Pedro Almodóvar
It saddens me that my favourite director of all time has unfortunately never won the Best Director Oscar, despite being nominated for the Award in 2003 for Hablé Con Ella (Talk To Her). As one of Spain’s most iconic and influential directors during La Movida Madrileña (the cultural renaissance that occurred in Spain following the death of General Franco), Almodóvar soon reached international fame with his 1989 film Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. 11 years later, he won the same award for his 1999 film Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother). In 2003, he won the Award for Best Original Screenplay for Talk to Her, but failed to earn Oscar gold for Best Director, losing to Roman Polanski for The Pianist. Many of Almodóvar’s films have been responsible for launching the careers of various Spanish actors, such as Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, and Javier Bardem. Hopefully one day he’ll finally take home a well-deserved Best Director Oscar.