Jaime Chávarri

Jaime Chávarri (born 20 March 1943) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter, best known for his films El desencanto and Las bicicletas son para el verano.

Life and career Chávarri's family belonged to the haute bourgeoisie. His mother Marichu de la Mora y Maura (maternal granddaughter of Antonio Maura) was a Falangist Sección Femenina activist and a fashion journalist. His aunt was Republican activist Constancia de la Mora. Chávarri had already graduated as a lawyer, He abandoned his formal film studies in his second year, moving into film criticism. He wrote for Film Ideal magazine. His first film industry job was an assistant director to José Luis Borau. It was shown at Valladolid International Film Festival and got a mixed reception. Then in 1985, he wrote and directed his most personal film El río de oro (or The Golden River), which is based on the Peter Pan stories. In 1990 he returned to television and made a literary adaption of Jorge Luis Borges's short story, La intrusa.

In 1993, he made the comedy Tierno verano de lujuria y azoteas (or Tender Summer of Lust and Rooftops) based on the novel by Pablo Solozábal. The film explores the sexual awakening of a young man played by Gabino Diego, who is obsessed with his much older cousin Olga, played by Marisa Paredes. This was followed by a sequel: Las cosas del querer. Part II, set in Argentina in 1995, made for the producer Luis Sanz. It was less successful than its predecessor. The film won 3 Goya Awards including the award for best actor to Óscar Jaenada.

Filmography