PEDRO ALMODÓVAR was born in 1949, in a little town in the middle of Castile-La Mancha, Don Quixote’s land. At the age of 8, he moved to a religious boarding school in Cáceres. That was his first contact with the cinema. Later, he said: "Cinema became my real education, much more than the one I received from the priest". He was influenced by Buñuel, Bergman, Fellini and many others..

He moved to Madrid in 1967, with the intention of studying at the School of Cinema, but it had closed recently, so he got a job, and in his free time had to be completely self-taught. In the early seventies, Almodóvar collaborated with a vanguard theatrical group where he met Carmen Maura. He also wrote articles, stories and comics for some fanzines. He shot his first short film when he was 22, with his first camera, a Super-8.

“I showed it in bars, at parties… I could not add a soundtrack because it was very difficult. The magnetic strip was very poor, very thin. I remember that I became very famous in Madrid because, as the films had no sound, I took a cassette with music while I personally did the voices of all the characters, songs and dialogues”.

He became part of La Movida Madrileña, a social and cultural movement that developed after the death of Franco. He had a glam rock duo with his friend Fabio McNamara, and he continued writing: a novel and articles for major newspapers and magazines.

His first movie, Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap (1980) was a low budget film, shot with a group of friends. Pedro realizes now that it has a lot of imperfections, but it got the atmosphere of its time, La Movida, the crazy eighties in Madrid. In that decade he shot many other movies: "Labyrinth of Passion", "Dark Habits", "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", "Matador, Law of Desire". "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", in 1988, was his first international success: an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film.

During the nineties, he shot "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" (it got the “X” rating in the U.S. for some sex controversial scenes), "High Heels", "Kika", "The Flower Of My Secret", and finally "All About My Mother". This film got more awards than any other Spanish film ever: an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, a Golden Globe in the same category, Best Director Award at Cannes, the French Cesar for Best Foreign Film, the Goya Award as best film of the year, etc.

During the new century, he continued with "Talk To Her" (Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film), "Bad Education", "Return", "Broken Embraces" (nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film), "The Skin I Live In", and the last one so far, "I'm So Excited" (2013).

Almodovar's films are very personal and intentionally kitsch, incorporating elements from Spanish tradition and underground culture, and creating a special atmosphere. Madrid is a very important part in most of his movies. You can recognize squares, streets, buildings, and even bars! For example, we can see Plaza Mayor in The Flower of My Secret, Museo Chicote Cocktail Bar in Broken Embraces, and in different films, many other places like Plaza de la Villa, Plaza del Alamillo, Plaza de Santa Ana, Plaza de la Paja, The viaduct, Gran Vía, Plaza de Callao… If you are in Madrid, we invite you to join our tour that explores Madrid through the lense of Pedro Almodovar's movies.

PICTURES CREDITS:
http://todopedroalmodovar.blogspot.com.es
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ibercine/almobio.htm