RODRIGO CORTES is a filmmaker on the rise. Cortes' passion for directing began at a very early age; by the time he was 16 years old, he had already shot his first short film on Super 8, El descomedido y espantoso caso del victimario de Salamanca. This was soon followed by another short, Siete escenas de la vida de un insecto. In 1998 he shot a video clip of the song "Sick of You," by the group Onion, for Alejandro Amenabar's film Open Your Eyes. That same year he shot Yul, a short film that went on to scoop up more than 20 international prizes.
In 2001 Cortes helmed 15 dias (15 Days), the cult "mock doc" that became the Spanish short film with the most prizes to its name in the history of the local industry at that time. While the film was making the rounds on the professional circuit, Cortes was busy on a number of different creations that received numerous awards from online festivals such as Notodofilmfest.
Concursante (The Contestant), his first feature film, charts the rollercoaster ride of an everyday man who sees how his destiny takes a brutal turn for the worse when he wins the biggest prize in the history of television. It premiered to great success at the Malaga Film Festival in March 2007, where it obtained several prizes, including the coveted Critics Award.
Buried, Cortes much-anticipated second feature, bowed internationally at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010 to great success. With queues six hours long, tickets going for up to $150, standing ovations at each screening, and unanimous praise from critics, Buried became one of the big surprises of the festival. Only 11 hours after the premiere, Lionsgate won a bidding war to acquire the film's North American distribution rights. Buried was the biggest seller at the Sundance Film Festival in three years and eventually earned more than 30 awards at festivals around the world.
© 2012 Millennium Entertainment
