Ivan Noel
Ivan Noel is an Spanish producer and director, known for They Returned (2015), In Your Absence (2008) and Primaria (2010). He originally started in the arts by writing and performing his own musical compositions. The transition from music to film came from his love for combining and juxtaposing the two art forms in order to make something greater than the two by themselves.
“I was having a hard time finding the sort of films to put my own music to, so I began shooting small scenes for specific pieces of mine. From small scenes I made short movies, then eventually went on to write and produce feature films. All that just to showcase my music! There must have been a cheaper way, but it was more fun this way.”
–Ivan Noel[1]
Since those first small scenes, he has gone on to release six feature films. All of the movies, despite their different plots, characters, and other thematic elements, share the commonality of confronting moral issues without yielding to the conventions of political correctness.
Early Life
Noel was born in 1970 in France and his given name was Yves Noel. He began making films at age 11, using an eleven millimeter camera and 200 students at his school in Brussels as extras. He has a BA in education and composing soundtracks from the University of York and began his career as professor in the field of music, composing and giving concerts as a solo classical guitarist and piano player.
Flim making
Noel entered the audiovisual world first through the production of short films. In 2006 he decided to sell his house to finance the filming of his first feature film, In your absence ( 2008 ). About that film he said he is in debt to the realism of director Ken Loach . This film was shot between Jerez and the Sierra de Cádiz. This is a low budget production made with unknown actors, but it woke the interest of critics. The film was featured in several festivals, including Vancouver , Palm Springs , Chicago, Bahamas, Athens , etc. Vacouver was fifth most voted by the public film from more than 200 films, staying ahead of the blind sunflowers . Vanguard International Cinema was made with the distribution of the film in North America, and came to be among the ten Spanish DVD best sellers at this territory. Interestingly, not been released or distributed in Spain.
For the next project, the director moved to a town of Seville , Lebrija , where a year he lived to study the local people so they can make the best of each of the characters. for funding, Noel - budget- lacking devised a formula in which, through sponsorships and donations, free rentals and volunteer work of the actors made possible the shooting of the film. It was recorded during the summer of 2008, and was released in 2009 with the title of Gap . It was received with great enthusiasm in his pre-premieres. This is the story, as alive as realistic, the costly reconciliation between jail fresh from father and son aged 12, who had not had occasion to deal with a family tragedy that occurred four years earlier. Undoubtedly, this is the best film director.
Primary! ( 2010 ) is his third feature film. He rolled in the school San Francisco de Paula in Seville. He spent a year teaching children Art. Noel defines it as "a comedy about the bowels of the primary starring three students, Jose Joaquin, Carlos and Carmen." describes the life of the faculty, focusing mainly on three of them. One of the best achievements is that manages to convey the personal lives of these teachers beyond their work without reaching a single event narrate them.
With Vuelve ( 2012 ), Noel gives a twist to his career to provide a thriller horror. Filmed in Argentina , is about a boy who loses his mother in strange circumstances. She communicates with him from beyond the grave, looking for the reunion, but the outcome will take us through sleazy ways. Noel departs from its realistic and intimate style, seeming to seek the favor commercial.
His next project, Limbo ( 2013 ), follow the steps again. In these last two films, childhood is no longer the main theme to become a means to impact the viewer.
Noel has also made video clips . In 2012 the band releases one for Icelandic Sigur Ros .
List of Films
- En tu Ausencia (aka In Your Absence) (2008)
- Brecha (2009)
- Primaria (aka Primary!) (2010)
- Vuelve (2013)
- Limbo (aka Children of the Night (2014)
- They Returned (aka Ellos Volvieron) (2015)
- Rodillas_Quemadas_(Film) (Currently in production)