{{Short description|Spanish film director, writer and playwright}} {{redirect|Próxima|other uses|Proxima (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}} {{Infobox person | image = | name = Carlos Atanes | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|11|8}} | birth_place = Barcelona, <br />Spain | spouse = | occupation = Film director, producer, screenwriter, playwright | years_active = 1987–present | website = {{URL|carlosatanes.com}} }}
'''Carlos Atanes''' (born November 8, 1971) is a Spanish film director, writer and playwright.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Complete Exile: The Films of Carlos Atanes|url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/72/72atanes_smart.php|publisher=Bright Lights Film Journal|accessdate=August 15, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The 2012 Weirdcademy Awards|date=January 31, 2012 |url=http://366weirdmovies.com/the-2012-weirdcademy-awards/|publisher=366 Weird Movies|accessdate=August 14, 2013}}</ref> He was born in Barcelona, and is a member of The Film-Makers' Cooperative, founded by Jonas Mekas, Shirley Clarke, Ken Jacobs, Andy Warhol, Jack Smith and others. His first finished feature-length movie was ''FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions'', which he released in 2004. The movie won the ''Best Feature Film Award'' at the Athens Panorama of Independent Filmmakers in 2005 and was also nominated for the ''Méliès d'Argent'' at Fantasporto that same year.
On March 31, 2026, The Film-Makers' Cooperative held the first public screening in New York of ''Báthory'',<ref>{{cite web|title=The Film-Makers' Cooperative: Screenings & Workshops|date=March 31, 2026 |url=https://film-makerscoop.com/screenings/carlos-atanes-bathory-2|publisher=The Film-Makers' Cooperative|accessdate=April 1, 2026}}</ref> his experimental film about Countess Elizabeth Báthory.
== Reception == Critics often express the difficulty of valuing Atanes' cinematography and sometimes they even refrain from scoring it, since these are unusual films that escape the standard classification. Dave J. Wilson from ''Cinematic Shocks'' says regarding ''Maximum Shame'' “it exists outside of the cinematic norm not following its conventions (…) it is purely visual art rather than a real narrative a dreamlike mind-fuck of philosophical musings. It is not a question of whether it is good or not as it does not conform to cinematic conventions. Therefore, I will not be giving a rating for this review, as it is hard for me to judge it on such terms. Whether you like the film or not you will ultimately more likely all reach the same conclusion that it is at least a unique work.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cinematicshocks.com/2014/03/maximum-shame-2010.html|title=Maximum Shame (2010)|date=March 2014|website=Cinematic Shocks|publisher=|access-date=2020-01-16}}</ref> ''Film Threat'', meanwhile, says that within ''Gallino, the Chicken System'' “is an entire universe of creativity, albeit one that may or may not reflect this plane of reality as we know it. I don't know that the traditional sense of how we react to film applies here. It's more of an art experience than a simple film (…) I don't know that it's for everyone (or anyone), but it's certainly unique.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filmthreat.com/uncategorized/gallino-the-chicken-system/|title=Gallino, the Chicken System|date=September 2013|website=Film Threat|publisher=|access-date=2020-01-16}}</ref>
== As a writer == In addition to his work as a screenwriter and playwright, Carlos Atanes has published several books and essays on cultural issues, cinema and Chaos magic.
