Néstor Almendros

• Name — Néstor Almendros • Birth Name — Néstor Almendros Cuyás • Born — 30 October 1930 • Birthplace — Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Died — 4 March 1992 • Resting Place — Calders, Catalonia, Spain • Years Active — 1950–1991 • Occupation — Cinematographer • Organization — American Society of Cinematographers Néstor Almendros Cuyás, ASC (30 October 1930 – 4 March 1992) was a Spanish cinematographer. He was one of the most highly appraised contemporary cinematographers, having a working collaboration with filmmakers François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer and Robert Benton, while winning an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven.

Almendros was born in Barcelona, Spain. At the age of 18, he moved to Cuba to join his exiled anti-Francisco Franco father. While staying in Havana, he wrote film reviews. Almendros then went on to study film in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. He directed six shorts in Cuba and two in New York City.

After the Cuban Revolution ended in 1959, Almendros returned to Spain and made several documentaries about the Castro regime. But after two of his shorts (Gente en la playa and La tumba francesa) were banned, he moved to Paris.

Almemdros became the favorite collaborator of French New Wave director Éric Rohmer. In the early 70s, he also started working with François Truffaut, Barbet Schroeder and other directors.

Director Terrence Malick admired Almendros' work on Truffaut’s The Wild Child (1970), prompting him to hire Almendros to shoot Days of Heaven (1978), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Almendros was impressed by Malick's knowledge of photography and his willingness to use little studio lighting. The film's cinematography was modeled after silent films, which often used natural light. Along with three other nominations for Best Cinematography, Almendros became the Spanish person with the most nominations in Academy history.

In his later years, Almendros co-directed two documentaries about the human rights situation in Cuba: Improper Conduct (1984) about the persecution of gay people in the country; and Nadie escuchaba (Nobody Listened), about the alleged arrest, imprisonment and torture of former comrades of Fidel Castro. Almendros also shot several prestigious advertisements for Giorgio Armani (directed by Martin Scorsese), Calvin Klein (directed by Richard Avedon) and Freixenet.

In 1992, Néstor Almendros died of AIDS-related lymphoma in New York City at the age of 61.

• Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1971 — La Brigade des maléfices — Claude Guillemot — Episode "La créature"

Short film • Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1959 — El Tomate — Fausto Canel • Cooperativas Agropecuarias • 1960 — Gente en la playa — Himself • 1966 — Une étudiante d'aujourd'hui — Éric Rohmer • 1967 — La journée d'un journaliste — Himself • 1971 — Le Cochon aux patates douces — Barbet Schroeder • Maquillages • Sing Sing • 1983 — L'Assemblea de Catalunya — Carlos Durán — With Juan Amorós • 1990 — Made in Milan — Martin Scorsese Television • Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1967 — Fermière à Montfaucon (film) — Éric Rohmer — TV short • 1972 — Chroniques de France — Jacques Scandelari Max Gérard Jean-Daniel Simon — Episode "Chroniques de France N° 82" Film • Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1974 — General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait — Barbet Schroeder • 1975 — The Gentleman Tramp — Richard Patterson — With Bruce Logan • 1977 — Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou — Roberto Rossellini • 1978 — Koko: A Talking Gorilla — Barbet Schroeder • 1988 — Imagine: John Lennon — Andrew Solt

Short film • Year — Title — Notes • 1950 — Una confusión cotidiana — Co-directed with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Documentary short • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Notes • 1960 — Gente en la playa • Ritmo de Cuba • 1967 — La journée d'un journaliste • 1968 — Retour d'Henri Langlois à Paris — Co-directed with Bernard Eisenschitz Documentary film • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Notes • 1960 — Escuelas rurales • 1984 — Improper Conduct — Co-directed with Orlando Jiménez Leal • 1987 — Nadie escuchaba — Co-directed with Jorge Ulla

• Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1950 — Una confusión cotidiana — Himself Tomás Gutiérrez Alea • 1964 — Nadja à Paris — Éric Rohmer • 1965 — Saint-Germain-des-Prés — Jean Douchet — Segments of Six in Paris • Place de l'Etoile — Éric Rohmer • 1989 — Life Lessons — Martin Scorsese — Segment of New York Stories

• Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1967 — La Collectionneuse — Éric Rohmer • 1968 — The Wild Racers — Daniel Haller — With Daniel Lacambre • 1969 — More — Barbet Schroeder • My Night at Maud's — Éric Rohmer • The Gun Runner — Richard Compton — With Arch Archambault • 1970 — The Wild Child — François Truffaut • Paddy — Daniel Haller — Uncredited • Bed and Board — François Truffaut • Claire's Knee — Éric Rohmer • 1971 — Two English Girls — François Truffaut • 1972 — La Vallée — Barbet Schroeder • Love in the Afternoon — Éric Rohmer • 1973 — L'Oiseau rare (film) — Jean-Claude Brialy • Poil de Carotte (film, 1973) — Henri Graziani • 1974 — The Mouth Agape — Maurice Pialat • Femmes au soleil — Liliane Dreyfus • Cockfighter — Monte Hellman • My Little Loves — Jean Eustache • 1975 — The Story of Adele H. — François Truffaut • 1976 — Maîtresse — Barbet Schroeder • The Marquise of O — Éric Rohmer • Des journées entières dans les arbres — Marguerite Duras • 1977 — The Man Who Loved Women — François Truffaut • Change of Sex — Vicente Aranda • Madame Rosa — Moshé Mizrahi • 1978 — The Green Room — François Truffaut • Days of Heaven — Terrence Malick • Goin' South — Jack Nicholson • Perceval le Gallois — Éric Rohmer • 1979 — Love on the Run — François Truffaut • Kramer vs. Kramer — Robert Benton • 1980 — The Blue Lagoon — Randal Kleiser • The Last Metro — François Truffaut • 1982 — Still of the Night — Robert Benton • Sophie's Choice — Alan J. Pakula • 1983 — Pauline at the Beach — Éric Rohmer • Confidentially Yours — François Truffaut • 1984 — Places in the Heart — Robert Benton • 1986 — Heartburn — Mike Nichols • 1987 — Nadine — Robert Benton • 1991 — Billy Bathgate