Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Julio Medem

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Julio Medem at an event for 7 Days in Havana (2011)
Julio Medem was born in San Sebastian in northern Spain. As a teenager Medem made short movies with a super-8 camera owned by his father. Some of those films are "El ciego" (1976), "El jueves pasado" (1977) and "Fideos" (1979.) Wanting to know more about the darkest corners of the human mind, Medem studied psychiatry. In 1985 Medem received a degree in medicine from the University of the Basque Country. In 1986 Medem directed "Patas en la cabeza," a 35MM short that won an award in the international Festival of Bilbao. In 1987, after winning the Telenorte prize for another short movie, "Las seis en punta", he decided to become a professional filmmaker. Medem worked as assistant, editor and screenwriter in differents projects for cinema and TV. He also wrote several screenplays, but they were all refused by most of production companies in Spain. Finally, in 1991, Medem received a call from a new production company called SOGETEL. They were interested in his script titled "Vacas," about the fight between two families during three generations, from 1875 until 1936. Medem directed the film for SOGETEL and it was released in 1992. "Vacas" was brilliantly received and became a big success. It won the Goya Award from the Spanish academy for best new director, and won prizes in the festivals of Tokyo, Torino and Alexandria. In 1993 Medem made his second movie, "La ardilla roja." "La ardilla roja" confirmed Medem's talents and won prizes in Fort Lauderdale, Bogota and Bucarest. His third movie, "Tierra," released in 1996, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. In 1998 Medem released "Los amantes del Circulo Polar," considered his best movie by most of his fans. It also became a box-office hit with more than one million spectators in Spain. "Los amantes del Circulo Polar" was also released worldwide. In 2001 his fourth movie, "Lucia y el sexo," became a huge hit and began the career of actress Paz Vega who won the Goya for best new actress. In 2003 the release of "La pelota vasca," a documentary that portrays the phenomenon of nationalism in the Basque Country of northern Spain, was very polemical.

Julio Medem is for sure the most important and original Spanish filmmaker.
BornOctober 21, 1958
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornOctober 21, 1958
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards
    • 38 wins & 22 nominations

Photos11

Julio Medem in Sex and Lucía (2001)
Julio Medem and Paz Vega in Sex and Lucía (2001)
Elena Anaya and Julio Medem in Sex and Lucía (2001)
Julio Medem in Sex and Lucía (2001)
Julio Medem at an event for Ma ma (2015)
Julio Medem at an event for Ma ma (2015)
Julio Medem at an event for Ma ma (2015)
Julio Medem, Luis Tosar, and Asier Etxeandia at an event for Ma ma (2015)
Benicio Del Toro, Laurent Cantet, Julio Medem, Gaspar Noé, Elia Suleiman, and Pablo Trapero at an event for 7 Days in Havana (2011)
Asier Newman, Julio Medem, and Manuela Vellés in Chaotic Ana (2007)

Known for

Paz Vega in Sex and Lucía (2001)
Sex and Lucía
7.0
  • Director
  • 2001
Fele Martínez and Najwa Nimri in Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)
Lovers of the Arctic Circle
7.6
  • Director
  • 1998
The Red Squirrel (1993)
The Red Squirrel
7.1
  • Director
  • 1993
Cows (1992)
Cows
7.1
  • Director
  • 1992

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • Minotauro, Picasso y las mujeres del Guernica
    • Director
    • Post-production
  • Margarita en la luna (2022)
    Margarita en la luna
    • Director
    • 2022
  • Joaquín Furriel, Luisa Gavasa, Emilio Gutiérrez Caba, Julio Medem, Ángela Molina, Najwa Nimri, Josep Maria Pou, Daniel Grao, Maria Molins, Álvaro Cervantes, Úrsula Corberó, and Patricia López Arnaiz in The Tree of Blood (2018)
    The Tree of Blood
    • Director
    • 2018
  • Miriam Giovanelli and Asier Etxeandia in El pelotari y la fallera (2017)
    El pelotari y la fallera
    • Director
    • Short
    • 2017
  • Kalebegiak (2016)
    Kalebegiak
    • Director (segment La ballena real)
    • 2016
  • Penélope Cruz in Ma ma (2015)
    Ma ma
    • Director
    • 2015
  • 7 Days in Havana (2011)
    7 Days in Havana
    • Director (segment La tentación de Cecilia)
    • 2011
  • Elena Anaya and Natasha Yarovenko in Room in Rome (2010)
    Room in Rome
    • Director
    • 2010
  • Canciones 1980-2009
    • Director (music video)
    • Video
    • 2009
  • Manuela Vellés in Chaotic Ana (2007)
    Chaotic Ana
    • Director
    • 2007
  • ¡Hay motivo! (2004)
    ¡Hay motivo!
    • Director (segment La pelota vasca)
    • 2004
  • The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone (2003)
    The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone
    • Director
    • 2003
  • Paz Vega in Sex and Lucía (2001)
    Sex and Lucía
    • Director
    • 2001
  • Fele Martínez and Najwa Nimri in Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)
    Lovers of the Arctic Circle
    • Director
    • 1998
  • Earth (1996)
    Earth
    • Director
    • 1996
  • The Red Squirrel (1993)
    The Red Squirrel
    • Director
    • 1993