==Filmography as director== *''La ira'' (1989) *''Le Descente à l’enfer d’un poète'' (1990) *''Romanzio in el sècolo ventuno'' (1991) *''Els Peixos argentats a la peixera'' (1991) *''Morir de calor'' (1991) *''The Marvellous World of the Cucu Bird'' (1991) *''Els Peixos Argentats a la Peixera'' (1991, co-directed with Hermann Bonnin) *''El Parc'' (1992, co-directed with Hermann Bonnin) *''The Mental Tenor'' (1993) *''The Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka'' (1993) *''Metaminds & Metabodies'' (1995) *''Morfing'' (1996) *''Borneo'' (1997) *''The Seven Hills of Rome'' (1998) *''Welcome to Spain'' (1999) *''Cyberspace Under Control'' (2000) *''Perdurabo (Where is Aleister Crowley?)'' (2003) *''FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions'' (2004)<ref>{{cite web|title=FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/7355/ |publisher=Film Threat |accessdate=August 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912211044/http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/7355/ |archivedate=September 12, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref> *''Proxima'' (2007)<ref>{{cite web|title=Proxima: The Last Sci-Fi |url=http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/11717/ |publisher=Film Threat |accessdate=August 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128113349/http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/11717/ |archivedate=January 28, 2015 |df=mdy }}</ref> *''Made in Proxima'' (2007) *''Codex Atanicus'' (2007) *''Scream Queen'' (2008) *''Maximum Shame'' (2010)<ref>{{cite web|title=Maximum Shame |url=http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/42593/ |publisher=Film Threat |accessdate=August 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103121204/http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/42593/ |archivedate=November 3, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref> *''Gallino, the Chicken System'' (2012)<ref>{{cite web |title=Gallino, the Chicken System |url=http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/70386/ |publisher=Film Threat |accessdate=September 8, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911150214/http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/70386/ |archivedate=September 11, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref> *''Meat Market - Esa Linna'' (2013) (Music video) *''Romance bizarro'' (2017) *''Alter Ego Film Project'' (fragment ''Autofocus'') (2024) *''Autofocus'' (2025) *''Báthory'' (2026)
==Released plays==
* 2021 – ''Rey de Marte'' (Dramatic reading, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) * 2021 – ''Báthory'' (Dramatic reading, Madrid) * 2019 – ''Antimateria'' (Tenerife) * 2018 – Amaya Galeote's ''La incapacidad de exprimirte'' (Madrid) * 2018 – ''La línea del horizonte'' (Madrid) * 2015 – ''Un genio olvidado (Un rato en la vida de Charles Howard Hinton)'' (Madrid) * 2014 – ''La quinta estación del puto Vivaldi'' (Madrid) * 2014 – ''Los ciclos atánicos'' (Madrid) * 2013 – ''El triunfo de la mediocridad'' (Madrid) * 2013 – ''Secretitos'' (Madrid) * 2011 – ''El hombre de la pistola de nata'' (Madrid) * 2011 – ''La cobra en la cesta de mimbre'' (Madrid)
=== Brief plays ===
* 2019 – ''¿Hasta cuándo estáis?'' (Madrid) * 2019 – ''A Praga y vámonos'' (Madrid) * 2018 – ''Chéjov bajo cero'' (Málaga) * 2017 – ''Sexo y tortilla'' (Madrid) * 2017 – ''Pasión mostrenca'' (Madrid) * 2016 – ''La abuela de Frankenstein'' (Madrid) * 2016 – ''Love is in the Box'' (Madrid) * 2015 – ''Caminando por el valle inquietante'' (Madrid) * 2015 – ''Santos varones'' (Madrid) * 2015 – ''Porno emocional'' (Madrid) * 2014 – ''El grifo de 5.000.000 euros'' (Madrid) * 2014 – ''El vello público'' (Madrid) * 2013 – ''Necrofilia fina'' (Madrid) * 2013 – ''Romance bizarro'' (Madrid) * 2012 – ''La lluvia'' (Madrid) * 2012 – ''La depredadora'' (Leganés)
