Huerga, Manuel

(1957- )

   Manuel Huerga came to film after developing a career as a designer and in alternative visual arts. In the 1970s, he worked on experimental shorts, and in the 1980s, he went on to direct the video department of the Miró Foundation in Barcelona, working on some avant-garde television experiences. The most important of these was Gaudí (1989), a mock documentary on the famous Catalan architect. He made a name as the director and coordinator for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. His first film, Antártida (Antarctica, 1995), evidenced a strong personality and an original outlook. It was a road movie about two heroin addicts that made use of a number of experimental devices and a bold approach to images.

   More than 10 years passed before he tackled his second feature. Salvador (2006) was based on the life story of one of the last men executed by Francisco Franco's government. Again, he used a series of distancing editing devices and resorted to different textures to provide a vivid picture of complex, violent times, and as a way to reflect the ambiguities of memories.

   Historical Dictionary of Spanish Cinema by Alberto Mira