Néstor Almendros
Néstor Almendros Cuyás, was a Spanish cinematographer.
He was one of the most highly appraised contemporary cinematographers, having a working collaboration with filmmakers François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer and Robert Benton, while winning an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven.
Early life
Néstor Almendros Cuyás was born in Barcelona, Spain, but at the age of 18, he moved to Cuba to join his exiled anti-Francisco Franco father. In Havana, he wrote film reviews. Then, he went on to study in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. He directed six shorts in Cuba and two in New York City.Career
Early career
After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, he returned and made several documentaries for the Castro regime. But, after two of his shorts were banned, he moved to Paris.France
Starting in 1964, he became the favorite collaborator of French New Wave director Éric Rohmer. In the early seventies, he also started working with François Truffaut, Barbet Schroeder and other directors.Almendros’ collaborations with Rohmer would prove particularly fruitful, and are considered amongst the finest works of both men. These include the four feature length works from Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales series, La Collectionneuse, My Night at Maud’s, Claire’s Knee, and Love in the Afternoon, in addition to La Marquise d'O..., Perceval le Gallois, and Pauline at the Beach.
Hollywood
Almendros began his Hollywood career with Days of Heaven, written and directed by Terrence Malick, who admired Almendros' work on Truffaut’s The Wild Child. Almendros was impressed by Malick's knowledge of photography and his willingness to use little studio lighting. The film's cinematography was modeled after silent films, which often used natural light. In 1979, Almendros won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Days of Heaven.Almendros received three further Academy Award nominations for his work on Kramer vs. Kramer, The Blue Lagoon and Sophie's Choice, making him the most nominated Spanish person in Academy history as of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.
Almendros was the cinematographer for the John Lennon documentary, Imagine: John Lennon, directed by Andrew Solt.
Later career
In his later years, Almendros co-directed two documentaries about the human rights situation in Cuba: Mauvaise Conduite about the persecution of gay people in Cuba; and Nadie escuchaba, about the alleged arrest, imprisonment and torture of former comrades of Fidel Castro. He also shot several prestigious advertisements for Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Freixenet.Legacy and honors
Human Rights Watch International has named an award after him by establishing the Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking and it is given every year at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.In 1980, Almendros won the César Award for François Truffaut's The Last Metro.
Death
In 1992, Néstor Almendros died of AIDS-related lymphoma in New York City at the age of 61.Filmography
Cinematographer
Documentary works
Short film| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1959 | El Tomate | Fausto Canel | |
| 1959 | Cooperativas Agropecuarias | Fausto Canel | |
| 1960 | Gente en la playa | Himself | |
| 1966 | Une étudiante d'aujourd'hui | Éric Rohmer | |
| 1967 | La journée d'un journaliste | Himself | |
| 1971 | Le cochon aux patates douces | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1971 | Maquillages | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1971 | Sing Sing | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1983 | L'Assemblea de Catalunya | Carlos Durán | With Juan Amorós |
| 1990 | Made in Milan | Martin Scorsese |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1967 | Fermière à Montfaucon | Éric Rohmer | TV short |
| 1972 | Chroniques de France | Jacques Scandelari Max Gérard Jean-Daniel Simon | Episode "Chroniques de France N° 82" |
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1974 | General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1975 | The Gentleman Tramp | Richard Patterson | With Bruce Logan |
| 1977 | Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou | Roberto Rossellini | |
| 1978 | Koko: A Talking Gorilla | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1988 | Imagine: John Lennon | Andrew Solt |
Director
Short film| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1950 | Una confusión cotidiana | Co-directed with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
Documentary short
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 1960 | Gente en la playa | ||||
| 1960 | Ritmo de Cuba | ||||
| 1967 | La journée d'un journaliste | ||||
| 1968 | Retour d'Henri Langlois à Paris | Co-directed with Bernard Eisenschitz |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 1960 | Escuelas rurales | ||||
| 1984 | Improper Conduct | Co-directed with Orlando Jiménez Leal | |||
| 1987 | Nadie escuchaba | Co-directed with Jorge Ulla |
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1978 | Days of Heaven | Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1979 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Best Cinematography | Nomitated |
| 1980 | The Blue Lagoon | Best Cinematography | Nomitated |
| 1982 | Sophie's Choice | Best Cinematography | Nomitated |
César Awards
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1978 | The Green Room | Best Cinematography | Nomitated |
| 1979 | Perceval le Gallois | Best Cinematography | Nomitated |
| 1980 | The Last Metro | Best Cinematography | Won |
New York Film Critics Circle
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1982 | Sophie's Choice | Best Cinematographer | Won |
| 1984 | Places in the Heart | Best Cinematographer | Nomitated |