==Bibliography== === In English === * 2026 – ''Rhino Head Episode 1: Semper in Extremis'' (Novel illustrated by Jan van Rijn) – {{ISBN|978-3-9826372-7-3}} * 2024 – ''Querida - The Sufferings and Self Empowerment of a Doll'' (Novel illustrated by Jan van Rijn) – {{ISBN|978-3-9826372-1-1}} * 2022 – ''Chaos Magic For Skeptics'' (Essay) – Mandrake of Oxford 2022 – {{ISBN|1914153170}} * 2013 – ''Aleister Crowley in the Mouth of Hell: The screenplay never filmed'' (Screenplay) – {{ISBN|1482599554}}
=== In German === * 2026 – ''Rhino Head („Der Kopf des Nashorns“) Folge 1: Semper in Extremis'' (Novel illustrated by Jan van Rijn) – {{ISBN|978-3-9826372-7-3}} * 2024 – ''Querida - Vom Leid und der Selbstermächtigung einer Puppe'' (Novel illustrated by Jan van Rijn) – {{ISBN|978-3-9826372-0-4}}
=== In Spanish === * 2026 – ''Rhino Head ("La cabeza del rinoceronte") Episodio 1: Semper in Extremis'' (Novel illustrated by Jan van Rijn) – {{ISBN|978-3-9826372-7-3}} * 2025 – ''Rey de Marte'' (Theatre) – {{ISBN|979-1387644413}} * 2024 – ''Perplejidad'' (Novel) – {{ISBN|978-84-128410-7-7}} * 2024 – ''Antimateria'' (Theatre) – {{ISBN|978-84- 10060-21-0}} * 2024 – ''Querida - De los sufrimientos y el empoderamiento de una muñeca'' (Novel illustrated by Jan van Rijn) – {{ISBN|978-3-9826372-2-8}} * 2021 – ''Filmar los sueños'' (Essay) – {{ISBN|978-84-123896-8-5}} * 2018 – ''Magia del Caos para escépticos'' (Essay) – {{ISBN|978-84-949113-4-7}} * 2018 – ''Demos lo que sobre a los perros'' (Essay) – {{ISBN|978-1721253517}} * 2017 – ''Un genio olvidado (Un rato en la vida de Charles Howard Hinton)'' (Theatre) – {{ISBN|1546636897}} * 2013 – ''Aleister Crowley en la Boca del Infierno: El guion nunca filmado'' (Screenplay) – {{ISBN|1483946649}} * 2007 – ''Los trabajos del director'' (Essay) – {{ISBN|978-1-4348-1870-6}} * 2003 – ''El hombre de la pistola de nata'' (Theatre) – {{ISBN|978-1-4348-1903-1}} * 2002 – ''Confutatis Maledictis'' (Novel) – {{ISBN|978-1-4348-1901-7}} * 2002 – ''La cobra en la cesta de mimbre'' (Theatre) – {{ISBN|978-1-4348-1902-4}} * 2001 – ''Combustión espontánea de un jurado'' (Novel) – {{ISBN|978-1-4752-4148-8}}
=== In Italian === * 2024 – ''Magia del caos per scettici'' (Essay) – {{ISBN|978-8899863982}}
=== In Catalan === * 2003 – ''La cobra al cistell de vímet'' (Theatre) – {{ISBN|84-89826-30-7}}
=== Collective books === ====In English==== * 2022 – ''Querida - A Doll's Tale of Misery and Liberation'' (Novel illustrated by Jan van Rijn) * 2016 – ''In the Woods & on the Heath'' (Artbook illustrated by Jan van Rijn)
====In Spanish==== * 2022 – ''Monstruos'' (Essay, Carlos Atanes et al.) – {{ISBN|978-84-18941-61-0}} * 2021 – ''La invasión de los ultracuerpos, de Philip Kaufman'' (Essay, Carlos Atanes et al.) – {{ISBN|978-84-120493-7-4}} * 2020 – ''Cine que hoy no se podría rodar'' (Essay, Carlos Atanes et al.) – {{ISBN|978-84-122716-0-7}} * 2020 – ''Eyes Wide Shut'' (Essay, Carlos Atanes et al.) – {{ISBN|978-84-121874-6-5}} * 2020 – ''Space Fiction: Visiones de lo cósmico en la ciencia ficción'' (Essay, Carlos Atanes et al.) – {{ISBN|978-8412049664}} * 2019 – ''De Arrebato a Zulueta'' (Essay, Carlos Atanes et al.) – {{ISBN|978-84-120493-1-2}} * 2010 – ''La Bestia en la pantalla. Aleister Crowley y el cine fantástico'' (Essay, Carlos Atanes et al.) – {{ISBN|9788489668843}}
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * Dunlop, Fiona, ''National Geographic - Les guides de voyage: Espagne'', National Geographic France, France, 2007, pg 52. {{ISBN|2845822138}}, {{ISBN|978-2-84582-213-9}} * Crusells, Magi, ''Directores de cine en Cataluña de la A a la Z'', Publicacions i Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona, 2008. {{ISBN|978-84-475-3316-9}} * Sánchez-Conejero, Cristina, ''Novela y cine de ciencia ficción española contemporánea: Una reflexión sobre la humanidad'' (2009), Parte II, Entrevistas: ''Entrevista a Carlos Atanes, director'' (Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2009. {{ISBN|0-7734-5104-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7734-5104-9}}) * Kramer, Seph; Lescroart, Justine; Barbero, Dan; Bernstein, Sanders; Charyk, Nick; Popkin, Meg; Bean, Kyle; Cain, Julia; Kendrick, Anna; Schwartz, Madeleine; and Connolly, Caitlin; ''Let's Go Barcelona'', Let's Go Incorporated, USA, 2010, pg 