Jose-Mari Goenaga

Spanish screenwriter, producer, and director José Mari Goenaga became an important voice in the realm of Basque-language cinema after making his feature-length debut with the animated film "Supertramps" (2004). That movie earned the director a Goya nomination, and proved a portent of the success that would mark his career. Born in Ordizia, Spain, Goenaga first studied business administration. He eventually decided that filmmaking was his true calling, however, and enrolled in film school at Udala Sarobe Arte Eszeniko Gunea. There, he met his future creative partner, Jon Garaño. In 2001, the two formed their own production company, Moriarti Produkzioak. After the success of "Supertramps," Goenaga got to work on the documentary "Lucio" (2007), which profiled the anarchist and forger Lucio Urtubia. The film was nominated for a Goya for Best Documentary, and increased Goenaga's notoriety even further. He would follow it with an earnest drama, a late-in-life romance between two women called "For 80 Days" (2010), which he co-directed with Garaño. The two would team up again for the episodic drama "Loreak" (2014) which would prove to be the first Basque-language film to compete at the San Sebastian Film Festival, or to be nominated for a Goya for Best Picture.