Fernando Trueba (n. 1955, Madrid) is an acclaimed Spanish filmmaker, screenwriter and producer whose work spans fiction, documentary and animation, bringing together music and the visual arts. He began his career as a film critic for the newspaper El País and made his feature film debut with Opera Prima (1980). In 1992, Belle Epoque (a co-production with Portugal, represented by António da Cunha Telles) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and nine Goya Awards, establishing his international reputation. His subsequent work includes The Girl of Your Dreams (1998) and Calle 54 (2000), a documentary celebrating Latin jazz. In Chico & Rita (2010), co-directed with Javier Mariscal, he explored the relationship between music, memory and animation. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Trueba’s connection to LEFFEST also extends to his son, filmmaker Jonás Trueba, whose work was celebrated with a retrospective at the festival in 2024. At the 20th edition of LEFFEST, Fernando Trueba will present his latest film, Bajañí (2026), in a preview screening.
Fernando Trueba
Director, Screenwriter, and Producer
