Welcome to the official Pan’s Labyrinth movie site. This site requires Flash Player 8.
Just 12 years old, young Spanish actress Ivana Baquero already has four films to her credit, all produced by the Spanish company Filmax International - more precisely for that company's genre specialist subsidiary, Fantastic Factory. She made her debut in L’ENFER DES LOUPS (ROMASANTA) by Paco Plaza, who also directed her in THE BABY’S ROOM. Baquero has also appeared in Brian Yuzna’s ROTTWEILER, and most recently, in Jaume Balagueró's FRAGILE, alongside Calista Flockhart.
Born in 1969 in Barcelona, Ariadna Gil has appeared in more than 40 films. The daughter of an eminent lawyer, she studied singing, classical dance and violin as a child. She began moving towards theatre and television at age 17, following her appearance on the cover of an avant-garde magazine. It was at this period, in 1986, that Bigas Luna noticed her and offered Gil her first film role in LOLA. Her appearance opposite Javier Bardem in the comedy AMO TU CAMA RICA brought her widespread recognition in 1991, a fame consolidated the following year with Fernando Trueba's romantic comedy BELLE EPOQUE, in which she appeared alongside Penelope Cruz. It was while shooting the latter that she met actor-director David Trueba, brother of Fernando, and her future husband. Numerous Spanish and French box-office hits have followed: Fina Torres’ MÉCANIQUES CÉLESTES (CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK); Vincente Aranda’s LIBERTARIAS; Jacques Weber’s DON JUAN; Géraldo Vera’s DEUXIÈME NATURE; Sergei Bodrov’s LE BAISER DE L’OURS; Fabien Onteniente’s JET SET; Joaquin Oristrell’s MANIFESTO; Arturo Ripstein’s LA VIERGE DE LA LUXURE; and most recently Fernando Trueba's L’ENVOÛTEMENT DE SHANGAÏ and her husband David Trueba's SOLDADOS DE SOLAMINA.
Famed for taking difficult parts, Gil will soon be seen in Augustin Diaz Yanes’ ALATRISTE by and Alberto Lecchi’s UNA ESTRELLA Y DOS CAFES.
The youngest of four children, Doug Jones was in 1960 in Indianapolis, IN, USA. He was educated at Bishop Catard High School and later Ball State University in Indianapolis, leaving with a degree in telecommunications and theatre. At the same time, he was studying mime for pleasure, never suspecting that it would one day become his career. Having trod the boards in various theatre pieces, he left Indianapolis for Los Angeles in 1985 to pursue a film career. A fistful of B-movies (NIGHT ANGEL, CARNAL CRIMES, MAGIC KID, among others) was followed by a role as one of Danny DeVito's henchmen in Tim Burton's BATMAN RETURNS. Jones has been in work solidly ever since, appearing in some forty feature film and TV series appearances, and more than 90 music videos, notably for Madonna and Marilyn Manson.
For del Toro, Doug Jones has already portrayed one of the humanoid cockroaches in MIMIC, and the aquatic Abe Sapien in HELLBOY. Other cinema roles, sometimes hidden behind elaborate make-up, include: M. Night Shyamalan’s THE LADY IN THE WATER; the comedy BENCHWARMERS, with David Spade and Rob Schneider; HOCUS POCUS, with Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker; MYSTERY MEN with Ben Stiller; THE TIME MACHINE by Gore Verbinski and Simon Wells; Barry Sonnenfeld's MEN IN BLACK 2; Spike Jonze's ADAPTATION; and most recently Andrzej Bartkowiak's DOOM. On television, Jones made an indelible appearance in the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” episode “‘Hush,” which was nominated for two Emmy Awards. Other television credits include “Criminal Minds,” “C.S.I.,” “Tales from the Crypt” and “The Guardian.”
