Néstor Almendros

Biography

Néstor Almendros Cuyás (30 October 1930 – 4 March 1992) was a Spanish cinematographer. One of the most highly appraised contemporary cinematographers, "Almendros was an artist of deep integrity, who believed the most beautiful light was natural light...he will always be remembered as a cinematographer of absolute truth...a true master of light". Néstor Almendros Cuyás was born in Barcelona, Spain, but at 18 moved to Cuba to join his exiled anti-Francisco Franco father. In Havana, he wrote film reviews. Then he went on to study in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. He directed six shorts in Cuba and two in New York City. After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, he returned and made several documentaries for the Castro regime. But after two of his shorts (Gente en la playa and La tumba francesa) were banned, he moved to Paris. Starting in 1964, he became the favorite collaborator of French New Wave director Éric Rohmer. In the early seventies he also started working with François Truffaut, Barbet Schroeder and other directors. Almendros began his Hollywood career with Days of Heaven (1978), written and directed by Terrence Malick, who admired Almendros' work on The Wild Ch…

Movies & TV Shows

1. La Collectionneuse (1967)
2. The Green Room (1978)
3. Visions of Light (1992) — Self
4. Le Grand Échiquier (1972) — Self
5. A Movie Capital (1991) — Self
6. Alekan, la lumière (1988) — Self
7. Working with François Truffaut: Nestor Almendros, Director of Photography (2009) — Self
8. En répétant Perceval (1978)
9. Ciné regards (1978) — Self

Directed

1. Improper Conduct (1984) — Director
2. Nobody Listened (1987) — Director
3. People at the Beach (1960) — Director
4. A Daily Mix-up (1950) — Director