, but he had an international career and has made films in Spanish, Catalan, Italian, French and English.
Biography
Early career
Bigas Luna was born on March 19, 1946, in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.
He began his professional career working in interior and industrial design, creating the
Estudio Gris with
Carlos Riart in 1969. His designs during the 1960s showed a great interest in
conceptual art and the emerging visual technologies.
[Obituary, The Guardian, Sunday 7 April 2013](_blank)
/ref> He won the Gold Delta Award ADI/FAD 1970.
He moved into movie making in the 1970s, making low-budget shorts with erotic themes. In 1976 he shot his first feature film, ''Tattoo'', achieving notoriety in 1978 with the sexually explicit ''Bilbao'', which was selected for 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 ...
.
Organic farm
In 1986 he retired to Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...
in order to devote his time to painting, while raising his three daughters. He and his wife Celia ran an organic farm which produced wine, ham and other organic products. Luna enjoyed the life of a ''bon vivant''.
Return to film
In 1990 the producer Andrés Vicente Gómez
Andrés Vicente Gómez (born 16 September 1943 in Madrid) is a Spanish film producer, head of Lolafilms, with more than 100 films to his credit.
Career
Gómez is the winner of an Oscar in the category of Best Foreign Language film for ''Belle � ...
persuaded him to return to cinema and entrusted to him the direction of ''Las edades de Lulú
''The Ages of Lulu'' () is a 1990 Spanish erotic drama film written and directed by Bigas Luna and starring Francesca Neri, Óscar Ladoire, María Barranco and Javier Bardem in his film debut. It is based on the novel of the same name by Almuden ...
'' (The Ages of Lulu), an erotic drama about a young woman exploring extreme sexual practices. This was a commercial success. Without abandoning his dedication to painting and photography, reflected in numerous exhibitions, he began the well-known "Iberian Trilogy" with ''Jamón Jamón
''Jamón jamón'' (; ) is a 1992 Spanish Romance film, romantic tragicomedy film directed by Bigas Luna and starring Javier Bardem, Jordi Mollà and Penélope Cruz in her debut film. It centers on a young woman named Silvia (Cruz) who becomes pr ...
'' ("Ham, Ham", 1992), ''Huevos de Oro
''Golden Balls'' () is a 1993 film directed by Bigas Luna which stars Javier Bardem.
Plot
Benito González is a flamboyant engineer in Melilla, with a brash and pushy personality. His dream is to build the tallest building ever in the region. Aft ...
'' ("Golden Balls", 1993) and ''La teta y la luna
''The Tit and the Moon'' () is a 1994 Spanish/French film, directed by Bigas Luna. It entered the competition at the 51st Venice International Film Festival.Edoardo Pittalis, Roberto Pugliese, ''Bella di Notte'', August 1996.
Plot
The film is ab ...
'' ("The Tit and the Moon", 1994). These films "explored the darkest depths of eroticism and stereotypical Spanish machismo." ''Jamón Jamón'', which launched the careers of both Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. In a career spanning over three decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, tw ...
and the 16-year-old Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Prolific in Spanish and English-language films, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, a David di Donatello and three Goya Awards.
Cru ...
was a major international success and won the Silver Lion at Venice in 1992. Cruz returned in ''Volavérunt'' (1999), a film about the relationship between Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...
and the Duchess of Alba
Duke of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, wa ...
.
Subsequently, with the short film for the internet '' Collar de Moscas'' (2001), he revived his interest in avant-garde
In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
experimentation and audiovisual formats and at the same time he discovered a vocation for the investigation of digital cinema after the creation of the ''Taller Bigas Luna'' project with Catalina Pons in 1999. The experience in the Taller introduced them to the world of new technologies and in 2002 they promoted ''PLATAFORM BL'', dedicated to the creation and promotion of innovative projects and new talents.
Other projects
Bigas Luna's varied career as a filmmaker, painter and designer made him a very singular and interdisciplinary artist. An example of that is his project called ''"Microcosmos"'', an evolution of the earlier Cares de l'Ànima
The Cares is a river in Northern Spain that flows through the autonomous communities of Asturias and León until it joins the Deva River and flows into the Atlantic Ocean at the Bay of Biscay. It forms the Tina Mayor estuary, the natural border ...
which was exhibited in the Galería Metropolitana de Barcelona in 1990. It can now be found on a web site (see external links below), where the visitor can modify and select the works and become, in this way, the creator.
