Arturo Ripstein

Lore & Background

Ripstein was born in Mexico City on 13 December 1943 to producer Alfredo Ripstein and Frida Rosen, of Polish Jewish descent on both sides. He developed an interest in filmmaking from a young age due to his family's proximity, making short films as a teenager. After seeing Luis Buñuel's Nazarín, he met Buñuel and developed a close mentor-student relationship that lasted until Buñuel's death. He worked as Buñuel's uncredited assistant director on The Exterminating Angel (1962).

His first feature, Tiempo de morir (1965), was written by Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel García Márquez, beginning a tradition of making independent films written by high-profile Latin-American authors. His 1981 film Seduction was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival, and his 1989 film Love Lies was entered into the 16th Moscow International Film Festival. Some of his earlier films 'highlighted characters beset by futile compulsions to escape [their] destinies.' Many of his films are shot in tawdry interiors with bleak brown color schemes and seedy pathetic characters who manage to achieve a hint of pathos and dignity. Así es la vida, according to Jonathan Crow, 'boldly reworks the ancient Greek drama Medea, employing a dizzying array of flashbacks and Brechtian devices.' Deep Crimson, according to the New York Times, is 'a ferociously anti-romantic portrait of an obese nurse and a seedy small-time gigolo whose bungling scheme to swindle a succession of lonely women out of their life savings turns into a killing spree.'

In 1997, Ripstein won the National Prize of Arts and Sciences, the second filmmaker after Buñuel to do so. He is married to screenwriter Paz Alicia Garciadiego, with whom he has two children. In 2003, the two received honorary Spanish citizenship.