The cinema mourns the loss of Josep Maixenchs, founder of the ESCAC

Born in Terrassa in 1943, he founded ESCAC in 1994, creating the first official university studies in film and audiovisual in the country.

In the middle of the Professional Audiovisual Technology Show, BIT Audiovisual 2018, the death of Josep Maixenchs, founder of the Escola Superior de cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya, has been announced (ESCA).

Born in Terrassa in 1943, he founded ESCAC in 1994, creating the first official university studies in film and audiovisual in the country.

In these almost 25 years of its foundation, nearly 6,000 students of 23 nationalities have been trained at ESCAC, constituting a new generation of filmmakers that include Juan Antonio Bayona, Javier Ruiz Caldera, Mar Coll, Elena Trapé, Nely Reguera, Oriol Tarragó, Kike Maíllo, among many others.

Throughout his career, Maixenchs has been distinguished with dozens of awards, including the González-Sinde Prize of the Academy of Film Arts and Cinemas of Spain (2005), the María de Honor Honorífica of the International Film Festival of Catalan Fantasy Site (2010), the Cross of Sant Jordi (2012), the National Prize of Culture of the Government of Catalonia (2015), as well as the gold medal of the cities of Terrassa and Barcelona.

Josep Maixenchs' legacy has been based on the creation, through ESCAC, of ​​a new generation of filmmakers and, above all, on the consolidation of a professional and human community that will always remember him.

Guillem Morales He remembers that “he was able to bring together a group of young people who had another dream: making films. And together we continued dreaming, together, until film school was a reality.
Thank you Josep, for letting us share your dreams and for making ours come true. We owe you everything we are.”

For its part, Jaume Ripoll, highlights that "Josep was a visionary, a man of infinite generosity and a teacher with the strange ability to learn from his students. I had the honor of enjoying his wisdom, administrative management, political tensions and love for cinema. Many of the best film professionals in this country have been trained at ESCAC and today, with sadness, but also with the half smile that Josep liked to wear, we say goodbye to the man who put it all in motion. To honor his legacy and live life as he lived it, with work, ambition, but also with a wonderful ability to enjoy, it is the greatest lesson that we must remember. I hope that our cinema pays the tribute it deserves.”

Juan Antonio Bayona underlines that "Maixenchs was a tireless, enthusiastic man, a visionary who fought to make cinematographic teaching official when no one believed in it. When he succeeded, he dedicated his life to training entire generations of film professionals. Those of us who finally managed to make a path for ourselves in the profession will be eternally grateful to such generosity."

Kike Maíllo admits that he believes "firmly in the idea of inheritance. I like to think that there are tens of thousands of people who have changed your life with their decisions. Dreamy people whose desires, discoveries or spirit have made your quality of life markedly different. Better. Normally you are not lucky enough to meet those people but that is not the case with Josep Maixenchs. I did meet him, a lot. His dream, that of creating a 'film career', changed my life. It literally turned me upside down. And it surely made me a little more free. I was lost and disillusioned in another career and knowing that something like this was going to be born, finding out that being a film director, editor or photographer could be studied at the University, made me rethink everything if it hadn't been for that inspiring dream or how far or close I would be from being the person I am now. continue transforming things for the better and making others a little freer. Josep, many thanks to all.

Oriol Tarragó has described Maixenchs as "a visionary, a great enthusiast with a lively spirit, a fighter and a lover of cinema. Personally, I consider him directly responsible for my professional career and that of many others. Thanks to him, today cinema is reality in the way we understand it. Rest Josep. The spirit continues."