Bigas Luna directed and produced a large-scale multimedia installation for the Spain Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, named ''Origins'', as the first part of the Pavilion's trilogy on exhibition. The installation fused live Flamenco dance, sculpture and videos on more than 20 projectors.
From 2008 to 2012, Bigas took on the art direction of the oldest musical café in Europe, El Plata, in Zaragoza (Spain). There, he created a cabaret show classified as "Cabaret Ibérico" based on parodies, eroticism, the old burlesque, etc., accompanied by the typical dishes from Spain, such as paella
Paella (, , , , ; ) is a rice dish originally from the Valencian Community. ''Paella'' is regarded as one of the community's identifying symbols. It is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine.
The dish takes its name from the wide, sha ...
, ham or Spanish omelette.
Death
Bigas Luna died of leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
on 5 April 2013, while working on the film adaptation of Manuel de Pedrolo
Manuel de Pedrolo i Molina (; 1918 – 1990) was a Catalan author of novels, short stories, poetry and plays. He's mostly known for his sci-fi novel ''Mecanoscrit del segon origen'' ('' Typescript of the Second Origin'').
Mini-biography
Manue ...
's novel ''Mecanoscrit del segon origen''.[El cinema perd Bigas Luna](_blank)
Vilaweb, 5 April 2013
Filmography
*''Tatuaje
Tatuaje is a brand of handmade premium cigar owned by Tatuaje Cigars, Inc. It was founded by Pete Johnson, with the assistance of Pepin Garcia, José Garcia. The cigars are manufactured at the Pepin Garcia#The El Rey de los Habanos factory, El Re ...
'' (1976), director
*''Historias impúdicas
''Stories'' is the fifth studio album released on April 19, 1994, by Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Jason Birchmeier awarded the album 4.5 stars: "If you were to pick only one Ricardo Arjona, Arj ...
'' (1977), director
*''Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
'' (1978), director
*'' Caniche'' (1979), director
*'' Reborn'' (1981), director
*''Lola
Lola may refer to:
Places
* Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama
* Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States
* Lola Prefecture, Guinea
* Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture
* Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands
People
* Lol ...
'' (1986), director
*''Anguish
Anguish (from the Latin ''angustia'' "distress") is "extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering." The feeling of anguish is typically preceded by a tragedy or event that has a profound meaning to the being in question. Anguish can ...
'' (1987), writer and director
*''Las edades de Lulú
''The Ages of Lulu'' () is a 1990 Spanish erotic drama film written and directed by Bigas Luna and starring Francesca Neri, Óscar Ladoire, María Barranco and Javier Bardem in his film debut. It is based on the novel of the same name by Almuden ...
'' (1990), director
*'' Jamón, jamón'' (1992), director
*''Huevos de oro
''Golden Balls'' () is a 1993 film directed by Bigas Luna which stars Javier Bardem.
Plot
Benito González is a flamboyant engineer in Melilla, with a brash and pushy personality. His dream is to build the tallest building ever in the region. Aft ...
'' (1993), director
*''La teta y la luna
''The Tit and the Moon'' () is a 1994 Spanish/French film, directed by Bigas Luna. It entered the competition at the 51st Venice International Film Festival.Edoardo Pittalis, Roberto Pugliese, ''Bella di Notte'', August 1996.
Plot
The film is ab ...
'' (1994), director
*''Lumière et compagnie'' (1996), director
*'' Bámbola'' (1996), director
*'' La Femme de chambre du Titanic'' (1997), director
*'' Volavérunt'' (1999), director
*'' Son de mar'' (2001), director
*''Yo soy la Juani
''My Name Is Juani'' () is a 2006 Spanish drama film directed by Bigas Luna. Verónica Echegui stars as the title character alongside Dani Martín and Laya Martí.
Plot
Juani comes from a very poor background, having grown up in a slummy neighbor ...
'' (2006), director
*''Di Di Hollywood
''Di Di Hollywood'' is a 2010 Spanish drama film written, directed and produced by Bigas Luna. It stars Elsa Pataky, Peter Coyote, and Paul Sculfor. It was released in Spain on 15 October 2010. It was Luna's final film before his death from le ...
'' (2010), director
References
External links
*
Microcosmos
Hanna - Film music Yo soy la Juani
El Plata Cabaret
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luna, Bigas
1946 births
2013 deaths
Film directors from Catalonia
Film directors from Barcelona
Deaths from leukemia in Spain