Pedro Almodovar: Installation

Pedro Almodovar is one of the most daring and influential writer-directors of our time. He directed his first feature in 1980, during La Movida Madrilena (the Madrid Scene), a countercultural and democratic movement in Spain, and has been pushing boundaries for over four decades. Often outlandish and provocative, and rife with passion, Almodovar’s 22 films to date explore the full spectrum of the human condition. In the process, they have transformed Spanish cinema and contributed invaluably to the global film scene. Pedro Almodovar: Installation/Instalacion accompanies an immersive exhibition created by Almodovar for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Spanning 1984’s What Have I Done to Deserve This? to 2019’s Pain and Glory, Almodovar’s 12-channel film installation distills his filmography around iconic scenes and key themes including Family, Bodies, Guilt and Pain, Mothers, Musicals, Noir and Religious Education. This lush volume devotes a visual chapter to each, showcasing Almodovar’s muses-including Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Pina Bausch, Penelope Cruz, Rossy de Palma, Marisa Paredes and Julieta Serrano-and the inspiration he draws from filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman and Luis Bunuel.

The bilingual (Spanish and English) book also features a new conversation between Almodovar and film journalist Rachel Handler, a foreword by Tilda Swinton, texts by curators Jenny He and J. Raul Guzman, an afterword by Agustin Almodovar, and a richly illustrated filmography. As bold and beautiful as Almodovar’s films themselves, Pedro Almodovar: Installation/Instalacion captures the dynamic female characters, tantalizing stories, colorful humor and depth of emotion that exemplify this Academy Award–winning director’s career.