Isabel Coixet Castillo is a prolific film director of contemporary Spain, with The New York Times describing her work as “unclassifiable.”
She has directed seven feature-length films since the beginning of her film career in 1988, in addition to documentary films, shorts and commercials. After a BA degree in History at Barcelona University, Major in 18th and 19th centuries, she worked in advertising and spot writing.
She won several accolades for her spots, and finally founded her own production company in 2000, Miss Wasabi Films. In 1988, Coixet made her debut as a scriptwriter and helmer in Demasiado Viejo Para Morir Joven for which she was nominated at the Goya Awards as a Best New Director.
In 1996, she made her first feature in English: Things I Never Told You led by American actors Lili Taylor and Andrew McCarthy. Coixet achieved her second nomination at the Goya Awards for Best Original Screenplay. In 1988 directed the historical adventure A los que aman followed by My life without me, based on Nancy Kincaid’s short story. The Spanish/Canadian co-production was strongly praised at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The Secret Life of Words was the recipient of four Goya Awards in 2005: Best Film, Best Director, Best Production and Best Screenplay. She was a part of the groundbreaking collective project Paris, je t’aime and Invisibles, selected by 2007 Berlin Film Festival Panorama section about Doctors Without Borders.
From there, she made Elegy, Map of the Sounds of Tokyo and Yesterday Never Ends. By 2013, she started shooting Learning to Drive.
Excerpt from FF2 Media review of Learning to Drive from August 20, 2015:
Once again, Coixet’s casting is impeccable. Grace Gummer is lovely as “Tasha,” as is Sarita Choudhury as “Jasleen.” (Old folks like me might remember Choudhury from her steamy love scenes with Denzel Washington in Mira Nair’s film Mississippi Masala; youngsters might recognize her as someone currently playing a supporting role on Homeland.) Samantha Bee is a hoot as Wendy’s sister “Debbie,” and Avi Nash (who plays Darwan’s nephew “Preet”) is absolutely adorable. Bottom Line: Coixet definitely did “hit it out of the park.”
Read full review: https://ff2media.azurewebsites.net/thehotpinkpen/2015/08/20/learning-to-drive/
Read more about Isabel Coixet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Coixet
Top: In Learning to Drive, Darwan rewards Wendy with a trip to the beach after she successful crosses her first bridge.
Photo Credits: Linda Kallerus.
