Spanish director, writer and producer Pedro Almodovar is one of the internationally most known European filmmakers. He makes films about passionate people, who are driven by strong feelings that make them irrational and interesting. His portrayals of women and their relations are fascinating and he let's his actresses show complex human beings of flesh and blood. His movies are always about relations in some way or another.

Pedro was born in 1949 in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain. After an exam at a convent school of the Franciscan friars, he moved to Madrid alone at the age of 16. He had one thing only on his mind; to make movies and study cinematography (ok, two things on his mind). Unfortunately, the Cinematic Arts school was closed under the reigning dictatorship of Franco, so Almodovar decided to find a job. This he did, at the national Spanish telephone company, Telefónica, where he worked for 12 years as an administrative clerk. For Almodoavar, a country boy, meeting the up-and-rising middle class was exiting and inspiring. At night he would write about their lifes and eventually start shooting Super-8 films based on his writings.

When finally Franco fell, and democracy came to Spain, Almodovar released his first movie Pepi, Lucy, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap in 1980. This first movie deals with several of Almodovars favorite subjects: house-wives, sex, drugs, kitsch and women. In the film Carmen Maura had the leading role, and she would return several times to Almodovar's productions, as his actors and actresses tend to do.

Pedro Almodovar has worked with many actors, but he has his favorites that can been seen in many of his films: Cecilia Roth - 5 films, Antonio Banderas - 5 films, Rossy de Palma - 5 films, Julieta Serrano - 5 films, Marisa Paredes - 4 films, Chus Lampreave - 5 films, Bibi Andersen - 4 films, Kiti Manver - 4 films. The list goes on and on with actresses that have played Almodovar's women.

Filmography - major movies released:


reference: imdb, almodovarlandia.com