Icíar Bollaín facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Icíar Bollaín
Born	Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez (1967-06-12) 12 June 1967 (age 58) Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Director screenwriter actress
Years active	1995–present

Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez (born 12 June 1967) is a talented Spanish filmmaker and actress. She is most famous for directing the movie Te Doy Mis Ojos (which means Take My Eyes). This film won many important awards, including 7 Goya Awards. The Goya Awards are like the Oscars in Spain. Icíar Bollaín has also won other awards for her acting and for writing movie scripts.

Early Life and Education

Icíar Bollaín was born in Madrid, Spain, on June 12, 1967. She has a twin sister named Marina. Their father was an aeronautical engineer, and their mother was a music teacher. They grew up in a home where everyone was encouraged to follow their dreams.

Icíar and Marina were both interested in the arts from a young age. Icíar loved filmmaking, while Marina studied to become an opera singer. When Icíar was just sixteen, she got her first acting role in the film El Sur (1983).

Career as a Filmmaker and Actress

Icíar Bollaín has acted in many films throughout her career. When she was 18, she and her twin sister Marina acted in two films directed by their uncle, Juan Sebastián Bollaín. These were Las dos orillas (1987) and Dime una mentira (1992).

She also acted in films by other famous directors. Her red hair helped Ken Loach choose her for his movie, Land and Freedom (1995). This film was about the Spanish Civil War. Working with Ken Loach inspired her to write a book about him.

When she was 23, Icíar started her own film company called La Iguana. She directed two short films: Baja Corazón (1992) and Los Amigos del muerto (1994). With help from Fernando Colomo, she directed her first full-length movie, Hola, ¿estás sola? (Hi, Are You Alone?) in 1995. It was a story about two young girls who dreamed of finding a perfect place and traveled to the sea.

Her second feature film was Flores de otro mundo (Flowers from Another World) in 1999. She wrote this film with Julio Llamazares. It tells the story of three women who go to a small town in Spain hoping to find love.

Her film Te Doy Mis Ojos (Take My Eyes) (2003) was a huge success. It won seven Goya Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. The movie stars Luis Tosar and Laia Marull. It shows a woman's journey to escape a difficult marriage and change her life.

In 2010, her film Even the Rain (Tambien la lluvia) was chosen to represent Spain at the Oscars. It was even shortlisted for the award. This movie is a "film within a film." It is set in Bolivia in 2000. A Spanish film crew is making a movie about Christopher Columbus. But they get caught up in local protests about water rights. The film stars Gael García Bernal and Luis Tosar. Carlos Aduviri, a local Aymara man, plays a native leader in the movie. He also leads the real-life protests against water privatization.

Key Films by Icíar Bollaín

Flowers from Another World (1999)

This movie is about three women: Milady from Cuba, Patricia from the Dominican Republic, and Marirrosi from Spain. They all have worries about their future. They meet three young men from a small Spanish village called Santa Eulalia. This village doesn't have many single women.

The film shows how these women and men get to know each other. It tells a story that is both sweet and a little sad. The movie also helps us understand life in rural Spain. It shows how the local bar is a main meeting place.

Icíar Bollaín also explores how people react to foreigners. At first, the villagers might feel strange about the new women. But as they form relationships, these feelings disappear. The film teaches us about accepting people from different backgrounds. It shows how love can break down cultural barriers.

Take My Eyes (2003)

This film uses art, especially Painting, to tell its story. While painting isn't the main focus, it helps us understand the main character, Pilar. Pilar is a woman who is dealing with a difficult situation in her marriage.

Through art, Pilar slowly finds her strength and freedom. Icíar Bollaín explained that when Pilar discovers art, she starts to grow emotionally. This helps her escape her hard situation. The movie uses different paintings, often from Mythology, to show Pilar's personal journey. It can be seen as an example for anyone facing similar challenges, showing how they can find a way to freedom.

Even the Rain (2010)

This film is like two stories in one. It uses a "film within a film" idea to show the tense situation in Bolivia. It explores the history of colonialism and modern-day problems.

One part of the film shows a low-budget movie being made about Christopher Columbus and his arrival in America in 1492. At the same time, the real-life Cochabamba Water War is happening in Bolivia in 2000. This was a protest against the privatization of water.

Icíar Bollaín shows how the past and present are connected. She highlights the irony that the film crew, trying to show the unfairness of Columbus's actions, might be repeating some of those same mistakes. This happens by how they interact with the local people in Bolivia. The director uses creative storytelling to show a bigger historical truth, even if some characters and details are fictional.

Filmography

As Director

As Actress

Music Videos

Awards and Recognition

See also

In Spanish: Icíar Bollaín para niños