He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001 and received an honorary doctoral degree in 2009 from Harvard University in addition to an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Oxford in 2016 for his contribution to the arts. In 1997, Almodóvar received the French Legion of Honour, followed by the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1999. He has won an Academy Award, five British Academy Film Awards, two Emmy Awards, six European Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, nine Goya Awards, one award at the Venice Film Festival and four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. His most recent drama Parallel Mothers (2021) was nominated for two Academy Awards.Īcclaimed as one of the most internationally successful Spanish filmmakers, Almodóvar and his films have gained worldwide interest and developed a cult following.
He followed this with the drama Volver (2006), the romantic thriller Broken Embraces (2009), the psychological thriller The Skin I Live In (2011), and the dramas Julieta (2016) and Pain and Glory (2019), all of which were in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His next two films, All About My Mother (1999) and Talk to Her (2002), earned him an Academy Award each for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay, respectively. Almodóvar achieved international recognition for his black comedy-drama film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film, and went on to further success with films such as the dark romantic comedy Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989), the melodrama High Heels (1991) and the romantic drama thriller Live Flesh (1997). In 1986, he established his own film production company, El Deseo, with his younger brother Agustín Almodóvar, who has been responsible for producing all of his films since Law of Desire (1987). His first few films characterised the sense of sexual and political freedom of the period.
He came to prominence as a director and screenwriter during La Movida Madrileña, a cultural renaissance that followed after the end of Francoist Spain. Desire, passion, family, and identity are among Almodóvar's most prevalent subjects in his films. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narratives.
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero ( Spanish pronunciation: (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter, producer, and former actor.