Departures of note

Gonzalo Suárez Morilla was a Spanish film director, screenwriter, writer and journalist, one of the most singular and influential figures in Spanish cinema and literature. Born in Oviedo in 1934, he abandoned his studies and lived in France before settling in Barcelona, where he worked as a journalist under the pseudonym Martin Girard before devoting himself to fiction writing. His early novels broke with the naturalism then in vogue, and several of his stories were adapted to film, leading him to begin his own directing career in 1966. From then on he alternated books and films throughout his long career.

His best-known film, 'Remando al viento' (Rowing with the Wind, 1988), won the Goya Award for Best Picture and Best Cinematography, and he directed other notable works such as 'Epílogo', 'Don Juan en los infiernos' and 'El portero'. He received the National Cinematography Prize in 1991, the Gold Medal for Fine Arts, the Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise, and in February 2026 the Goya de Honor for his career. He was also a prolific novelist, with works including 'La reina roja', 'El asesino triste' and 'La suela de mis zapatos'. He died in Madrid on 29 September 2026 at the age of 92.