Pedro Almodovar is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer, born in 1949, near Ciudad Real. His films are known for perplexed stories, elements of pop-culture, popular music, satirical humor, vivid colors and flashy décor. His main focus are themes such as desire, passion, family and personal identity. He is a founder of the El Deseo label. Almodovar was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001. He won an Oscar for the best original screenplay for the film Talk to Her (2002). Films that brought him international stardom were High Heels, Bad Education, All About My Mother and Volver. These achievements made him the most famous Spanish director of his generation, as well as one of the most prominent figures of European cinema.