Isabel Coixet

Directing

Isabel Coixet

Born

1960-04-09 (66)

Place of birth

Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, Spain

Known for

Directing

Credits

65 titles

Isabel Coixet Castillo (Catalan: [izəˈβɛl kuˈʃɛt]; born 9 April 1960; Sant Adrià del Besòs) is a Spanish filmmaker. She is one of the most prolific film directors of contemporary Spain, having directed twelve feature-length films since the beginning of her film career in 1988, in addition to documentary films, shorts, and commercials. Her films depart from the traditional national cinema of Spain, and help to “untangle films from their national context ... clearing the path for thinking about national film from different perspectives.” The recurring themes of “emotions, feelings, and existential conflict” coupled with her distinct visual style secure the “multifaceted (she directs, writes, p…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 8 titles

Aida, the Movie poster
6.9

The film deals with the filming of an episode of the series with storylines that take place both within the fiction with the characters of 'Aída' and outside of it with the actors themselves and their relationships, which reflects on topics such as the limits of comedy, the work of a comedian and fame.

Aida, the Movie

2026

La vida és Verdi poster
7.7

As Barcelona's Cines Verdi approach their centenary, two young girls explore its spaces and encounter the people who keep them alive. Through their eyes, the cinema emerges as a meeting place where generations of film lovers continue to share something that reaches beyond the screen.

La vida és Verdi

2026

¿Qué (diablos) es España? poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

¿Qué (diablos) es España?

2022

The Veláquez Mystery poster
7.1

Diego Velásquez, painter of kings and commoners, master of the off-frame and mise-en-abyme, stands at the heart of a cinematic journey that challenges conventions. From the hypnotic depth of Las Meninas to the dizzying layers of meaning in The Spinners, The Vélasquez Mystery seeks to unravel a troubling question: how does this artist, admired by geniuses such as Manet and Dalí, remain so often on the margins of collective memory? Guided by the symbolic thread of water, a metaphor for movement and reflection, the film traverses centuries and continents, boldly blending historical narratives, contemporary interpretations, and reflections on the universal legacy of an unmatched master.

The Veláquez Mystery

2025

God Sees It poster
7.5

God Sees It is a journey into the creative universe of Oscar Tusquets, one of the most fascinating figures of the last sixty years as well as one-of-a-kind character of the gauche divine, in whose mind art, irony, and rebellion coexist. The film traces an inimitable career, from his beginnings in Barcelona, quietly rebelling against the backdrop of the dictatorship, and his collaborations with Salvador Dalí, to his interventions in the Palau de la Musica Catalana or the unique Toledo metro station in Naples. If this is not enough, the film is filled with reflections and conversations on art with friends like Miquel Barceló, Albert Serra, Mario Vargas Llosa or Julia de Castro.

God Sees It

2025

Luis García Berlanga: pasado, presente y futuro del cine español poster
3.0

A conversation about the work of Spanish filmmaker Luis García Berlanga (1921-2010) and his perdurance in contemporary Spanish cinema.

Luis García Berlanga: pasado, presente y futuro del cine español

2021

No artwork available
NR

Although the whole world recognises her career and the spectators applaud her talent, Isabel Coixet lives in a continuous doubt that pushes her to continue exploring her contradictions. To what extent does recognition or success quench the creative thirst? From where does she get that pressing need to always try to go further? These are some of the questions that Coixet, voicing her thoughts out loud to the camera, leaves floating in the air.

El coraje del matiz (Todas las vidas de Isabel Coixet)

2026

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

En recuerdo a John Berger

2026

2010s · 9 titles

Venice 70: Future Reloaded poster
5.0

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.

Venice 70: Future Reloaded

2013

Dennis Hopper: Uneasy Rider poster
5.8

The life & times of Dennis Hopper, showbiz maestro and Hollywood eccentric.

