Javier Aguirresarobe Zubía ASC (born 10 October 1948) is a Spanish cinematographer. After working primarily in Spanish movies during the 1980s and 1990s, he gained international recognition for his work on The Others (2001). From there, he worked mostly in Hollywood productions, ranging across multiple genres. He is a five-time Goya Award winner (out of 10 total nominations) and a BAFTA Award nominee, among other accolades.
Early life and education Javier Aguirresarobe Zubía was born in Eibar, Guipúzcoa, Basque Country, Spain, on 10 October 1948. He has an older brother who was an industrial photographer, whom he used to help in the lab as a teenager, and this sparked his passion for photography.
After earning a Diploma in Optics, He moved to Madrid to study journalism, and worked at various newspapers before deciding to change tack. He studied cinematography at the Official School of Cinematography, which has close links to the Spanish film industry. Only the top nine students in the entrance exam were admitted to the cinematography course. The students used 35mm film.
Career In 1983, Aguirresarobe's first work as cinematographer was for "a very small movie", La Muerte de Mikel (The Death of Mikel), which turned out to be a success at the box office.
He first attracted international attention with the 1997 film Secrets of the Heart, and even more in 2001 with The Others, directed by Alejandro Amenábar and starring Nicole Kidman.
Aguirresarobe has worked with Spanish directors such as Imanol Uribe, Alejandro Amenábar, Pedro Almodóvar, Julio Médem, Montxo Armendáriz, and Fernando Trueba, and internationally, with Miloš Forman, John Hillcoat, Woody Allen and Chris Weitz.
Honors In 2004, he won the Spanish National Photography Award.
In 2009, Aguirresarobe was one of two recipients to be awarded the Universal Basque Prize by the Lehendakari (the Basque president) "in recognition of their endeavours to disseminate the image of the Basque Country outside its frontiers in the seat of the Lehendakaritza".
In 2012, Aguirresarobe was honoured with membership of the American Society of Cinematographers on the recommendation of Steven Poster, Julio Macat, and Rodrigo Prieto.
Filmography +KeyDenotes titles that have not yet been released Feature films Year Title Director Notes 1978 What's a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Fernando Colomo 1983 Que nos quiten lo bailao Carles Mira 1984 La Muerte de Mikel Imanol Uribe El jardín secreto Carlos Suárez El pico 2 Eloy de la Iglesia1985 Eternal Fire José Ángel Rebolledo Golfo de Vizcaya Javier Rebollo 1986 27 Hours Montxo Armendáriz1987 Laura, del cielo llega la noche Gonzalo Herralde La oveja negra Román Chalbaud The Enchanted Forest José Luis Cuerda1991 Don Juan in Hell Gonzalo Suárez Prince of Shadows Pilar Miró1993 The Dead Mother Juanma Bajo Ulloa ¡Dispara! Carlos Saura O Fio do Horizonte Fernando Lopes1994 Una chica entre un millón Álvaro Sáenz de Heredia Días contados Imanol Uribe1995 Ainsi soient-elles Patrick AlessandrinLisa Azuelos Antarctica Manuel Huerga Fiesta Pierre Boutron1996 Earth Julio Medem Your Name Poisons My Dreams Pilar Miró Bwana Imanol Uribe The Dog in the Manger Pilar Miró1997 Secrets of the Heart Montxo Armendáriz 99.9 Agustí Villaronga1998 The Girl of Your Dreams Fernando Trueba The Miracle of P. Tinto Javier Fesser 1999 La fuente amarilla Miguel Santesmases2000 Salsa Joyce Buñuel Masterpiece David Trueba 2001 The Others Alejandro Amenábar2002 