Albert Serra Juanola (; born 9 October 1975) is a Spanish filmmaker and producer. His films usually explore the imminence of death through the slow cinema genre."Albert Serra: Radical Classicist" , Harvard Film Archives. Re-retrieved 2016-09-03.
He is best known for Story of My Death (2013), which won the Golden Leopard at the 66th Locarno Film Festival, The Death of Louis XIV (2016) and Pacifiction (2022). For the latter he was nominated for the Palme d'Or and the César Award for Best Director.
Career Serra is the manager of the production company Andergraun Films, set up by Montse Triola primarily to produce Serra's films.Andergraun Films at the Catalan Film Database. . Retrieved 2016-09-03.Montse Triola, Spain , European Film Promotion, Promotion of European Film and Talent Worldwide. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
His 2006's Honour of the Knights, an adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote, had its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. It appeared in seventh place on Cahiers du Cinéma's top ten list of 2007.
Serra's Story of My Death (2013), about an aging Casanova and his encounter with Count Dracula, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 66th Locarno Film Festival, where it won the Golden Leopard.
His French-language feature debut, The Death of Louis XIV (2016), which follows the final days of Louis XIV (Jean-Pierre Léaud), had its world premiere at the Special Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It received the Prix Jean Vigo.
Serra's Liberté (2019), about a group of libertines that spend a night of sexual debauchery in a forest, had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize. It was received with polarizing reviews, for its graphic sequences.
His 8th feature film, Pacifiction (2022), about French contemporary colonialism in Tahiti, marked Serra's first film to have its world premiere at the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. It received nine nominations at the 48th César Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. It ranked first on Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 List for 2022.
His documentary Afternoons of Solitude (2024), about the Peruvian bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Shell. Review of Afternoons Of Solitude, San Sebastian, by Jonathan Romney, 23 September 2024 It also appeared in first place on Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 List for 2025.
His English language feature debut, Out of This World, is expected to premiere in 2026. It follows an American delegation traveling to Russia in the midst of the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present).
Filmography
Feature films Year English title Original title Notes2003Crespià, the film not the villageCrespià2006Honour of the KnightsHonor de cavalleria2008BirdsongEl cant dels ocells2011The Lord Has Worked Wonders in MeEl senyor ha fet en mi meravelles2013Story of My DeathHistòria de la meva mort2016The Death of Louis XIVLa Mort de Louis XIVFrench-language debut2019Liberté2022PacifictionPacifiction – Tourment sur les îles2024Afternoons of SolitudeTardes de soledadDocumentaryTBA Out of This World Post-production; English-language debut
Short films YearTitleNotes2009Bauçà201160 Seconds of Solitude in Year ZeroCollection of one-minute short films by 60 filmmakers2014CubalibrePart of the 101-hour installation The Three Little Pigs2020My InfluencesPart of the Spaces series for the Thessaloniki International Film Festival2022Filmoteca de Catalunya 10 anys al RavalShort film for the 10th anniversary of the Filmoteca de Catalunya
Film installations YearOriginal titleEnglish titlePremiere exhibition venue2010Els noms de CristThe Names of ChristBarcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Spain2013Els tres porquetsThe Three Little PigsdOCUMENTA (13), Germany2015La singularitatSingularity56th Venice Biennale, Italy2018Roi SoleilGaleria Graça Brandão, Portugal2019PersonalienMuseo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain2025TauromaquiaCentre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium
