Karlos Alastruey Merino (born 1963 in Bilbao) is a Basque film director, screenwriter, professor and researcher.
He holds a PhD in Physical Sciences from the University of the Basque Country and is an associate professor at the Public University of Navarre, where his teaching and research focus on applied physics and automatic control. He also teaches documentary filmmaking and produces science-related documentaries within the university environment. Alongside his academic career, he has developed an extensive career as an independent filmmaker, with a filmography encompassing fiction feature films, documentaries, short films and experimental works.
Alastruey is a member of the Baháʼí community.
Film career
Following his debut with El bosque de la luz, Alastruey made several short films and documentaries, including Roca Bon: en busca de lo sublime, which received the Best Arts in Film award at the Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival.
In 2009, he directed his first fiction feature film, Lodo, which received several awards at international film festivals and marked the beginning of a period focused on auteur feature filmmaking. In the following years, he released, among other works, La mirada negra, Anamorphosis, El ángel entre la niebla, La extensión del cielo, Nexos and El espíritu de la escalera.
From the mid-2010s onwards, he combined feature filmmaking with an extensive production of fiction and experimental short films. From 2023, his work increasingly combined fiction and documentary filmmaking, with titles including Entre el agua y la tierra, Abel Azcona: el artista detonante, La guerra de las máquinas, La isla and Ane fuera de la caverna, several of which premiered at international festivals in Greece, France, India and Kosovo.
His filmography comprises more than forty works; he has worked in fiction, documentary and experimental cinema across short, medium-length and feature films.
Early works (2003–2008)
His first short film, El bosque de la luz, was awarded the Gold Medal of UNICA in 2004. He subsequently alternated between fiction short films and documentaries focusing on education and on various contemporary artists and creators, including Escuelas, Diálogos con Juan Leyva, Los ojos de Siran and El arte del espíritu.
During this early period, he was particularly active in short filmmaking, experimenting with different narrative and visual approaches. As Alastruey explained in an interview given on the occasion of the release of Lodo, works such as Ardia and, particularly, La sombra—written by Javier Alastruey—saw him begin to develop expressive devices such as conceptual editing and a narrative approach based on silence and the association of images, features that would characterize much of his later filmography.
In 2008, he directed the documentary Roca Bon: en busca de lo sublime, about the work of painter Ferrán Roca Bon. The film received the Best Arts in Film award at the Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival in California.
Consolidation as a director (2009–2014)
Alastruey became established as a director with the release of Lodo (2009), his first fiction feature film.
The film received several distinctions at international festivals, including being named a finalist at the Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films, the Golden Aphrodite for Best Soundtrack at the Cyprus International Film Festival, the award for Best Surrealist Film at the New York City International Film Festival, and several awards at the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival, including Best Director.
Between 2010 and 2014, he directed the feature films La mirada negra, Anamorphosis, El ángel entre la niebla, La extensión del cielo, Nexos and El espíritu de la escalera. During this period, he developed an auteur style increasingly characterized by symbolic and fantastic elements. Anamorphosis received the Best Director and Best Soundtrack awards in the surrealist film category at the 2011 New York City International Film Festival.
At the same time, he continued to make documentaries, including Roca Bon: la geometría del alma.
Recent work (2015–present)
From 2015 onwards, Alastruey increased his production of short films, combining fiction and experimental works with new documentary projects. During this period, his works included AntiBasque, Short Lives in a Large Room, Worldlines, Kolore Ezkutuak, Rhea and subsequent installments of the Worldlines series.
In 2023, his feature film Entre el agua y la tierra premiered at the Kimolos International Film Festival in Greece. The film received favorable reviews, with critics highlighting its contemplative character and use of visual symbolism.
Since then, he has developed fiction and documentary projects in parallel. The latter include Abel Azcona: el artista detonante, about artist Abel Azcona; La guerra de las máquinas, focusing on the ethical and legal implications of the use of artificial intelligence in armed conflicts; and La isla, co-directed with John Petrizzelli and focusing on the diaspora of the Annobonese people.
In fiction, he premiered Ane fuera de la caverna at the Independent and Experimental Film Festival of Kerala in India, while his short films El año en que me miraste, Aurora I and The Shortest Day of the Year were presented at international festivals in France and Greece. In 2026, he also began shooting Urtaro Ikusezina (Estación invisible), his first feature film shot entirely in the Basque language.Diario de Navarra...