Born in 1965 in Vilanova i la Geltru, a small village near Barcelona, as an adolescent Sergi López preferred to study acting and circus arts rather than follow a more conventional scholastic path. He put on his own plays with a troupe of friends before leaving Spain to enroll in Jacques Lecoq's prestigious Ecole Internationale de Théâtre in Paris, where the emphasis was strongly on the physical aspect of the craft. It was in Paris, in 1992, that he met director Manuel Poirier, who immediately offered him a role in LA PETITE AMIE D’ANTONIO. The film brought López the Prix Michel Simon in 1993 and marked the beginning of a long collaboration with Poirier. The two went on to make seven more features together: A LA CAMPAGNE (1994); ATTENTION FRAGILE (1995); MARION (1996); WESTERN (1997), which won the Jury Prize in Cannes and for which López was awarded the Best actor Prize at the International Catalonia Film Festival and nominated for the Best Male Newcomer César; TE QUIERO (2000); LES FEMMES... OU LES ENFANTS D’ABORD (2001) and lastly CHEMINS DE TRAVERSE (2003). López has since divided his career largely between France and Spain, often acting more than once for directors like Ventura Pons (CARESSES in 1997 and MORIR (O NO) in 2000); Luis Miguel Albaladejo (ATAQUE VERBAL in 1999 and EL CIELO ABIERTO in 2001); and Marion Vernoux (RIEN À FAIRE in 1999 and REINES D’UN JOUR in 2001). He is noted for playing ambiguous or sociopath roles, perhaps most notably that of Harry in Dominik Moll’s HARRY, HE'S HERE TO HELP, a role for which he won a César for Best Actor in 2001 and which elevated him to true celebrity status. Other notable credits include Antonio Hernandez’s LISBOA; Manuel Gomez Pereira’s ENTRE LAS PIERNAS; UNE LIAISON PORNOGRAPHIQUE (AN AFFAIR OF LOVE) opposite Nathalie Baye; Danièle Thompson’s DÉCALAGE HORAIRE; Claude Duty’s FILLES PERDUES, CHEVEUX GRAS; Hélène Angel’s RENCONTRE AVEC LE DRAGON; Stephen Frears’ DIRTY PRETTY THINGS; Samuel Benchetrit’s JANIS AND JOHN; Alain Corneau’s LES MOTS BLEUS; and Eric Barbier’s TOREROS, in which he appeared opposite Maribel Verdú, with whom he is reunited in PAN'S LABYRINTH.
López is currently filming Arnaud des Pallières’ PARC and J’AI TOUJOURS RÊVÉ D’ÊTRE UN GANGSTER, his second film with Samuel Benchetrit.
Born Maria Isabel Verdú Rollan in 1970 in Madrid, to a model mother and salesman father, Maribel Verdú underwent a strict convent education. As a child she wanted to be a teacher, then a private detective, then an actress who would play teachers or private detectives! When she was 13, her mother enrolled her in the same modeling agency as her own and Maribel was quickly engaged for magazine and advertising work. Her career as an actress began only a few months later when producer Jaime Fernandez Cid spotted her. He immediately cast her opposite Victoria Abril in the TV movie EL CRIMEN DEL CAPITAN SANCHEZ. Two years later, in 1986, came her first starring role in Fernando Trueba's EL ANO DE LAS LUCES. Verdú numbers some 50 films amongst her credits, notably: Montxo Armendariz’s 27 HORAS; Mario Camus’ LA FEMME ET LE PANTIN; Bigas Luna’s MACHO; Eric Barbier’s TOREROS; and Carlos Saura’s GOYA. But it was the role of Luisa Cortés, opposite Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal in Alfonso Cuarón's Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN that was to bring her true international recognition. As one of the co-producers of PAN'S LABYRINTH, Alfonso Cuarón played a determining part in choosing Maribel Verdú to play Mercedes, the housekeeper in charge of Captain Vidal's domicile. It is her most recent role to date.
