Carlos Vermut, accused by three women of sexual violence, is a screenwriter, director and comic artist, author of disturbing cinema that explores the murky human drives and who, with only his first two films, became a cult filmmaker boosted by criticism and awards.
Carlos López del Rey, known as Carlos Vermut, has been accused by three women of acts of sexual violence committed between May 2014 and February 2022, according to an investigation published this Friday by the newspaper El País.
A self-taught filmmaker, in a few years he went from the most ‘underground’ self-production to managing million-dollar budgets. His first film, ‘Diamond Flash’ (2011), cost 20,000 euros and was distributed online.
Three years later he won a Golden Shell in San Sebastián for Magical Girl (2014) and a Silver Shell for best director, and his next film, ‘Who will sing to you’ (2018), had the backing of Netflix and a budget of two million. euros.
He was born in Madrid on March 6, 1980 and since he was little he liked to make comics—he is passionate about manga and Japanese fantasy heroes—and recording his family and friends with a video camera.
He studied Illustration at the 10 Art School in Madrid and began working as a cartoonist, as well as a cartoonist and illustrator for the newspaper El Mundo.
His pseudonym comes from when he made fanzines and he put his name next to a vermouth label that his grandfather had in a winery in Ciudad Real and that he thought had an elegant design.
In 2006 he won the Injuve comic award and after that he published his first solo comic, ‘El banyán rojo’, for which he was nominated in four categories at the Barcelona International Comic Fair.
Then came Psicosoda, a compilation of short stories, and Pluto BRB Nero, Maripili’s Revenge, a comic based on the television series by Álex de la Iglesia.
Vermut participated in the television series Jelly Jamm on TVE in 2008 and a year later he released his first short, ‘Maquetas’, for which he won the Notodofilmfest award and the best short film at the XXI week of fantasy and horror films in San Sebastián .
In 2009 she filmed her second short, Michirones, and a year later she went to Japan, where she wrote the script for what would be her first film, ‘Diamond Flash’, the story of five women in relation to a mysterious character and in which she was present the topic of abuse.
The filmmaker created the production company Psicosoda Films in 2011 and released the film independently. It was published on June 8 on the internet and was a trending topic in Spain that same day, in addition to being the most viewed on the film portal in two weeks.
Diamond Flash was well received by critics and Caimán magazine chose it as one of the two best Spanish films of 2012, along with Blancanieves by Pablo Berger.
From 2012 is the short film written and directed by him, Don Pepe Popi, in a key of black humor. That same year he published Cosmic Dragon, a comic that pays homage to the Japanese series Dragon Ball, of which Vermut has confessed to be a great follower on several occasions.
Her second film, Magical Girl, premiered in 2014 at the Toronto International Film Festival and did a double in San Sebastián, winning the Golden Shell for best film and the silver shell for best director.
It also achieved seven Goya nominations and Bárbara Lennie won best actress. It is a story of domination and sadomasochism where the destiny of a father with a sick daughter and an anime fan intersects with a disturbed young woman and a teacher with a dark past who find themselves trapped in a
Later, with Quien Te Cantar (2018), she received seven Goya nominations and her protagonist, Eva Llorach, won best new actress. In it she reflects on identity and fame through the story of a famous singer who loses her memory after an accident.
Hollywood Reporter, one of the main media outlets in the sector in North America, described Vermouth as Almodovaresque. He recognizes this inevitable reference of Pedro Almodóvar, but considers that “the rhythm and mystery” of his films are more similar to the “darker and more psychological” Carlos Saura, as he pointed out to EFE in 2018.
In 2021 he wrote the script for the horror film The Grandmother, directed by Paco Plaza, and he also released his fourth feature film, Mantícora, a plot about a video game designer tormented by his pedophile inclinations. He achieved four Goya nominations.
