Authority control databases
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Carlos Atanes | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 8, 1971 Barcelona, Spain |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, producer, screenwriter, playwright |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Website | carlosatanes |
Carlos Atanes (born November 8, 1971) is a Spanish film director, writer and playwright.[1][2] He was born in Barcelona, and is a member of The Film-Makers' Cooperative, founded by Jonas Mekas, Shirley Clarke, Ken Jacobs, Andy Warhol, Jack Smith and others. His first finished feature-length movie was FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions, which he released in 2004. The movie won the Best Feature Film Award at the Athens Panorama of Independent Filmmakers in 2005 and was also nominated for the Méliès d'Argent at Fantasporto that same year.
Critics often express the difficulty of valuing Atanes' cinematography and sometimes they even refrain from scoring it, since these are unusual films that escape the standard classification. Dave J. Wilson from Cinematic Shocks says regarding Maximum Shame “it exists outside of the cinematic norm not following its conventions (…) it is purely visual art rather than a real narrative a dreamlike mind-fuck of philosophical musings. It is not a question of whether it is good or not as it does not conform to cinematic conventions. Therefore, I will not be giving a rating for this review, as it is hard for me to judge it on such terms. Whether you like the film or not you will ultimately more likely all reach the same conclusion that it is at least a unique work.”[3] Film Threat, meanwhile, says that within Gallino, the Chicken System “is an entire universe of creativity, albeit one that may or may not reflect this plane of reality as we know it. I don't know that the traditional sense of how we react to film applies here. It's more of an art experience than a simple film (…) I don't know that it's for everyone (or anyone), but it's certainly unique.”[4]
In addition to his work as a screenwriter and playwright, Carlos Atanes has published several books and essays on cultural issues, cinema and Chaos magic.