Dennis Hopper: Uneasy Rider

2016

Words, Maps, Secrets and Other Things poster
5.8

A portrait of the internationally acclaimed Spanish film director Isabel Coixet and an analysis of her particular world and her sensibility as a creator: her fictional universe, her career and her life through the words of actors, technicians, family, friends, journalists, specialized critics and those filmmakers who have been inspired by her work.

Words, Maps, Secrets and Other Things

2015

Querido Fotogramas poster
4.0

The 70th anniversary of the “Fotogramas” magazine comes in the shape of a sentimental voyage through the history of Spanish cinema thanks to a mosaic of voices represented by people who make films, those who write them and those who consume them. The documentary pays tribute to the readers of “Fotogramas” helped by the leading figures of Spanish cinema, who will read to the camera the most representative letters received at its offices in the history of the magazine.

Querido Fotogramas

2018

El culo del mundo poster
5.1

El culo del mundo' is a documentary directed by and starring comedian Andreu Buenafuente, the idea for which came about three months after the cancellation of one of his last television programmes, when he received an email from a viewer. This email makes him ask himself why he dedicates himself to comedy and why he has never thought of leaving the profession after three decades. All this will be the starting point of a journey that will take this comedian and presenter deep into the heart of comedy.

El culo del mundo

2014

El cerro de los dioses poster
4.0

A reimagining of the myth of Faust, in which a documentary director and her producer investigate a number of celebrities.

El cerro de los dioses

2019

Sex, Maracas & Chihuahuas poster
4.0

A joyful tale filled with music. The rise of radio. The jazz big bands. The legendary clubs and ballrooms. The soundtracks of the great musical films and TV shows. Sex and romance, gangsters, luxury cars and palm trees. From Barcelona to New York, with a stop in Cuba. The birth of Las Vegas. The sound of the maracas. Chihuahuas everywhere. The incredible life story of Xavier Cugat (1900-90).

Sex, Maracas & Chihuahuas

2016

Toni Segarra: The Ads Writer poster
6.0

Advertising surrounds us. It is part of our lives, our memory and our culture: it is a pure reflection of our society. However, those who think and create ads are unknown people. Playing with the mechanisms of publicity as a narrative resource, we enter this medium through Spain's best creative director: Toni Segarra.

Toni Segarra: The Ads Writer

2016

It's Not That Cold Siberia poster
NR

Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet travels to Siberia to attend a film festival where an unknown man —with whom she cannot communicate and who reminds her of her father— hands her a box containing the photographs of a lifetime. In Barcelona, she tries to put the images in order and unravel their mystery.

It's Not That Cold Siberia

2016

Series credits

Behind the camera

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

The Bookshop poster
6.5

Set in a small English town in 1959, a woman decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop, a decision which becomes a political minefield.

The Bookshop

2017

The Bookshop poster
6.5

Set in a small English town in 1959, a woman decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop, a decision which becomes a political minefield.

The Bookshop

2017

My Life Without Me poster
6.1

A fatally ill mother with only two months to live creates a list of things she wants to do before she dies without telling her family of her illness.

My Life Without Me

2003

My Life Without Me poster
6.1

A fatally ill mother with only two months to live creates a list of things she wants to do before she dies without telling her family of her illness.

My Life Without Me

2003

Another Me poster
5.4

A teenager finds her perfect life upended when she's stalked by a mysterious doppelganger who has her eyes set on assuming her identity.

Another Me

2013

Another Me poster
5.4

A teenager finds her perfect life upended when she's stalked by a mysterious doppelganger who has her eyes set on assuming her identity.

Another Me

2013

The Movie Teller poster
6.5

María Margarita is the youngest of four siblings in a family living in a mining town in the Atacama Desert (Chile). The most special time of the week for this family is Sunday, when they all go to the movies to enjoy stories that let them escape their everyday lives by transporting them to other worlds. The girl’s parents soon realise that the little girl has a very special gift: an almost uncanny ability to recount movies. The girl’s extraordinary talent will spread throughout the village, changing the fortunes of her family as the country is transformed forever.

