Calle 54

Spanish director of light, frolicsome comedies with classical characters and story structures. Trueba had directed features and penned screenplays for a number years, starting with “Opera Prima/First Effort” (1980) unbeknownst to Americans save film festival attendees. This changed with the release of “Belle Epoque” (1993) which snagged a 1993 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. A story of a young soldier who stays with a painter and his four beautiful daughters, the film illustrated Trueba’s desire to entertain through well-scripted comedies. His signature films include “El Ano de las Luces/The Year of Awakening” (1986) and “The Mad Monkey” (1989), his English-language debut, starring Jeff Goldblum.

According to Trueba, his influences include such diverse auteurs as Billy Wilder, Jean Renoir and Woody Allen. Trueba started out as a film critic for a Spanish daily before founding his own film magazine, “Casablanca”, in 1980. He has also produced several films including “Lulu de Noche/Lulu By Night” (1985) and an English-language series entitled “Magicians of the Earth” (1989). —tcm