Desire Gerardo Vera Soldiers of Salamina David Trueba Talk to Her Pedro Almodóvar 2003 Mauvais esprit Patrick Alessandrin 2004 The Bridge of San Luis Rey Mary McGuckian The Sea Inside Alejandro Amenábar2005 Ants in the Mouth Mariano Barroso Obaba Montxo Armendáriz 2006 Goya's Ghosts Miloš Forman 2007 La carta esférica Imanol Uribe 2008 Tear This Heart Out Roberto Sneider The City of Your Final Destination James Ivory Vicky Cristina Barcelona Woody Allen2009 The Road John Hillcoat The Twilight Saga: New Moon Chris Weitz 2010 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse David Slade2011 A Better Life Chris Weitz Fright Night Craig Gillespie 2012 The Five-Year Engagement Nicholas Stoller2013 Blue Jasmine Woody Allen Identity Thief Seth Gordon Warm Bodies Jonathan Levine 2014 The Perfect Dictatorship Luis Estrada2015 Poltergeist Gil Kenan Goosebumps Rob Letterman2016 The Finest Hours Craig Gillespie The Promise Terry George The Healer Paco Arango 2017 Thor: Ragnarok Taika Waititi2018 The Etruscan Smile Oded BinnunMihal Brezis Here and Now Fabien Constant Operation Finale Chris Weitz 2019 Dora and the Lost City of Gold James Bobin2022 Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Will SpeckJosh Gordon Across the River and into the Trees Paula Ortiz 2024 Afraid Chris Weitz 2027 Day Drinker Marc Webb Post-production
Short films Year Title Director Notes 1969 El espíritu Juan Tamariz With José Luis Sanz Benito 1973 Escena José Ángel Rebolledo 1974 Lola, Paz y yo Miguel Ángel Díez La danza de lo gracioso: Barregarearen dantza Montxo Armendáriz 1975 En un París imaginarioFernando Colomo1976 Pomporrutas imperiales Ir por lanaMiguel Ángel Díez Una pareja como las demás 1978 Irrintzi Mirentxu Loxarte 1979 Ikuska-3 Antton Merikaetxeberria1980 IkusmenaMontxo Armendáriz Paisaje 1983 Guipuzkoa Donostia: Costa guipuzcoana Imanol Uribe 1994 Aquel ritmillo Javier Fesser 1996 Agurra Iñaki Elizalde 1997 Haika mutil Imanol Uribe 1999 Lorca Iñaki Elizalde 2000 El chico en la puerta Alberto Palma 2018 Tócate Eduardo Chapero-Jackson
Documentary works es:El proceso de Burgos Year Title Director Notes 1985 The Basque Whalers of Labrador Thomas Cadieux 1989 Donde termina el corazón Carlos Scola 1992 Dream of Light Víctor Erice With Ángel Luis Fernández and José Luis López-Linares 1993 Marathon Carlos Saura 2003 Eric Clapton and Friends Jana Bokova
Documentary shorts Year Title Director Notes 1977 Ez Imanol Uribe 1979 Ikuska 2 Pedro Olea1980 Ikuska 4 Xabier Elorriaga Ikuska 8 Koldo Larrañaga 1981 Ikuska 11 Montxo Armendáriz 1983 La huella árabe en España Jaime de Armiñán With Teo Escamilla Ikuska 13. Euskal kanta berria. La nueva canción vasca Imanol Uribe 1985 Bihotzez Pedro Olea 1988 Ngira: Gorilas en la montaña Carlos Scola
Television Year Title Director Notes 1989 Sabbath Imanol Uribe Episode "La luna negra" 1990 La forja de un rebelde Mario Camus 2 episodes 1997 Autor por autor Pilar Miró
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Title Result 1987Goya AwardsBest Cinematography El bosque animado 1991 Don Juan in Hell Prince of Shadows 1994 Días contados 1996 The Dog in the Manger 1998 The Girl of Your Dreams 2001 The Others 2002 Soldiers of Salamina 2004 The Sea Inside 2005 Obaba 1997 Sitges Film Festival Best Cinematography 99.9 2009 BAFTA Awards Best CinematographyThe Road San Diego Film Critics Society Best Cinematography Houston Film Critics Society Best Cinematography
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