Buñuel

Luis Buñuel (1900–1983) was a Spanish filmmaker whose career spanned several decades and helped shape modern world cinema. A leading figure in surrealist film, his work combined dreamlike imagery with sharp social critique and a persistent challenge to authority.

Born in Calanda, Spain, Buñuel studied philosophy in Madrid and became associated with the Paris Surrealist circle. In 1929 he collaborated with Salvador Dalí on Un Chien Andalou, followed by L'Age d'Or (1930). These early works defined a surrealist approach that favored unexpected juxtapositions and provocative imagery, earning both notoriety and censorship.

Buñuel’s career crossed borders, with significant periods in Mexico and Europe. In Mexico he directed Los Olvidados (1950), a stark drama about street children that gained international attention. He returned to Europe in the early 1960s and made Viridiana (1961), a Spanish-Mexican co-production that won the Palme d'Or at Cannes but was banned in Franco’s Spain for its controversial critique of religion and social norms. Other notable films from this era include The Exterminating Angel (1962) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), the latter winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His later work also includes The Phantom of Liberty (1974), a satirical series of vignettes.

Buñuel is widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century, noted for advancing surrealist and satirical cinema. His fearless critique of religion, capitalism, and bourgeois hypocrisy left a lasting imprint on global film culture.