Jaume Claret Muxart: The Goya-Nominated Director Redefining Cinema ...

At 27 years old, Jaume Claret Muxart has already achieved what many filmmakers spend decades pursuing. The Sant Cugat del Vallès native has earned nominations from both the Spanish Academy Awards (Goya) and the Catalan Film Awards (Gaudí) for his debut feature film.

His journey represents a unique intersection of artistic heritage, pedagogical innovation, and institutional support. Rather than following a traditional path through film school, Muxart has carved out a distinctive approach that bridges education and professional filmmaking.

The young director's story challenges conventional narratives about film education and youth engagement with cinema. His success demonstrates how alternative learning models can produce industry-recognized talent.

Claret Muxart describes his life through the lens of three distinct families that shaped his development. The first is his birth family, where artistic influence runs deep—his grandparents were avant-garde painters, while his parents are an architect and a physical education teacher.

The second family emerged through Cinema en Curs, the pioneering educational program that brings filmmaking into secondary schools across the region. This initiative allowed him to connect with young creators while developing his own pedagogical approach.

The third and most transformative family is the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE) in Donosti. Unlike traditional film schools that focus on technical training, EQZE specifically targets students who want to develop feature-length film projects.

His path to cinema began unexpectedly. Originally destined for dance, Muxart discovered his passion at age fourteen when he witnessed the intricate workings of a film set. This revelation led him to become a film critic, writing for blogs and specialized publications while covering festivals.

As a young programmer and collaborator with Cinema en Curs, he found a way to avoid traditional university education while still engaging deeply with the film community. This unconventional route ultimately led him to Donosti at nineteen, where he enrolled in EQZE's unique program.

The culmination of Muxart's educational journey is his debut feature film ‘Estrany riu’, which has garnered significant recognition both domestically and internationally. The film received two nominations from the Spanish Academy of Cinema and eight nominations from the Gaudí Awards, the prestigious Catalan film honors.

Beyond Spanish recognition, the film achieved success on the international festival circuit. It won awards at the Venice Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious cinematic events, and also took home prizes at the Reikiavik festival, demonstrating its cross-cultural appeal.

This dual success—both national and international—highlights the film's artistic merit and universal themes. The recognition from such diverse festival circuits suggests Muxart's work resonates across different cultural contexts.

The achievement is particularly notable for a debut feature, positioning Muxart as a significant new voice in contemporary Spanish cinema. His success validates the alternative educational path he chose, proving that unconventional training can lead to conventional industry recognition.

Amid widespread concern about declining cinema attendance among younger generations, Muxart offers a contrarian perspective. He directly challenges the narrative that young people are abandoning film, pointing to concrete evidence that contradicts this assumption.

¿Que los jóvenes no van al cine? ¡Si llenan la filmoteca!

This observation reflects his deep involvement with film education and youth engagement. Through his work with Cinema en Curs and his experience at EQZE, Muxart has witnessed firsthand how young people interact with cinema when given the right opportunities.

The packed film libraries he references suggest that the issue may not be a lack of interest in cinema itself, but rather a shift in how and where young people consume films. Traditional multiplexes may be losing their appeal, but specialized film institutions are thriving.

His perspective is informed by direct engagement with students and young filmmakers. Rather than observing from a distance, he actively participates in creating educational experiences that connect youth with cinema as both an art form and a potential career path.

The Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola represents a radical departure from traditional film education. Located in Donosti, the institution deliberately avoids producing technical specialists or following conventional teaching methods.

Instead, EQZE focuses exclusively on students who arrive with a specific goal: to develop and complete a feature-length film project. This project-based approach creates an intensive, collaborative environment where learning happens through doing.

The school's philosophy aligns perfectly with Muxart's own development. Rather than spending years mastering technical skills in isolation, he was able to immediately apply his learning toward a concrete creative goal. This practical orientation likely contributed to the professional quality of his debut feature.

For students like Muxart, who entered at age nineteen, this model provides a direct pathway from education to professional filmmaking. The emphasis on complete projects rather than fragmented technical training ensures that graduates leave with a finished work that demonstrates their capabilities to the industry.

Jaume Claret Muxart's trajectory offers a compelling model for the future of film education and youth engagement with cinema. His success demonstrates that alternative educational pathways can produce industry-recognized talent while maintaining artistic integrity.

The international recognition of ‘Estrany riu’ validates the pedagogical approach of institutions like EQZE and programs like Cinema en Curs. These models prioritize creative development over technical specialization, producing filmmakers who are both artists and storytellers.

As the film industry continues to evolve, Muxart's story suggests that the key to engaging young audiences lies not in chasing trends, but in providing meaningful access to the art form. His observation about packed film libraries points to a deeper truth: young people will embrace cinema when given the opportunity to engage with it authentically.

For aspiring filmmakers and educators alike, Muxart's journey offers both inspiration and a practical roadmap. The combination of artistic heritage, innovative education, and institutional support can create the conditions for meaningful cinematic work to emerge from unexpected places.