Miguel Picazo (1927-2016) *89

was a Spanish film director, screen writer and actor. He is best known for his first feature film La Tía Tula (Aunt Tula) (1964). Born in Jaen, Picazo was raise in Guadalajara and studied law. Interested in filmmaking he entered Spain's national film school, Intituto de investigaciones y Experiencias Cinematograficas, graduating as director in 1960 with a practice film entitled Habitacion de Alquiler (Rented Room). He then became a teacher in the newly restructured Escuela Oficial de Cine (EOC) and eventually he was able to direct his first film, La Tía Tula (Aunt Tula) (1964). An updated adaptation of the well known novel by Miguel de Unamuno, portraying the oppressive and puritanical environment of provincial life in Spain. The film, helped by a strong performance in the lead by Aurora Bautista as the sexually repressed title character, was a critical and commercial success and brought Picazo to the forefront of the new Spanish cinema.

Despite the success of his debut film, it took Picazo three years to make his second film, Oscuros sueños de Agosto (Dark dreams of August) (1967), a film marred by cuts by the censors and the death of the film's producer, Cesareo Gonzalez which hampered commercial distribution. This failure put Picazo away from filming for the next nine years.

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