Writer

  • Minotauro, Picasso y las mujeres del Guernica
    • Writer
    • Post-production
  • Margarita en la luna (2022)
    Margarita en la luna
    • Writer
    • 2022
  • Joaquín Furriel, Luisa Gavasa, Emilio Gutiérrez Caba, Julio Medem, Ángela Molina, Najwa Nimri, Josep Maria Pou, Daniel Grao, Maria Molins, Álvaro Cervantes, Úrsula Corberó, and Patricia López Arnaiz in The Tree of Blood (2018)
    The Tree of Blood
    • Writer
    • 2018
  • Miriam Giovanelli and Asier Etxeandia in El pelotari y la fallera (2017)
    El pelotari y la fallera
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 2017
  • Penélope Cruz in Ma ma (2015)
    Ma ma
    • Writer
    • 2015
  • 7 Days in Havana (2011)
    7 Days in Havana
    • Writer (segment La Tentación de Cecilia)
    • 2011
  • Elena Anaya and Natasha Yarovenko in Room in Rome (2010)
    Room in Rome
    • written by
    • 2010
  • Manuela Vellés in Chaotic Ana (2007)
    Chaotic Ana
    • Writer
    • 2007
  • Uno por ciento, esquizofrenia (2007)
    Uno por ciento, esquizofrenia
    • original idea
    • 2007
  • La culpa del alpinista (2004)
    La culpa del alpinista
    • original idea
    • screenplay
    • Short
    • 2004
  • The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone (2003)
    The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone
    • writer
    • 2003
  • DVD Extra-Making of Lucia y El Sexo
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 2001
  • Paz Vega in Sex and Lucía (2001)
    Sex and Lucía
    • Writer
    • 2001
  • Fele Martínez and Najwa Nimri in Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)
    Lovers of the Arctic Circle
    • writer
    • 1998
  • Earth (1996)
    Earth
    • Writer
    • 1996
  • HOLA, ¿ESTAS SOLA? (1995) HI, ARE YOU ALONE (1995)
    Hola, ¿estás sola?
    • contributing writer
    • 1995

Producer

  • Margarita en la luna (2022)
    Margarita en la luna
    • executive producer
    • 2022
  • Penélope Cruz in Ma ma (2015)
    Ma ma
    • producer
    • 2015
  • Elena Anaya and Natasha Yarovenko in Room in Rome (2010)
    Room in Rome
    • executive producer
    • 2010
  • Yo, también (2009)
    Yo, también
    • producer
    • 2009
  • Manuela Vellés in Chaotic Ana (2007)
    Chaotic Ana
    • executive producer
    • 2007
  • Uno por ciento, esquizofrenia (2007)
    Uno por ciento, esquizofrenia
    • producer
    • 2007
  • Judith Scott in ¿Qué tienes debajo del sombrero? (2006)
    ¿Qué tienes debajo del sombrero?
    • producer
    • 2006
  • The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone (2003)
    The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone
    • executive producer
    • 2003
  • DVD Extra-Making of Lucia y El Sexo
    • producer
    • Short
    • 2001
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • October 21, 1958
    • Donostia-San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, País Vasco, Spain
  • Spouse
    • Montse SanzJune 23, 2018 - present (1 child)

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    After watching The Red Squirrel (1993), Stanley Kubrick recommended Steven Spielberg to hire him for The Mask of Zorro (1998). Spielberg contacted him, but the Spanish filmmaker rejected the job because he wanted to keep working in more personal projects.

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
List
The Best Things to Watch in June
See the list
Production art
Photos
See These Trending Actors in Early Roles
Can you place the face?

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you seen?

Keep track of how much of Julio Medem’s work you have seen. Go to your list.
Production art
Photos
LGBTQIA+ Power Couples of Hollywood
See the photos

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.