José Luis Garci, Gold Medal of the 30th edition of the Forqué Awards

The director, producer, screenwriter and popularizer of Spanish cinema, José Luis Garci, will be honored next Saturday, December 14, with the Gold Medal of the 30th edition of the Forqué Awards presented by EGEDA to recognize the work of a fundamental figure for the audiovisual industry.

Enrique Cerezo, president of EGEDA, has highlighted that "this recognition that EGEDA grants to José Luis Garci is nothing more than a reflection of his invaluable work for more than half a century at the service of our audiovisual industry. In addition to his well-known role as a director, his great work as a producer of some of the best titles in our cinema is added, as well as his great talent as a screenwriter that, from his earliest youth, has given rise to works of great quality. His filmography, in which the bases of classic cinema go hand in hand with the new ones themes and styles typical of the artistic and social renewal of our country, is a testimony of our recent history and a valuable part of the Spanish film heritage, to which he has bequeathed unforgettable stories, characters and moments. In addition, we must thank Garci for highlighting the seventh art through his role as a popularizer, both on radio and television; a facet that not only makes him one of the audiovisual professionals most committed to his craft, but also establishes him as one of the most devoted lovers of cinema today. and always.”

This recognition, which José Luis Garci will receive during the 30th anniversary gala of the awards at the IFEMA-Madrid Municipal Palace, joins the long trail of national and international awards that crown the filmmaker's career. Among them stand out the first Oscar for a film in Spanish with “Volver a Volver” (1982), the first Emmy awarded to Spanish television for “La Cabin” (1972), which he scripted with Antonio Mercero; the Goya for Best Director for “Approved Subject” (1987), the National Cinematography Award and the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.

In addition to his career as a director and screenwriter, with famous titles such as the trilogy of “El crack” (1981, 1983 and 2019) or “The grandfather” (1998), under the production of Garci there are credits in historical films of the Spanish audiovisual sector, both directed by himself under the production company Nickel Odeon and by other big names in the industry such as Miguel Picazo (“Extramuros”, 1985), Helena Taberna (“Yoyes”, 2000) or José María González-Sinde (“Long live the middle class”, 1980).

Among its many facets as professional and scholar of the seventh art, highlights his presence as a presenter, director and disseminator in television programs such as “Qué grande es el cine!”, with ten years of broadcast on RTVE, or “Classics”, and on radio such as “Cowboys de midnight”, which have earned him three Golden Antennas and the Ojo Crítico award from RNE.

A multifaceted filmmaker

Since his beginnings as a fan of the seventh art in 1963, José Luis Garci (Madrid, 1944) stands out for his extensive knowledge of world audiovisuals, as demonstrated by his first texts in film magazines that would soon be rewarded with his first literary awards.

However, his definitive foray into the industry occurred with the writing of the script for “El cronicón” (Antonio Giménez Rico, 1969) followed by “La casa de las chivas” (León Klimovsky, 1972) to lead, together with his friend the director Antonio Mercero, to the plot of the successful “La cabin” (Antonio Mercero, 1972), which would consolidate him as a relevant professional within the Spanish audiovisual field. internationally by receiving what was then the only Emmy award granted to a Spanish production.

After this first award, he wrote for the producer José Luis Dibildos, with whom he founded the movement known as “The Third Way”, the scripts “It is not good that the man is alone” (Pedro Olea, 1973), “A drop of blood to continue loving” (Eloy de la Iglesia, 1973), “The new Spaniards” (Roberto Bodegas, 1974) and “Healthy conjugal life” (Roberto Wineries, 1974).

Again together with Mercero, he celebrated the success of “La Gioconda estar triste” (Antonio Mercero, 1977), based on a story by Garci himself, at the Monte Carlo TV Festival, and took on the role of director for the first time in the short films “To Fútbol!” (1977) and “My Marilyn” (1977) supported by his friend and filmmaker José María González-Sinde.

It is he who produces “Asignatura pending” (1977), his first feature film as director, followed by “Alone in the early morning” (1978) and “The green meadows” (1979), social films in line with the transition situation that Spain is experiencing. The roles are reversed when Garci himself acts and produces “Viva laCLASS MEDIA” (González-Sinde) in 1980, a key year for the filmmaker's career when he founded Nickel Odeon, a production company under which he launched “El Crack” (1981), a cult film and one of the greatest exponents of the new Spanish black cinema in which, for the first time, the protagonist Alfredo Landa abandons the comic roles that until then had characterized his career to take on in the skin of Germán Areta, a private detective hardened in the underworld of Madrid.

His filmography became unstoppable when “Start Again” (1982) won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first film in Spanish and the first Spanish production to win the award. The success in Hollywood was followed by the return of Germán Areta in “El crack II” (1983), “Sesión continua” (1984), a tribute to classic cinema that once again garnered a new Oscar nomination, and, after a three-year break, “Asignatura approved” (1987), which managed to win a new Oscar nomination and the Goya for Best Director.

José Luis Garci's first television foray occurred with the series “Historias del otro lado” (1988-1996), whose episode “Mnemos” (1988) was chosen to represent TVE at the Emmys. After that, he released the literary adaptations “Cradle Song” (1994), “The Luminous Wound” (1997) and “The Grandfather” (1998), the latter being nominated for an Oscar.

El inicio del nuevo milenio queda marcado por la salida del díptico “You’re the one (una historia de entonces)” (2000) e “Historia de un beso” (2002). A éstas le siguen “Tiovivo c. 1950” (2004), “Ninette” (2005), “Luz de domingo” (2007) y “Sangre de mayo” (2008). Tras la salida a las pantallas de “Holmes & Watson. Madrid Days” (2012), José Luis Garci anuncia su retirada del cine, mantenida hasta el estreno de “El crack cero” (2019), que cierra la célebre trilogía de Germán Areta con una precuela en la que el protagonista es interpretado por Carlos Santos.

In addition to his audiovisual productions, Jose Luis Garci has become a well-known face on Spanish screens for his informative work on radio and television programs, from which he reviews the history and value of some of the fundamental jewels of the seventh art. Among them, “How great is cinema!” (TVE, 1995-1996/1997-2005), “Black and White Cinema” (Telemadrid. 2009-2012), “Classics” (13TV, 2021-2024) and “Midnight Cowboys” (COPE, 2001-2009; esRadio, 2009-present).

Likewise, the winner of the Gold Medal has to his credit numerous literary titles, most of them related to audiovisual dissemination, among which "Ray Bradbury, humanist of the future", "Adam Blake", "Dying of cinema", "Drinking of cinema", "Noir", "The seven wonders of cinema", "Campo del Gas", "Insert Coin", "Bad and underrated films", "The Lubitsch touch and other frictions" or “Cinephile Telegrams.” This work as a writer has also earned him recognitions such as the Puerta de Oro de Relatos, Clarín, Pluma de Plata, Nueva Dimensión, Mariano de Cavia, González Ruano and Continente de Periodismo awards.