Néstor Almendros
Néstor Almendros Cuyás, ASC (30 October 1930 – 4 March 1992) was a Spanish cinematographer. One of the most highly appraised contemporary cinematographers, "Almendros was an artist of deep integrity, who believed the most beautiful light was natural light...he will always be remembered as a cinematographer of absolute truth...a true master of light".[1]
Néstor Almendros | |
|---|---|
| Born | Néstor Almendros Cuyás 30 October 1930 Barcelona, Spain |
| Died | 4 March 1992 (aged 61) New York City, U.S. |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Organization | American Society of Cinematographers |
| Awards | |
Early life
Néstor Almendros Cuyás was born in Barcelona, Spain, but at the age of 18, he moved to Cuba to join his exiled anti-Francisco Franco father. In Havana, he wrote film reviews. Then, he went on to study in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. He directed six shorts in Cuba and two in New York City.
Career
Early Career
After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, he returned and made several documentaries for the Castro regime. But, after two of his shorts (Gente en la playa and La tumba francesa) were banned, he moved to Paris.
France
Starting in 1964, he became the favorite collaborator of French New Wave director Éric Rohmer. In the early seventies, he also started working with François Truffaut, Barbet Schroeder and other directors.
Almendros’ collaborations with Rohmer would prove particularly fruitful, and are considered amongst the finest works of both men. These include the four feature length works from Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales series, La Collectionneuse (1967), My Night at Maud’s (1969), Claire’s Knee (1970), and Love in the Afternoon (1972), in addition to La Marquise d'O... (1976), Perceval le Gallois (1978), and Pauline at the Beach (1983).
Hollywood
Almendros began his Hollywood career with Days of Heaven (1978), written and directed by Terrence Malick, who admired Almendros' work on Truffaut’s The Wild Child (1970). Almendros was impressed by Malick's knowledge of photography and his willingness to use little studio lighting. The film's cinematography was modeled after silent films, which often used natural light.[2] In 1979, Almendros won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Days of Heaven.[3]
Almendros received three further Academy Award nominations for his work on Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), The Blue Lagoon (1980) and Sophie's Choice (1982),[4] making him the most nominated Spanish person in Academy history as of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.
Almendros was the cinematographer for the John Lennon documentary, Imagine: John Lennon (1988), directed by Andrew Solt.
Later Career
In his later years, Almendros co-directed two documentaries about the human rights situation in Cuba: Mauvaise Conduite (1984) (Improper Conduct) about the persecution of gay people in Cuba; and Nadie escuchaba (Nobody Was Listening), about the alleged arrest, imprisonment and torture of former comrades of Fidel Castro. He also shot several prestigious advertisements for Giorgio Armani (directed by Martin Scorsese), Calvin Klein (directed by Richard Avedon) and Freixenet.
Legacy and honors
Human Rights Watch International has named an award after him by establishing the Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking and it is given every year at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.[5]
In 1980, Almendros won the César Award for François Truffaut's The Last Metro.[6]
Death
In 1992, Néstor Almendros died of AIDS-related lymphoma in New York City at the age of 61.[7][8][9]
Filmography
Short films
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Una confusión cotidiana | Himself Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
|
| 1964 | Nadja à Paris | Éric Rohmer | |
| 1965 | Saint-Germain-des-Prés | Jean Douchet | Segments of Six in Paris |
| Place de l'Etoile | Éric Rohmer | ||
| 1989 | Life Lessons | Martin Scorsese | Segment of New York Stories |
Feature films
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | La Brigade des maléfices | Claude Guillemot | Episode "La créature" |
Documentary works
Short films
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | El Tomate | Fausto Canel | |
| Cooperativas Agropecuarias | |||
| 1960 | Gente en la playa | Himself | |
| 1966 | Une étudiante d'aujourd'hui | Éric Rohmer | |
| 1967 | La journée d'un journaliste | Himself | |
| 1971 | Le cochon aux patates douces | Barbet Schroeder | |
| Maquillages | |||
| Sing Sing | |||
| 1983 | L'Assemblea de Catalunya | Carlos Durán | With Juan Amorós |
| 1990 | Made in Milan | Martin Scorsese |
Feature films
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1975 | The Gentleman Tramp | Richard Patterson | With Bruce Logan |
| 1977 | Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou | Roberto Rossellini | |
| 1978 | Koko, le gorille qui parle | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1988 | Imagine: John Lennon | Andrew Solt |
Director
Short film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Una confusión cotidiana | Co-directed with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
Documentary shorts
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Gente en la playa | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Ritmo de Cuba | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 1967 | La journée d'un journaliste | Yes | No | No | |
| 1968 | Retour d'Henri Langlois à Paris | Yes | No | No | Co-directed with Bernard Eisenschitz |
Documentary films
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Escuelas rurales | Yes | No | No | |
| 1984 | Improper Conduct | Yes | Yes | No | Co-directed with Orlando Jiménez Leal |
| 1987 | Nadie escuchaba | Yes | No | Yes | Co-directed with Jorge Ulla |
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Days of Heaven | Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1979 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Nominated | |
| 1980 | The Blue Lagoon | Nominated | |
| 1982 | Sophie's Choice | Nominated | |
César Awards
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Green Room | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1979 | Perceval le Gallois | Nominated | |
| 1980 | The Last Metro | Won |
New York Film Critics Circle
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Sophie's Choice | Best Cinematographer | Won |
| 1984 | Places in the Heart | Nominated |
References
- "www.cinematographers.nl". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- Almendros 1986
- "IMDbPro Official Site | Start Your Free Trial". Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- "Néstor Almendros Awards". imdb.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- "Great Moments NESTOR ALMENDROS: THE INTERNATIONAL CINéASTE". sffs.org. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- César Award for Best Cinematography
- Levine, Suzanne Manuel Puig and the Spider Woman: His Life and Fictions, University of Wisconsin Press 2001 p376
- William H. Honan (5 March 1992). "Nestor Almendros, Cinematographer, Dies at 61". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- Burt A. Folkart (5 March 1992). "Nestor Almendros, 61; Cinematographer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 December 2013.