Antonio Giménez-Rico

Antonio Giménez-Rico Sáenz de Cabezón (20 November 1938 – 12 February 2021) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter.

Antonio Giménez-Rico was born in Burgos, Spain. Son to a forestry engineer, he lived in various rural areas throughout his childhood. The bucolic settings of his upbringing were a foundational piece of inspiration for his career in the movie industry. However, for a time he thought that due to his rural childhood, a career in the film industry was not feasible. Even so, he had a self-described passion for film from a young age. Prior to his start in the industry, he obtained a law degree from the University of Valladolid. He also studied journalism and piano and worked on radio. Reflecting his affinity for cinema, he directed the film club at the university of Burgos and went to write movie criticism for the magazine, Cinestudio.

Antonio Giménez-Rico began his career with an apprenticeship in film productions in 1963, working as an assistant director in films directed by Vittorio Cottafavi and Eugenio Martín, among others. In 1966 he made his debut as a director with the children's film, Mañana de Domingo, (Sunday Morning), which was followed by a number of comedies like El Hueso (1968) and El Cronicón (1969). The failure of ¿Es usted mi padre? (Are you my father ?) (1970), led him to find employment on television.

In 1970, Giménez-Rico began working extensively in state television for a period of years during which he directed the crime TV series Plinio (1972), about a character created by the writer Francisco García Pavón. He also directed episodes for Crónicas de un pueblo (1974-1975), Cuentos y leyendas (1974-1975), and Los libros (1974-1976) during his time with state television.

He returned to feature films in 1976 with Retrato de Familia (Family Portrait), an adaptation of Miguel Delibes novel, Mi idolatrado hijo Sisi (My Beloved Son Sisi), dealing with members of a provincial family during the civil war; the film is widely considered as Giménez-Rico's best work. It enabled him to make Al fin solos pero... (At last alone, but...) (1977), which critics and audiences found disappointing. The little success he achieved with his next film Del Amor y de la muerte (1977) made him come back to work on television. He later made the highly acclaimed documentary film Vestida de Azul (Dressed in Blue) (1983), which combines a series of interviews with transsexuals with dramatized fictional scenes.

Returning to television, Giménez-Rico directed the series Página de Sucesos (1985). This was followed two years later by El disputado voto del señor Cayo (The disputed Vote for Mr Cayo) (1986), which dealt with life in a Castillian village during the post Franco election of 1977, and another film adapted from a novel by Miguel Delibes. His following films failed to achieve critical or commercial success like his 1987 film Jarrapellejos, which was entered into the 38th Berlin International Film Festival.

Giménez-Rico briefly served as the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas) between 1988 and 1992. He also regularly appeared on the Spanish talk show ¡Que grande es el cine!. During this time, he continued to work on films. He made the anti militaristic comedy Soldadito Español (Spanish Soldier boy) (1988), which he co-scripted with Rafael Azcona, Cuatro Estaciones; (Four Seasons) (1991) and Tres Palabras (Three Words) (1993). These films failed to impress critics or audiences. In 1999 he was a member of the jury at the 21st Moscow International Film Festival.

His last project was a historical drama set in the city of Burgos during the Spanish Civil War. It's based on Óscar Esquivias' novel Inquietud en el Paraíso (2005) (Restlessness in Paradise).[10]

Vestida de azul (1983) is a docu-fiction piece that was written and directed by Antonio Giménez-Rico. The film presents audiences with unprecedentedly candid access to six transsexual women who worked in the illicit sex industry during Spain's transition to democracy (some of the women also worked as strip tease performers). Importantly, this piece is distinct from Giménez-Rico's other works, which were generally drama/comedies.[11] The piece was also one of the first films to give voice to the transgender community in Spain.[12] Its documentary style takes particular focus on the day-to-day lives of its subjects, while also tying in commentary surrounding class dynamics, gender roles, religion and sexuality.[13]

Giménez-Rico died from COVID-19 on 12 February 2021, at the age of 82.[14]