Ventura Pons

25.07.1945, Barcelona, Spain

 

Director
Pons is a director, screenwriter and producer with the original name Bonaventura Pons i Sala. He began his career as a theatre director, and after a decade spent in theatres he directed his first film – documentary Ocana, an Intermittent Portrait (Ocaña, retrat intermitent, 1978). In 1981, he directed his first full-length feature film comedy El vicari d'Oloti. He founded his own production house Els Films de la Rambla in 1985 and directed most of his films for it. At first he made comedies (The Blonde at the Bar (La rossa del bar, 1986), Què t'hi jugues, Mari Pili? (1991), Aquesta nit o mai (1992). From 1995, he began adapting plays and comedies by Spanish writers for films. Some of these adaptations include Caresses (Carícies, 1998), Beloved/Friend (Amic/Amat, 1999), Anita Takes a Chance (Anita no perd el tren, 2001), Food of Love (2002), Idiotska ljubav (Amor idiota, 2004), Life on the Edge (La vida abismal, 2007), Strangers (Forasteros, 2008), A la deriva (2009) and A Thousand Fools (Mil cretins, 2011). After the comedy Year of Grace (Any de Gràcia, 2011), he directed the documentary Ignasi M. (2013) about the vivid protagonist with the same name. He is currently working in post-production on his film El virus de la por (2015). As one of the best well-known Catalan film directors, he was the vice-president of the Spanish Film Academy. In 2012, he received the Sant Jordi award for his entire film career.

Filmography


Films by this director

Strangers

(Forasteros, 2008.)

Directed by: Ventura Pons
PHOTOGRAPHY: Joan Minguell
Synopsis:

This is a portrait of a dysfunctional family through two periods, one in the 1960s and the second forty years later. Intense family relationships, prejudices, xenophobia and homophobia are some of the problems that are repeated in both generations of the same family consisting of Emma, head of the family, Francesco, her husband and the strict father of the rebellious Anna and homosexual Josep.

digital, color, 105 min

Ignasi M.

(2013.)

Directed by: Ventura Pons
PHOTOGRAPHY: Andalu Vila-San-Juan
Synopsis:

The protagonist of this documentary is Ignasi Millet, a respected museum expert, who is a HIV positive homosexual. He survives due to his great courage, honesty, a dose of humor and hope. We follow him through his interaction with friends who are close to him and his family. He speaks about his fatherhood and his relationship to the mother of his now grown-up sons. Through his reflections on topics such as art, religion, sex and independence of Catalonia, we meet up close this fearless man full...

digital, color, 87 min
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