The Lope de Vega Theater has welcomed the gala presentation of the award to Alex Catalán, the cinematographer of titles such as 'La isla mínima' or 'Las gentiles', in competition in the Official Selection of the festival
Seville, November 9th - The Lope de Vega Theater has welcomed this Monday the gala presentation of the RTVA Award for Lifetime Achievement to the cinematographer Álex Catalán, responsible for the photography in titles such as La isla mínima (Alberto Rodríguez), the recent series La Fortuna (Alejandro Amenábar) and Las gentiles, by Santi Amodeo, in competition at the Official Section of this event.
During the award ceremony, the general director of the RTVA, Juande Mellado, stressed that the award is a recognition of his "long career" and for "his continuous contributions to cinema". In this sense, Mellado stressed that Alex Catalan is one of the most demanded and awarded cinematographers at the moment and stated "that Canal Sur is the engine of the audiovisual industry," which "we do with conviction, because it creates talent" and gives “ strength to Andalusian cinema". Alex highlights the high level of the Andalusian technical teams, to whom, in addition to his four year old daughter, he dedicates this award to.
According to Catalán, the Andalusian cinema is living a great moment thanks to the fact that "everything adds up and the help of institutions such as RTVA, with conviction and public service, is fundamental and great" and he hopes that "Canal Sur continues to support the Cinema". During his speech, in which he showed how happy he was to receive the award, said he came to Andalusia in 89, the same year that began broadcasting Canal Sur and that "our paths have been running parallel".
Alegría, the debut film of the director Vioelta Salama from Granada, which also has the participation of RTVA in its production, was screened to close the Gala.
A consolidated career full of recognition and achievements in Spanish cinema.
Cinematographer Álex Catalán first came into professional contact with the image 30 years ago as a press photographer and camera assistant. He attended image schools in Madrid, London, Los Angeles and Havana and worked for 12 years as a cameraman and lighting technician for TVE.
His work is especially linked to the group of Andalusian filmmakers of the so-called CinExín Generation, a generation that also includes directors Alberto Rodríquez and Santi Amodeo, with whom he has regularly collaborated. All of them put in the forefront of Spanish cinema projects and films that were made in Andalusia in the late twentieth century, and helped to give strength to an emerging audiovisual industry, a work in which Canal Sur has played a key role.
He has shot 29 feature films since 2000, with seven Goya nominations for his work on After, Grupo 7, La isla mínima, Un día perfecto, 1898. Los últimos de Filipinas, Yuli and Mientras dure la guerra.
He won the Jury Award for Best Cinematography at the 62nd edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Goya for Best Cinematography for La isla mínima.
He has twice received the Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos Medal for best cinematography for the feature films También la lluvia and La isla mínima, and five Teo Escamilla awards for best technical-artistic contribution, granted by the Asociación de Escritores Cinematográficos de Andalucía.
His work has been awarded internationally with the Best Cinematography Award for the feature film Camino at the 24th edition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico), and with the Jury's Special Mention for Cinematography at the Tribeca Festival, New York, for the feature film Grupo 7.
Álex Catalán has worked with the best directors in the country: Alejandro Amenábar, Montxo Armendáriz, Icíar Bollaín, Benito Zambrano and Fernando León de Aranoa.
He combines the direction of photography in feature films and documentaries with advertising work in renowned commercials such as those of Campofrío, ONCE, Loterías del Estado, Banco Santander or Estrella Damm.