Style
Following his early works, from short films such as Ardia and, particularly, La sombra, Alastruey's cinema increasingly incorporated conceptual editing, narrative use of silence, and symbolic, fantastic and surrealist elements. This development found some of its most representative expressions in feature films such as Lodo and Anamorphosis.
In his more recent work, reviews of Entre el agua y la tierra have highlighted the film's contemplative character, its use of landscape as a narrative element, and its symbolic and spiritual mise-en-scène.
During this period, he has combined fiction filmmaking with documentaries addressing artistic, social and political issues. Among the latter, La guerra de las máquinas and La isla address contemporary issues relating, respectively, to the ethical and legal implications of artificial intelligence in armed conflicts and to the diaspora of the Annobonese people.
Filmography
Year Title Format Genre Notes2003El bosque de la luzShort filmFictionUNICA Gold Medal (2004).2004EscuelasMedium-length filmDocumentaryAlastruey's first documentary.2004Ainhoa y el marShort filmFiction2005Diálogos con Juan LeyvaShort filmDocumentaryAbout artist Juan Leyva.2005Los ojos de SiranShort filmDocumentary2006El arte del espírituMedium-length filmDocumentaryA reflection on art and spirituality.2006DestrucciónShort filmFiction2006ArdiaShort filmFictionBeginning of a more symbolic period.2008La sombraShort filmFictionWritten by Javier Alastruey.2008Roca Bon: en busca de lo sublimeShort filmDocumentaryBest Arts in Film award.2008The PrayerShort filmFiction2008SlaughterhouseShort filmExperimental2009LodoFeature filmFictionFirst feature film; multiple awards. Music by Sergio Lasuén.2009BipShort filmFiction2010La mirada negraFeature filmFictionStarring Ana Caramés and Ander Janín.2010Roca Bon: la geometría del almaFeature filmDocumentarySecond part of the Roca Bon project.2011AnamorphosisFeature filmFictionBest Director and Best Soundtrack awards (NYCIFF).2011AdaShort filmFiction2012El ángel entre la nieblaFeature filmFiction2012La extensión del cieloFeature filmFiction2014NexosFeature filmFiction2014El espíritu de la escaleraFeature filmFiction2016AntiBasqueMedium-length filmExperimental2016Short Lives in a Large RoomShort filmExperimental2016WorldlinesShort filmFictionFirst installment of the Worldlines series.2016En algún momento de la nocheFeature filmFiction2017Kolore EzkutuakShort filmFiction2017Ane y las estrellasShort filmFiction2021RheaShort filmFiction2023Entre el agua y la tierraFeature filmFictionPremiered in Kimolos, Greece. Music by Sergio Lasuén.2023Worldlines IIIShort filmFictionThird installment of the series.2024Abel Azcona: el artista detonanteFeature filmDocumentaryAbout artist Abel Azcona.2024La guerra de las máquinasFeature filmDocumentaryAbout artificial intelligence and armed conflicts.2024Worldlines IVShort filmFictionFourth installment of the series.2024El camino a LinduxShort filmFiction2025BifurkacioniMedium-length filmDocumentaryCo-directed with Myriam Cruz.2025El año en que me mirasteShort filmFictionPremiered at the Cannes Short Film Corner.2025Aurora IShort filmFictionPremiered in Kimolos, Greece.2025The Shortest Day of the YearShort filmFictionCo-directed with Ifigenia Dimitriou.2026La islaShort filmDocumentaryCo-directed with John Petrizzelli. Ferfilm Award.2026Ane fuera de la cavernaFeature filmFictionPremiered in Kerala, India. Music by Germán Ormaechea.2026Salto al vacíoShort filmExperimentalPrivate premiere in Pamplona.2026El aliento de LeireShort filmDocumentaryPremiered at the Alexandria Short Film Festival.
Awards and recognition
Year Work Festival or organization Award 2004 El bosque de la luz UNICA Gold Medal 2008 Roca Bon: en busca de lo sublime Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival Best Arts in Film 2010 Lodo New York City International Film Festival Best Surrealist Film 2010 Lodo Los Angeles Reel Film Festival Best Director 2011 Anamorphosis New York City International Film Festival Best Director 2011 Anamorphosis New York City International Film Festival Best Soundtrack 2017 Kolore Ezkutuak Top Shorts Best Experimental Film
References
External links
Karlos Alastruey at FestivalFocus Trailer for Lodo Trailer for La mirada negra Trailer for Anamorphosis Trailer for El ángel entre la niebla