Alejandro Amenábar

Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born 31 March 1972) is a Spanish film director. Amenábar was born in Santiago, Chile to a Spanish mother and Chilean father, but the family moved to Spain just one year after his birth. He studied cinema at Madrid's Universidad Complutense but eventually dropped out. In addition to writing and directing his own films, Amenábar has maintained a notable career as a composer of film scores, including the Goya Awards-nominated score for José Luis Cuerda's La lengua de las mariposas. Amenábar was awarded the Grand Prix of the Jury at the International Venice Film Festival in 2004 for Mar adentro ("The Sea Inside"), and in February 2005 the same film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In February 2004, Amenábar came out to the Spanish gay magazine Shangay Express. Amenábar shot in 2008 an epic film called Ágora which he wrote with Mateo Gil. The film is set in Roman Egypt and is based on the life of philosopher and mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria.

Works

The Captive

1575 Algiers, Miguel de Cervantes, a wounded 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs. Faced with a ticking clock, a cruel death awaits him should his fellow countrymen fail to pay his ransom soon; but within the confines of his cell, Cervantes discovers a surprising refuge - the art of storytelling.

Release Date: 2025-10-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

La Fortuna

Young diplomat Álex Ventura teams with a combative public official and a brilliant American lawyer to recover treasure stolen by Frank Wild, who travels the world plundering historic items from the ocean.

Release Date: 2021-10-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 6

Vote Count: 32

While at War

Salamanca, Spain, 1936. In the early days of the military rebellion that began the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), writer Miguel de Unamuno supports the uprising in the hope that the prevailing political chaos will end. But when the confrontation becomes bloody, Unamuno must question his initial position.

Release Date: 2019-09-27

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 287

Danielle

Release Date: 2017-11-11

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 10

Regression

Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner investigates the case of young Angela, who accuses her father, John Gray, of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.

Release Date: 2015-10-01

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 1811

Vale

A group of Spanish friends meet a girl who speaks English called Rachel. Victor is one of them but his English is not good enough to talk with Rachel.

Release Date: 2015-06-15

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 1

Touching Death: Alejandro Amenábar on 'Tesis'

Release Date: 2014-06-25

Character: Self

Spanish Movie

Large doses of humor, ingenious nods to Spain's most recent national cinema, an artistic cast highly linked to comedy and a high reserve of surprises constitute the ingredients of this crazy comedy: Spanish Movie.

Release Date: 2009-12-03

Character: Reflejo espejo

Vote Count: 180

Agora

A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria and her relationship with her slave Davus, who is torn between his love for her and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity.

Release Date: 2009-05-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 1460

Spectre

After the sudden death of his wife, Tomás, a successful elderly writer who has been out of Spain during the last forty years, unexpectedly receives an old tarot card which seems to have for him a disturbing meaning, so he decides to return to the small village where he grew up.

Release Date: 2006-09-27

Character: Man Looking at Statue (uncredited)

Vote Count: 44

The Sea Inside

Ramón Sampedro is a ship mechanic and part-time poet left a quadriplegic following a diving accident. Ramón fought for 30 years for the legal right to end his own life. He develops close relationships with his long-term lawyer Julia and his friend Rosa, who tries to convince him that his life is worth living. Despite his situation, Ramón manages to inspire those around him to live life to the fullest.

Release Date: 2004-09-03

Department: Production

Job: Producer

Vote Count: 947

Kulturplatz

Release Date: 2004-09-01

Character: Self

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 1

Vanilla Sky

David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.

Release Date: 2001-12-14

Department: Writing

Job: Original Film Writer

Vote Count: 4286

The Others

Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.

Release Date: 2001-08-02

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Vote Count: 6702

Nobody Knows Anybody

Simón is an aspiring novelist who makes a living designing crossword puzzles for a newspaper. One day he receives a threatening message instructing him to include the word "adversary" in a puzzle as Seville gets hit by a series of violent attacks.

Release Date: 1999-11-26

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Character:

Vote Count: 43

Butterfly

The film centres on Moncho and his coming-of-age experience in Galicia in 1936. Moncho develops a close relationship with his teacher Don Gregorio who introduces the boy to different things in the world. While the story centres on Moncho's ordinary coming-of-age experiences, tensions related to the looming Spanish Civil War periodically interrupt Moncho's personal growth and daily life.

Release Date: 1999-09-24

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Vote Count: 232

Allanamiento de morada

Two salesmen arrive at an old woman's house to offer her a great deal.

Release Date: 1998-01-01

Department: Sound

Job: Music

Vote Count: 1

Open Your Eyes

A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.

Release Date: 1997-12-19

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 1079

Thesis

While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured to death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student at her college...

Release Date: 1996-04-11

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 855

Lo + plus

Release Date: 1995-04-04

Character: Self - Guest

Episode Count: 1

Luna

An early short by Alejandro Amenábar.

Release Date: 1995-01-01

Department: Sound

Job: Original Music Composer

Character: Waiter

Vote Count: 2

Himenóptero

Release Date: 1992-01-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Character: Bosco

Vote Count: 5