Giménez-Rico died on February 12 in Madrid, according to the Spanish Film Academy.
A law graduate from the Universidad de Valladolid, he worked as a screenwriter and film director and trained as a journalist in Madrid.
After a period in which he dedicated himself to criticism and radio, in 1963 he became assistant director of some such as Vittorio Cottafavi, Eugenio Martín, Antonio Mercero, and Javier Setó. His first feature film as a screenwriter and director was “El hueso” (1968).
In December 1988, until then being the director of the Association of Spanish Film Directors and Directors, he was elected president of the Spanish Film Academy, replacing Fernando Trueba. Re-elected in 1990, he held the position until 1992, when he stopped running and was replaced by actor Fernando Rey.
He has signed numerous literary adaptations and released actors such as Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, José Coronado and Maribel Verdú.
Giménez-Rico directed some of the best-known Spanish films of the 1980s, such as “Vestida de azul” (1983), a documentary about transsexualism, and “El disputado voto del señor Cayo” (1986), based on a story by Miguel Delibes, one of his favorite authors.
With “Jarrapellejos” (1987) he received a Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, shared with Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón.
In the 1990s he directed “Catorce estaciones” (1990), “Tres palabras” (1993), “Sombras y luces: Cien años de cine español” (1996) and “Las ratas” (1997). This was followed by “Primer y último amor” (2002), a film based on Torcuato Luca de Tena’s novel of the same name, and “Hotel Danubio” (2003), a version of José Antonio Nieves Conde’s “Los pezes rojos” (1955) .
His last projects were “El libro de las aguas” and “Inquietud en el paraíso”, adaptations of novels signed by Alejandro López Andrade and Óscar Esquivías, respectively.
Antonio Giménez-Rico has also directed numerous television productions, including episodes of series such as “La noche de los tiempos”, “Los ríos”, “Cuentos y leyendas” and “La máscara negra”.
