# Julio Medem

Julio Medem Lafont (born 21 October 1958) is a Basque film director, producer, editor, and screenwriter.

## Biography

Medem was born on 21 October 1958 in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when he would take his father's Super 8 camera and shoot at night, while nobody was paying attention. After college graduation, with degrees in Medicine and General Surgery, he worked as a film critic and later as a screenwriter, assistant director and editor. After a few shorts, he directed his first full-length feature, Vacas (Cows) for which he won a Goya Award.
After this film he directed The Red Squirrel and Earth, both receiving good reviews at Cannes. His next film, Lovers of the Arctic Circle, has been compared to the works of Krzysztof Kieślowski. In 2002 was released his following film, Sex and Lucia.
Medem explored the documentary format with his next production La pelota vasca ('The Basque Ball'), a film about the political problems of the Basque Country, which caused a furor amongst some victims of terrorism and far right politicians. Following this, his film Caótica Ana debuted in 2007.

## Filmography
### Feature films
#### Narrative films

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor |
| 1991 | Cows | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 1993 | The Red Squirrel | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 1996 | Earth | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 1998 | Lovers of the Arctic Circle | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 2001 | Sex and Lucia | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 2007 | Chaotic Ana | Yes | Yes | Executive | Yes |
| 2010 | Room in Rome | Yes | Yes | Executive | Yes |
| 2015 | Ma Ma | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2018 | The Tree of Blood | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2025 | 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

#### Documentary films

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor |
| 2003 | The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2006 | Uno por ciento, esquizofrenia | No | Idea | Yes | Yes |

### Short films
#### Super 8

* El ciego (The Blind, 1974)
* El jueves pasado (Last Thursday, 1977)
* Fideos (Noodles, 1979)
* Si yo fuera poeta... (If I Were a Poet, 1981)
* Teatro en Soria (Theatre in Soria, 1982)

#### 35 mm

* Patas en la cabeza (Nutty As a Fruitcake, 1985)
* Las seis en punta (Six on the Dot, 1987)
* Martín (commissioned by TVE for their Siete huellas, siete [Seven Tracks, Seven] series of short films, 1988)
* El Diario Vasco (The Basque Daily, 1989)

#### DV

* Asi se hizo "Airbag" (making of Juanma Bajo Ulloa's film Airbag, 1997)
* Clecla (commissioned by notodofilmfest.com, 2001)
* La pelota vasca (segment of ¡Hay motivo! [There Is Reason!], 2003)
* En las ramas de Ana (In Ana's Branches, commissioned by es:Fotogramas and Nokia for their N_ature movies series of short films, 2007)
* Concha (Mussel, video installation commissioned by Acciona and shown at Expo 2008, 2008)

#### Music video

* "Océano de sol" for Antonio Vega (1994)

#### Commercials

* Runner for Audi's Attitudes campaign (agency: El Sindicato, 1999/2000)
* Soplo/Tendedero (Waft/Clothesline) and Mediterraneo (Mediterranean) for Balay (agency: FCB Tapsa, 2002)
* Vecina (Neighbour) and Brazalete (Bracelet) for Heineken (agency: Dayax, 2003)

### TV series

* Jai Alai ( 2023)

### Books

* Aspasia Amante De Atenas (2013)