Accolades Year Award Category Project Result2022Cannes Film FestivalPalme d'OrPacifiction 2022Louis Delluc PrizeBest Film of the YearPacifiction 2023 César Awards Best Film Pacifiction Best Director 2023Lumière AwardsBest FilmPacifiction Best Director 2009Gaudí AwardsBest Film in Catalan LanguageBirdsong "El cant dels ocells d'Albert Serra triomfa a la gala dels premis Gaudí del cinema", Vilaweb, 20 January 2009. . Retrieved 2016-09-03.Best Director 2023Best Non-Catalan Language FilmPacifiction Best Director Best Original Screenplay Best Editing Other awards: Honor of the Knights (2006) 2006 Viennale Directors' Fortnight – FIPRESCI Prize44th Viennale, FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. Retrieved 2016-09-03.Fipresci 2006 Awards, FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. Retrieved 2016-09-03.Festivalarchiv 06, Viennale, Vienna International Film Festival. . Retrieved 2016-09-03. Best Feature Film, also Holden Award for Best Script – Special Mention, at the 2006 Torino Film Festival"Honor de Cavalleria", Torino Film Festival. . Retrieved 2016-09-03. Grand Prize at the 2006 Entrevues Belfort film festival"2006. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: A look back at the awards", official festival site. . Retrieved 2016-09-03. Best Emerging Director and Best Film in Catalan Language awards, 2006 Barcelona Cinema Awards"V Premis Barcelona de Cinema", news on VilaWeb TV, 20 December 2006. Retrieved 2016-09-03. Selected by Cahiers du Cinéma as one of the 10 best films of 2007."Story of My Death" , 40th Seattle International Film Festival, 2014. Retrieved 2016-09-03.Top Ten 2007. "Palmares 2007: Meilleurs films de l'année 2007" , Cahiers du Cinéma. Retrieved 2016-09-03."Cahiers du Cinéma: Top Ten Lists 1951-2009" , from Caltech alumnus site. Retrieved 2016-09-03. Birdsong (2008) 2008 Cannes Directors' FortnightQuinzaine: 2008 , official website of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs / Director's Fortnight. Retrieved 2016-09-03. Grand Prize at the 2008 Split International Film Festival Grand Prize at the 2008 Entrevues Belfort film festival2008 Edition, official festival site. . Retrieved 2016-09-03. Story of My Death (2013) Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival"Albert Serra Film Wins Locarno Top Prize", by Scott Foundas, Variety.com, August 17, 2013. Retrieved 2016-09-03."The Death of Louis XIV", by Albert Serra (2016) , Caprici Arthouse Cinema Label. Retrieved 2016-09-03."Story of My Death", New Zealand International Film Festival, with commentary by Chris Darke excerpted from Film Comment. Retrieved 2016-09-03. Silver Puma for Best Director at the 2014 UNAM International Film Festival (FICUNAM)"Ganadores del cuarto FICUNAM", Toma, Revista Mexicana de Cine, 11 March 2014. . Retrieved 2016-09-03. Best wardrobe at the 2014 Gaudí Awards"Premis Gaudí 2014: les dues vies del cinema català", by Judith Vives, Núvol, el digital de la cultura, 3 February 2014. . Retrieved 2016-09-03. The Death of Louis XIV (2016) Toronto International Film Festival – Official Selection New York Film Festival – Official Selection Winner in feature film category, 2016 Prix Jean VigoAlbert Serra, at the Prix Jean Vigo site. . Retrieved 2016-09-03. Best International Film at the 2016 Jerusalem Film Festival"And the JFF 2016 Winners are...", Jerusalem Film Festival website. Retrieved 2016-09-03. Pacifiction (2022) 10th Feroz Awards – Nomination for the Arrebato Award (Fiction) Tromsø International Film Festival - Winner FIPRESCI Prize International Cinephile Society - Best Director (2022), Ex Aqueo with Laura Citadella (Trenque Lauquen) Selected by Cahiers du Cinéma as the best film of 2022
References
External links Albert Serra's Andergraun Films website. . Albert Serra on Facebook Undergraun Films on Facebook
"Albert Serra: Radical Classicist", Harvard Film Archives. Retrieved 2016-09-03. "Albert Serra: Divine Visionaries and Holy Fools", Tate Modern. Retrieved 2016-09-03. "Locarno Film Festival Review: Dracula Meets Casanova In Albert Serra's Bizarrely Fascinating ‘The Story of My Death’", by Eric Kohn, IndieWire, 13 August 2013.