Born in Madrid in 1966, Álvaro Augustin began his film and TV career in distribution. After working in the programming departments of several networks and running an audiovisual consultancy, he joined private broadcaster Telecinco, where he is currently Head of Feature Film Productions. Through Telecinco’s film production branch Estudios Picasso, he has participated in the production of several features, including some of the most successful films of current Spanish cinema: EL OTRO LADO DE LA CAMA, DÍAS DE FÚTBOL and EL LOBO. He is currently working on the production of ALATRISTE, directed by Augustín Díaz Yanes and starring Viggo Mortensen.
Born in Mexico, Eugenio Caballero studied art history and cinema history at the University of Florence between 1989 and 1991. The following year, he returned to the country of his birth to study first set design at the National Institute of Fine Arts (FINA) then production design at the Universidad Iberoamericana in 1993. He first worked on numerous commercials and video clips, notably those by Café Tacuba, on which he collaborated with many of Mexico's finest directors and for which he won two MTV Awards. He worked as design assistant on more than a dozen films, including Baz Luhrmann's ROMEO + JULIETTE. His credits as production designer include Jorge Aguilera’s SERES HUMANOS; Antonio Urrutia’s ASESINO EN SERIO; Carlos Salces’ ZURDO; Alejandro Springall’s SANTITOS; and Sebastian Cordero’s CRÓNICAS, produced by Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, Bertha Navarro and Frida Torresblanco. Caballero is currently working on RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION, third installment of the hugely successful franchise, to be directed by Russell Mulcahy.
Born in Mexico City, Alfonso studied, but didn’t finish degrees in philosophy or film studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He made his way working as a runner, boom man, film loader, editor, camera man, and assistant director until directing his first feature SOLO CON TU PAREJA in 1991. The film, written by Carlos Cuaron, won the Mexican Academy Award® for best original screenplay.
In 1995 he directed A LITTLE PRINCESS. The film earned several awards and was nominated for two Hollywood Academy® Awards. In 1998 he directed GREAT EXPECTATIONS, with the cast including Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert De Niro and Anne Bancroft. In 2001, he directed Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. The film, co-written with Carlos Cuaron, was awarded the Silver Lion for best original screenplay at the Venice Film Festival and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best breakthrough performance to Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal. The film earned other awards and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards® and the BAFTAs.
In 2004 Alfonso directed HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, followed by a segment of PARIS, JE T'AIME which was presented in Un Certain Regard at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Also in 2004 he produced the films THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON by Niels Muller and CRONICAS by Sebastian Cordero, both of which premiered at Un Certain Regard at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2005, Alfonso created Esperanto Filmoj. Based in New York, Esperanto is developing THE HISTORY OF LOVE adapted from the novel by Nicole Krauss and Roald Dahl’s THE WITCHES, both with Warner Bros. Alfonso's debut feature, SOLO CON TU PAREJA, is being released for the first time in the US through IFC Films, with Esperanto. The film is also being released on Special Edition Criterion Collection DVD. Esperanto Filmoj produced PAN'S LABYRINTH, which premiered in the Official Competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2006 Alfonso directed CHILDREN OF MEN which he and Tim Sexton co-wrote, based on the PD James novel.
The world premiere of his latest feature PAN’S LABYRINTH (EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO) in competition at the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival brings Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro full circle to the place where his international career was launched. At the 1993 festival, del Toro’s first feature, the Mexican-American co-production CRONOS, won the Critics’ Week FRIPRESCI award. Along with its nine Ariels (Mexican Academy Awards®), the film established del Toro as one of the most admired and sought-after international writer-directors.
A devotee of the gothic horror genre, del Toro followed CRONOS with the environmental horror film MIMIC for Dimension Films, which he directed and co-wrote. Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Josh Brolin, and Charles Dutton star in the film. After completing the New Line vampire film BLADE II, starring Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson, del Toro began work on HELLBOY for Revolution Studios. Based on the Dark Horse graphic novels by Mike Mignola, the film has been a critical and commercial success. Del Toro recently completed the screenplay for the sequel, HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY, which he will also direct.
