José Jara

José Royo Jara (1940-2014), better known as José Jara, studied with the Jesuits. At the Complutense University of Madrid he graduated in Law and specialized in International Law. In 1962, fed up with the political situation, he went abroad where he led a nomadic life. In England, he worked in various secondary schools as a Spanish language teacher. He made several stays in Europe, dedicating himself to endless activities. At the beginning of the sixties, he obtained a doctorate scholarship at the prestigious University Institute of High International Studies (Institut de Hautes Études Internationales, IUHEI) attached to the University of Geneva and it is then that his cinematographic vocation awakens, which he develops in such a way. autodidact. His cinematographic taste was forged at the time of the consolidation of the Nouvelle Vague. That made him absolutely independent of any industry, school, movement or ideology. At the end of the sixties he returned to Spain, with the sole intention of directing cinema. He manages to intervene in various films and works several times for TVE. Among his collaborations is as a meritorious director in the films of Antonio Eceiza produced by Elías Querejeta. He directs, among other works, the only film adaptation of Niebla, the famous novel by Miguel de Unamuno, entitled Las cuatro novias de Augusto Pérez (1976), as well as El transexual (1977), the first film that mixes documentary and fiction on the subject of transsexuality in Spanish cinema. He shot industrial advertising short films for the audiovisual production company Majesa and wrote the literary text entitled Mater Amantíssima. His last feature film "The oasis" a co-production with France, he signed it under the pseudonym John O'Hara, but due to disagreements with the production he left the filming before finishing. He also filmed the industrial short films Madrid, clear waters (1983); Madrid, healthy air (1983); Madrid, clean (1983); Madrid, green (1983); Water, purification (1983) and Water, purification (1983).