Pablo Berger

Pablo Berger Uranga (born 1963) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He is known for directing and writing the silent drama film Blancanieves (2012), the black comedy films Torremolinos 73 (2003) and Abracadabra (2017), and the animated tragicomedy film Robot Dreams (2023).

Life and work
Berger attended primary and secondary school in Artxanda Trueba, located on the outskirts of Bilbao, Spain. In 1988 he directed his first short film, Mamá (Mum), with artistic director Álex de la Iglesia and Ramon Barea. With the financial winnings from a grant from the Provincial Council of Biscay, he went to study for a master’s in film at New York University. There he directed his short film Truth and Beauty, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award.

After getting his Ph.D., Berger worked as a professor of management at the New York Film Academy. Thereafter, he began a parallel career as a publicist and producer of music, culminating in 2003 with his first film Torremolinos 73, with Javier Cámara, Fernando Tejero and Candela Peña. Torremolinos 73 received four Goya nominations and won Berger the Golden Biznaga at the Málaga Film Festival, as well as multiple national and international prizes. The movie became one of the box office successes of the year in Spain.

In 2012, Berger premiered his second film Blancanieves (Snow White), which was the Spanish representative at the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Blancanieves won ten Goya Awards, including Best Film and Best Original Screenplay. It also earned Berger the Special Jury Prize at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was also nominated for the César Award for Best Foreign Film, as well as two European Film Awards for Best Film and Best Director.

In 2017, Berger premiered Abracadabra, a comedy starring again Maribel Verdú. This was his second film produced by Arcadia Motion Pictures. It became a critical success and received 8 nominations at the 32nd Goya Awards.

Pablo Berger is a Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France. In 2018, Berger was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In May 2023, Berger premiered Robot Dreams, his first animated film, at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The film was based on the graphic novel by American author Sara Varon, and was produced by Arcadia Motion Pictures. The film was sold internationally by Elle Driver and screened at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it won the Contrechamp Grand Prix. It won the European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film and the Annie Award for Best Independent Animated Feature, as well as two Goya Awards for Best Animated Film and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2024, Berger was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Robot Dreams, but lost to Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron.