Gil Parrondo, distinguished with the Grand Cross of Alfonso

The award, posthumously, rewards distinction or the provision of outstanding services in the fields of education, science, culture, teaching and research.

The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports and Government spokesperson, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, agreed last Friday to award the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise to the filmmaker Manuel Gil Parrondo.

The Civil Order of Alfonso

Manuel Gil Parrondo (Luarca –Asturias, 1921) began his career in the world of cinema in the 1940s as a decoration assistant. Together with Luis Pérez Espinosa, he collaborates on a multitude of Spanish and American films, establishing himself as one of the Spanish artistic directors with the greatest fame outside our borders.

In particular, it obtains great recognition thanks to American blockbusters filmed in Spain, such as Mister Arkadin (1955) by Orson Welles; Spartacus (1960) by Stanley Kubrick; El Cid (1961) by Anthony Mann; o Lawrence of Arabia (1962) y Doctor Zhivago (1965), both by David Lean.

In Spain, his work stands out in films such as Adventures of Don Quijotand (1960) by Eduardo García Maroto; Bicycles are for summer (1984) by Jaime Chávarri; Your Name Poisons My Dreams (1966) by Pilar Miró and most of José Luis Garci's films.

Although his dedication to the world of cinema is mainly known, throughout his extensive career, Gil Parrondo also works in different television productions and theater works, such as Arsenic and old lace (1987), Three top hats (1992) y Traitor, unconfessed and martyr (1993), at the Spanish Theater in Madrid.

He was a founding member of the Spanish Film Academy and received the Gold Medal from this institution in 1999.

Gil Parrondo won two Oscars, in 1970 for Patton and a year later Nicolás and Alejandra. He also received the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in 1983 and three Goyas for best artistic direction in 1994, 2000 and 2005.