Del Toro’s Spanish language gothic film THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, appeared on the "Best of 2001" lists of such publications as the New York Times and Newsweek. The film, which stars Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes, and Federico Luppi, is a co-production between Pedro Almodovar’s El Deseo and del Toro’s Mexican production company Tequila Gang. The film screened at the Locarno, Edinburgh, Toronto, and Telluride Film Festivals.
In addition to HELLBOY 2, del Toro is writing and will direct an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s dark children’s classic THE WITCHES, which Alfonso Cuarón’s Esperanto Filmoj will produce for Warner Brothers. His other projects include THE COFFIN, based on the cult comic book at James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment; KILLING AT CARNIVAL ROW, for producer Arnold Kopelson and New Line Cinema; AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, based on the H.P. Lovecraft book, which he will direct and co-produce with Don Murphy’s Angry Films; and THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS with Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope.
Del Toro is also a founding partner in the Mexico City-based production company Tequila Gang, which recently produced the Spanish language festival hit CRONICAS. He has served as a mentor for many young filmmakers and has been a force behind both the Guadalajara Film Festival and the Sundance Institute’s filmmaker lab held annually in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is currently producing Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona’s feature film THE ORPHANAGE and serves as executive producer on Chilean director Jorge Olguin’s feature THE CALL OF THE SEA.
Born in 1964 in Guadalajara, Mexico, del Toro attended the University of Guadalajara. He trained with Oscar®-winning makeup and special effects artist Dick Smith and later established his own special effects and makeup company, Necropia, S.A., in Guadalajara. Early in his career, he produced and directed extensively for television in Mexico. He created and directed numerous episodes of the Mexican television series HORA MARCADA for Televisa. In 1985, at the age of twenty-one, he produced the feature film DONA HERLINDA AND HER SON for director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo.
Del Toro has served on many film festival juries. He was a member of the Independent Film Project’s Spirit Awards jury in 1999 and 2000. He was a judge and mentor for the 2000 NHK Awards and presented those awards at the Sundance Film Festival that year.
Del Toro is the author of a critical study of the films of Alfred Hitchcock published by the University of Guadalajara Press. His screenplay for CRONOS has been published in Mexico by Miracle Press. His HELLBOY screenplay, along with some of his conceptual artwork for the film, has recently been published by Dark Horse Publications.
Of Spanish descent, David Marti has worked in the domain of special effects for the past 15 years. Early ambitions to become a comic-book artist were soon abandoned: while watching the first of the STAR WARS trilogy, and above all John Huston's THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER, in which numerous disguised characters remove their make-up at the film's finale, something clicked. While working in advertising, Marti enrolled in the Dick Smith make-up correspondence course, perfect training for his future career.
One of Mexico’s leading producers, Bertha Navarro studied all aspects of filmmaking. In the late 1970s, she wrote, directed and edited the documentaries NICARAGUA, LOS QUE HARAN LA LIBERTAD and CRÓNICAS DEL OLVIDO, after which she dedicated herself exclusively to producing. Navarro already had more than a dozen films to her credit (including Paul Leduc’s REED: MEXICO INSURGENTE and Gregory Nava’s 1983 classic EL NORTE), when she produced Guillermo del Toro’s debut feature, CRONOS, in 1992. Navarro subsequently formed the production company The Tequila Gang with del Toro and produced the writer/director’s 2001 Spanish Civil War ghost story THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE. Navarro’s other credits include Paul Leduc’s DOLLAR MAMBO (1993), John Sayles’ MEN WITH GUNS (1997), Carlos Carrera’s UN EMBRUJO (1998), Chilean filmmaker Andres Wood’s award-winning LA FIEBRE DEL LOCO, and Sebastián Cordero’s award-winning CRÓNICAS. In 2002, she produced ASESINO EN SERIO by Antonio Urrutia, having also produced his 1986 Oscar®nominated short DE TRIPAS CORAZON starring Gael García Bernal. Most recently, Navarro produced Paul Leduc’s EL COBRADOR: IN GOD WE TRUST, a world premiere at the 2006 Venice Film Festival.
