From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Julio Medem (born 21 October 1958) is a Spanish writer and film director. Medem was born in San Sebastián, Basque Country and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when he would take his father's Super 8 camera and shoot at night, while nobody was paying attention. After college graduation (where he earned degrees in Medicine and General Surgery) he worked as a film critic and later as a screenwriter, assistant director and editor. After a few shorts he directed his first full length feature, Vacas ('Cows') for which he won a Goya Award. After this film he directed The Red Squirrel and Earth, both receiving good reviews at Cannes. In his next movie, Lovers of the Arctic Circle, which has been compared to the works of Krzysztof Kieślowski, he explored circular narrative and a taste for minimalistic textures that he then overcame in his next film, Sex and Lucia, where the plot dissolves into a very lyrical eroticism. After this film he took a tangent from his style to direct and produce La pelota vasca ('The Basque Ball'), a documentary film about the political problems of the Basque Country, which caused a furor amongst Spain's right wing politicians. Following this, his film Caótica Ana debuted in 2007. Description above from the Wikipedia article Julio Medem, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 21, 1958 (68)
- Donostia-San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, País Vasco, Spain
- Director, writer, editor and producer
- 10 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
What are Julio Medem's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 4
Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 2
Steady 3 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 4
A split, not a type: Easy watch 1 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 5
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 4
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Julio Medem's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Julio Medem's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
26 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
8 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
The Tree of Blood(2018)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Kalebegiak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Paquita Salas(2016)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
Ma ma(2015)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
7 Days in Havana(2011)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Arrebatados: recordando a Iván Zulueta (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Room in Rome(2010)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Me Too (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Chaotic Ana(2007)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Uno por ciento, esquizofrenia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
With Good Reason (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
La culpa del alpinista (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Sex and Lucía(2001)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Airbag(1997)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Earth(1996)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Hi, Are You Alone? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
The Red Squirrel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Cows (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Martín (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Six on the Dot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Patas en la Cabeza (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Jai Alai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Minotaur: Picasso and the Women of Guernica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 26 titles, 24 of them dated from 1985 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Sex and Lucía (2001)
Highest rated
Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)
Most popular right now
Room in Rome (2010)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Julio Medem's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 55th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 76/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Julio Medem's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Julio Medem work with?
People who share at least 2 of Julio Medem's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Najwa Nimri shares the most, 4.
Actors
- Najwa NimriShared titles: The Tree of Blood (2018), Room in Rome (2010), Sex and Lucía (2001), Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)See all 4 shared titles with Najwa Nimri
- Elena AnayaShared titles: Room in Rome (2010), Sex and Lucía (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Elena Anaya
- Nancho NovoShared titles: Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), Earth (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Nancho Novo
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Alberto IglesiasShared titles: Ma ma (2015), Sex and Lucía (2001), Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), Earth (1996)See all 4 shared titles with Alberto Iglesias
- Iván AledoShared titles: Ma ma (2015), Sex and Lucía (2001), Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), Earth (1996)See all 4 shared titles with Iván Aledo
- Kiko de la RicaShared titles: The Tree of Blood (2018), Ma ma (2015), Sex and Lucía (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Kiko de la Rica
- Jocelyn PookShared titles: Room in Rome (2010), Chaotic Ana (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Jocelyn Pook
Producers
- Álvaro LongoriaShared titles: Ma ma (2015), 7 Days in Havana (2011), Room in Rome (2010)See all 3 shared titles with Álvaro Longoria
- Enrique López LavigneShared titles: Chaotic Ana (2007), Sex and Lucía (2001), Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Enrique López Lavigne
- Cristina ZumárragaShared titles: 7 Days in Havana (2011), Room in Rome (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Cristina Zumárraga
- Pilar BenitoShared titles: 7 Days in Havana (2011), Room in Rome (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Pilar Benito