50. {{ISBN|1-59880-307-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-59880-307-5}} * Thompson, Nathaniel, ''DVD Delirium Volume 4: The International Guide to Weird and Wonderful Films on DVD & Blu-ray'', FAB Press Ltd., UK, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-903254-62-2}} * Gómez Goyeneche, María Antonieta, ''Identidades trastocadas. Volumen 1: El recurso literario y artístico de las metamorfosis disyuntivas'', Programa Editorial Universidad del Valle, Colombia, 2011. {{ISBN|978-958-670-945-3}}, {{ISBN|978-958-5164-40-6}} * Vellarino Albuera, Susana, ''Políticas de la representación (post)pornográfica: del Mainstream a la Queer-action'', Universidad de Granada, Spain 2012. {{ISBN|978-84-9028-430-8}} * E. B. Verrone, William, ''The Avant-Garde Feature Film: A Critical History'', McFarland & Company Incorporated Publishers, USA, 2012. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-5910-0}} * Tejeda, Carlos; J. Rodríguez, Hilario; y VV.AA., ''Cine XXI, directores y direcciones'', Cátedra, Spain 2013. {{ISBN|978-84-376-3149-3}} * La Rubia, Leopoldo, ''Kafka y el cine: la estética de lo kafkiano en el séptimo arte'', Biblioteca Nueva S.L., 2013. {{ISBN|978-84-9940-684-8}} * Kuzmanovic Jovanovic, Ana; Filipovic, Jelena; Stojanovic, Jasna; and Rajic, Jelena; ''Estudios hispánicos en el siglo XXI: Monografía en conmemoración del 40º aniversario de la creación del Departamento de Lengua Española y Literaturas Hispánicas de la Universidad de Belgrado'', Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade, Serbia, 2014. {{ISBN|978-86-6153-191-0}} * Fritzsche, Sonja, ''The Liverpool Companion to World Science Fiction Film'', Liverpool University Press, U.K., 2014. {{ISBN|978-1-78138-038-3}}, {{ISBN|978-1-78138-595-1}} * Chiavini, Roberto; Filippo Pizzo, Gian; and Tetro, Michele; ''Guida al cinema di fantascienza'', Odoya srl, Italia, 2014. {{ISBN|978-88-6288-236-1}} * Yareham, Bob, ''700 English Language Movies made in Spain'', Obrapropia, 2016. {{ISBN|978-84-16717-11-8}} * Asociación Cultural Hilos Mágicos, ''Dirección de Arte para Teatro de Títeres: Ponencias y memorias 2016'', IDARTES-Instituto Distrital de las Artes, Colombia, 2016, pg 35. {{ISBN|978-958-99708-1-2}} * Cremonini, Laura; and VV.AA., ''Le Dittature del Futuro: Cinema di Fantascienza'', Italia, 2017. * Otto Horch, Hans; Liska, Vivian; Maksymiak, Malgorzata; and Vogt Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Stefan; ''Wegweiser und Grenzgänger: Studien zur deutsch-jüdischen Kultur- und Literaturgeschichte'', Böhlau Verlag GmbH & Co KG Wien, Austria, 2018. {{ISBN|9783205206422}}, {{ISBN|9783205201038}} * Yareham, Bob, ''Silver Screen Films: 800 English Language Films'', Obrapropia, 2018. {{ISBN|978-84-17614-10-2}} * Cervera Ral, Enric, ''Com... Seqüències (Un relat basat en fets reals)'', Fundación AISGE, Spain, 2018. {{ISBN|978-84-09-01422-4}} * Pezzini, Franco, ''Le nozze alchemiche di Aleister Crowley. Itinerari letterari con la grande bestia'', Odoya srl, Italia, 2020. {{ISBN|8862886373}}, {{ISBN|978-8862886376}} * Sernagiotto, Camilla, ''La maledizione del Dakota: Rosemary's Baby, Cielo Drive, John Lennon e altri fatti oscuri'', Arcana Edizioni, Italia, 2022. {{ISBN|8892771248}}, {{ISBN|978-8892771246}} * Sabry, Fouad, ''Hive Mind: Fundamentals and Applications'', One Billion Knowledgeable, United Arab Emirates, 2022. {{ISBN|6610000473229}}
==External links== * {{Official website|url=https://www.carlosatanes.com/?lang=en}} * {{IMDb name |1847615}} * https://lylagencia.com/author-book/carlos-atanes/?lang=en * https://film-makerscoop.com/filmmakers/carlos-atanes-2 {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atanes, Carlos}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:Spanish dramatists and playwrights Category:Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Category:Spanish film directors Category:Spanish experimental filmmakers Category:20th-century Spanish writers Category:20th-century Spanish male writers Category:21st-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights Category:21st-century Spanish writers