The Movie Teller

2023

Elisa & Marcela poster
7.3

The film tells the true story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas, two women in 1901 Spain who fell deeply in love. To overcome societal and legal barriers to their relationship, Elisa assumes a male identity, enabling the pair to marry in secret. Their daring act makes them the first recorded same-sex couple to marry in Spain, but their love is tested as they face relentless persecution and sacrifice.

Elisa & Marcela

2019

Elisa & Marcela poster
7.3

The film tells the true story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas, two women in 1901 Spain who fell deeply in love. To overcome societal and legal barriers to their relationship, Elisa assumes a male identity, enabling the pair to marry in secret. Their daring act makes them the first recorded same-sex couple to marry in Spain, but their love is tested as they face relentless persecution and sacrifice.

Elisa & Marcela

2019

Elegy poster
6.3

Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.

Elegy

2008

Venice 70: Future Reloaded poster
5.0

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.

Venice 70: Future Reloaded

2013

Endless Night poster
6.1

Ellesmere Island, northern Canada, 1908. Josephine, a brave but naive woman, embarks on a dangerous journey through inhospitable regions in search of her husband, the explorer Robert Peary, who tries to find a route to the North Pole.

Endless Night

2015

Learning to Drive poster
6.2

As her marriage dissolves, a Manhattan writer takes driving lessons from a Sikh instructor with marriage troubles of his own. In each other's company they find the courage to get back on the road and the strength to take the wheel.

Learning to Drive

2014

The Secret Life of Words poster
7.0

A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.

The Secret Life of Words

2005

The Secret Life of Words poster
7.0

A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.

The Secret Life of Words

2005

The Secret Life of Words poster
7.0

A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.

The Secret Life of Words

2005

It Snows in Benidorm poster
5.6

Peter has worked all his life at a Manchester bank. When he is awarded an early retirement, he decides to visit his brother in Benidorm, only to discover that he's disappeared.

It Snows in Benidorm

2020

It Snows in Benidorm poster
5.6

Peter has worked all his life at a Manchester bank. When he is awarded an early retirement, he decides to visit his brother in Benidorm, only to discover that he's disappeared.

It Snows in Benidorm

2020

Things I Never Told You poster
5.6

Don is a real estate salesman who volunteers at a "hotline for hope". Ann, who works in a photo store, has been told by her boyfriend that he doesn't love her anymore and wants to break up. To try to win him back, she records a videotape where she tells him things she never told him. When Don and Ann cross paths, their lives change fundamentally.

Things I Never Told You

1996

Things I Never Told You poster
5.6

Don is a real estate salesman who volunteers at a "hotline for hope". Ann, who works in a photo store, has been told by her boyfriend that he doesn't love her anymore and wants to break up. To try to win him back, she records a videotape where she tells him things she never told him. When Don and Ann cross paths, their lives change fundamentally.

Things I Never Told You

1996

Three Goodbyes poster
7.1

After what seemed like an insignificant argument, Marta and Antonio separate. He, a promising chef, takes refuge in his kitchen; she, in her silence, begins to feel something more than sadness: she has lost her appetite… and not only because of heartbreak. When she discovers that there is a health problem behind it, everything takes an unexpected turn: food tastes better, music reaches her like never before, and desire awakens her will to live without fear.

Three Goodbyes

2025

Three Goodbyes poster
7.1

After what seemed like an insignificant argument, Marta and Antonio separate. He, a promising chef, takes refuge in his kitchen; she, in her silence, begins to feel something more than sadness: she has lost her appetite… and not only because of heartbreak. When she discovers that there is a health problem behind it, everything takes an unexpected turn: food tastes better, music reaches her like never before, and desire awakens her will to live without fear.

Three Goodbyes

2025

Un amor poster
6.6

Upon settling in the countryside village of La Escapa, Nat accepts a disturbing sexual proposal by neighbour Andreas, paving the way for a self-consuming passion.

