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Biography

Javier Aguirre Fernández (June 13, 1935 – December 4, 2019) was a Spanish film director , writer and producer. Aguirre was born in Donostia-San Sebastián in Spain . Aguirre developed an interest in film at an early age. When he was a teenager, he started collaborating for entertainment magazines like Radiocinema , Film Ideal , and others. In 1955, when he was around 20 years old, he founded and directed the San Sebastián Film Club. From 1956 to 1957, Aguirre organized film courses and film festivals. During those years, he also studied at the Institute of Cinematographic Research and Experiences (IIEC). He worked as an assistant director until he started directing his own short films in the 1960s. He began his work as a director in 1961, directing a short documentary titled Pasajes tres , which received the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival . He had a prolific career, directing 45 feature films, 10 short films, 2 documentaries, and 25 documentary shorts. Aguirre also wrote and produced most of his films. Spanish horror movie fans know him as the director of three popular Paul Naschy horror films, El hunchback de la Morgue (1973, aka Hunchback of the Morgue ), El gran amor del conde Drácula (1973, aka Count Dracula's Great Love ) and El asesino esta entre los trece (aka The Killer is One of the Thirteen ).