Alberto Vázquez (artist)

Alberto Vázquez Rico (born 1980) is a Spanish (Galician) comic book artist and filmmaker. He has received three Goya Awards for his animated films. His most famous works are Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, a feature-length adult animated movie based on his own graphic novel, and Unicorn Wars, an original feature-length adult animated film. He is also a drummer in the Mano de obra band.

Alberto Vázquez
BornAlberto Vázquez Rico
(1980-10-13)13 October 1980
A Coruña, Spain
Area(s)Cartoonist, Writer, Artist
Notable works
albertovazquez.net

Career

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He studied on University of Vigo and University of Valencia. One of the co-founders of Polaqia comic-book creators group, he published his first album in 2002. His comic books include Freda (2003, with Kike Benlloch), Psiconautas (2006) and El evangelio de Judas (2007). His drawings were published in El País, he also illustrated works of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.

In 2011, together with Pedro Rivero, he adapted his own graphic novel, Psiconautas, in a form of a short animated film under the title Birdboy. It won a Goya Award and encouraged them to direct the 76-minute version, Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, which premiered in 2016. In the next year, Vázquez received two more Goya Awards: one for the best animated feature film and one for a short (Decorado).

On June 16, 2020, a trailer was released for his next feature film, Unicorn Wars, which is an adult animated film about the gruesome war against teddy bears and unicorns, or as the teddy bears call them, devils.[1][2] A year after the trailer debuted, Vázquez and the crew of Unicorn Wars was at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in a Work In Progress panel in which it took place at the Salle Pierre Lamy. He explained the production process, part of the plot, and the festival shown clips.[3]

Bibliography

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As Author and Illustrator

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  • Psiconautas (2007)
  • El evangelio de Judas (2007)
  • Alter Ego (2008)
  • A Caza (2020)

Filmography

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Feature-length

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Year Title Director Writer Other Notes
2015 Psiconautas: Los Niños Olvidados Yes Yes Yes Co-written and co-directed with Pedro Rivero
Also layout artist and art director
Based on his novel "Psiconautas"
2022 Unicorn Wars Yes Yes Yes also actor role as "Sonrisas"

Shorts

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Year Title Director Writer Other Notes
2011 Judas, Catholic Squirrell Yes No Yes Co-directed with Boris Dolenc
Also illustrator
Birdboy Yes Yes Yes Co-written and co-directed with Pedro Rivero
Also associate producer, layout artist, storyboard artist and art director
Based on his novel "Psiconautas"
2012 Ramiro, Sucia Rata Yes Yes Yes Also animator
2013 Sangre de unicornio Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Pedro Rivero
Also animation assistant, clean up, designs and backgrounds, art, storyboard artist and actor role as "Narrator"
2016 Decorado Yes Yes No
2020 Homeless Home Yes Yes Yes Also production designer

Accolades

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Goya Awards

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Year Category Film Result
2011 Best Animated Short Film Birdboy Winner
2014 Best Animated Short Film Sangre de unicornio Nominated
2016 Best Animated Film Birdboy: The Forgotten Children Winner
2016 Best Animated Short Film Decorado Winner
2020 Best Animated Short Film Homeless Home Nominated
2022 Best Animated Film Unicorn Wars Winner

Other awards

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  • 2011: Award for Best Animated Short Film, Festival de Cans, for Birdboy.
  • 2016: Best feature-length animation, Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, for Birdboy: The Forgotten Children.
  • 2017: Jury Prize for Best Animated Short Film, Festival de Cans, for Decorado.[4]
  • 2017: Best short film in International Competition, Short Waves Festival, for Decorado.

References

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  1. ^ De Wit, Alex (17 June 2020). "Teddy Bears Battle Unicorns In Alberto Vázquez's 'Unicorn Wars' (Exclusive Trailer Premiere)". Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  2. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: UNICORN WARS // FULL TRAILER (VO). YouTube.
  3. ^ Lang, Jamie (16 June 2021). "'Unicorn Wars' Dazzles With In-Person Work in Progress Panel From Annecy". Variety. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Palmarés 2017 do Festival de Cans". festivaldecans.gal. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
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