Un amor

2023

Un amor poster
6.6

Upon settling in the countryside village of La Escapa, Nat accepts a disturbing sexual proposal by neighbour Andreas, paving the way for a self-consuming passion.

Un amor

2023

Those Who Love poster
5.1

A secret and deep passion marks the life of a young doctor, and threatens the existence of those around him.

Those Who Love

1998

Those Who Love poster
5.1

A secret and deep passion marks the life of a young doctor, and threatens the existence of those around him.

Those Who Love

1998

With Good Reason poster
4.7

A multi-part feature on the governing body of Spain, the Popular Party under Jose María Aznar. Themes include the bombing of Iraq, immigration, U.S. fire in Baghdad, and the manipulation of the media.

With Good Reason

2004

Map of the Sounds of Tokyo poster
5.1

A Japanese assassin falls in love with the Spanish wine seller she was hired to kill.

Map of the Sounds of Tokyo

2009

Map of the Sounds of Tokyo poster
5.1

A Japanese assassin falls in love with the Spanish wine seller she was hired to kill.

Map of the Sounds of Tokyo

2009

The Yellow Ceiling poster
7.1

In 2018, a group of nine women filed a complaint against two of their teachers at Lleida’s Theatre School for sexual abuse carried out between 2001 and 2008, when they were teenagers. It was too late. Due to fear, embarrassment, because they took so long to understand and digest what had happened, the complaint arrived when the statute of limitations had expired and the case had been closed. What they didn’t know is that, despite the statute of limitations having expired, their statements were opening a new door where, perhaps, all was not lost.

The Yellow Ceiling

2022

The Yellow Ceiling poster
7.1

In 2018, a group of nine women filed a complaint against two of their teachers at Lleida’s Theatre School for sexual abuse carried out between 2001 and 2008, when they were teenagers. It was too late. Due to fear, embarrassment, because they took so long to understand and digest what had happened, the complaint arrived when the statute of limitations had expired and the case had been closed. What they didn’t know is that, despite the statute of limitations having expired, their statements were opening a new door where, perhaps, all was not lost.

The Yellow Ceiling

2022

Morbus poster
3.4

A prostitute aspiring to be an author, a secret satanic sect, and a scientist who has discovered a potion that reanimates the dead intersect in unexpected and comedic ways.

Morbus

1983

White Tide poster
5.5

MAREA BLANCA is a Corona Save The Beach documentary directed by Isabel Coixet. It is a tribute to the thousands of anonymous heroes who left everything to save the Galician coast. An example for all of us who fight for the recovery and conservation of our beaches.

White Tide

2012

White Tide poster
5.5

MAREA BLANCA is a Corona Save The Beach documentary directed by Isabel Coixet. It is a tribute to the thousands of anonymous heroes who left everything to save the Galician coast. An example for all of us who fight for the recovery and conservation of our beaches.

White Tide

2012

No artwork available
5.0

Chapter directed by Isabel Coixet about the traditional role of women in Spanish society and the impact of gender-based violence crimes on the media.

Women, a Thing for Men

2009

Yesterday Never Ends poster
5.6

A couple meets at their son’s grave ten years after his death; his plot is to make way for a casino city. Anger, hatred and bitterness erupt. A nightmarish drama that goes far beyond this couple’s private grief and points towards the end of society.

Yesterday Never Ends

2013

Yesterday Never Ends poster
5.6

A couple meets at their son’s grave ten years after his death; his plot is to make way for a casino city. Anger, hatred and bitterness erupt. A nightmarish drama that goes far beyond this couple’s private grief and points towards the end of society.

Yesterday Never Ends

2013

No artwork available
NR

An estranged man, Matt Heller, and a woman, Martha Parks, encounter each other by chance on a plane, and relive memories of their turbulent romantic relationship. Kirsty Sachs, a talk show host who has an affair with Heller and changes the course of his whirlwind relationship with Parks.

This Man, This Woman

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