Guillermo Navarro is a long-standing collaborator of Guillermo del Toro's, a fellow Mexican living in Los Angeles. Navarro has shot all of del Toro’s films since CRONOS, with the exception of MIMIC and BLADE II. Navarro draws on an endlessly rich palette, in perfect accord with the worlds created by del Toro in CRONOS, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, and now PAN'S LABYRINTH. In addition to his collaborations with del Toro, Navarro has also worked as cinematographer on several films by another compatriot, Robert Rodriguez, including DESPERADO, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and SPY KIDS, as well as Quentin Tarantino’s JACKIE BROWN. Other credits include Renny Harlin’s THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT; Rob Minkoff’s STUART LITTLE; Mark Dippé’s SPAWN by, adapted from the comic-book by Todd McFarlane; and most recently Jon Favreau’s ZATHURA. Navarro, who began his career filming documentaries in South America, also shot the Emmy-nominated National Geographic special, LOST KINGDOMS OF THE MAYA. He is currently working on NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM by director Shawn Levy (THE PINK PANTHER).
Frida received her B.A. in Film and Media Studies from Metropolitan University, an M.A. in Communication Studies from the Complutense University of Madrid and an M.A. in Literature and Scriptwriting from Madrid’s School of Literature. She worked as Assistant Director on several films, documentaries, TV series and ads in Spain, Europe, the U.S. and Morocco, including MARATHON, by Carlos Saura, official film of the 1992 Olympics, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS THE DISCOVERY with Marlon Brando, directed by John Glen, and Fernando Trueba's THE IDEAL WOMAN.
Frida then acted as Production Coordinator and Line Producer on several documentaries, including Javier Rioyo and José Luis López Linares' BUÑUEL and STORMING THE HEAVENS: THE DEATH OF LEON TROTSKI, where she also directed the Second Unit. Frida was one of the founding members of Spain’s Globo Media Group, where she produced a number of projects including the hit series COMPAÑEROS and MORE THAN FRIENDS, and the documentary WENCES 100 YEARS.
For five years, Frida was responsible for the production design, pre-production and sales of Lolafilms' international English-language productions, including THE DANCER UPSTAIRS, directed by John Malkovich and starring Javier Bardem, RAIN, directed by Katherine Lindberg, OFF KEY, directed by Manuel Gómez Pereira and THE GIRL FROM RÍO, directed by Christopher Monger.
While at Lolafilms, Frida also produced Susan Seidelman's GAUDI AFTERNOON starring Marcia Gay Harden and Judy Davis. As part of her tenure at Lolafilms, Frida created Lolafilms' television department, Lola Television, where she executive produced several outstanding projects, including the award-winning program LA GRAN ILUSION, among others. She also headed Lolafilms’ Department of New Media.
In 2001, filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón brought Frida in to head his newly established New York City-based production company. Frida coordinated, with IFC Films, the US distribution of Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN as well as the film’s publicity and its Academy Awards campaign. For the next three years, she served as Executive Producer and creative on-set Producer for the films THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON, directed by Niels Mueller and starring Sean Penn, CRONICAS, directed by Sebastian Cordero and starring John Leguizamo, and the documentary BLACK SUN.
In 2005, Alfonso created Esperanto Filmoj. Frida heads Esperanto from New York, and is currently responsible for developing THE HISTORY OF LOVE adapted from the novel by Nicole Krauss and Roald Dahl’s THE WITCHES, both with Warner Bros. Frida has just coordinated the US theatrical release of Alfonso Cuarón’s debut feature, SOLO CON TU PAREJA, through IFC Films. The film is also being released on Special Edition Criterion Collection DVD.
Frida, Alfonso, and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, have partnered to create OMM Productions. Based in Spain, the company formed as an outlet to produce films in Europe. OMM’s first project, produced in conjunction with Esperanto Filmoj, is PAN’S LABYRINTH.