GABRIEL BERISTAIN (Director of Photography) was born in Mexico, the son of actor Luis Beristain, best known for the 1962 Luis Buñuel film, "The Exterminating Angel." Gabriel Beristain ran his own Mexican company producing commercials and industrial films before emigrating to Britain's National Film School in 1977 — one of his ventures was the 1984 Oscar-winning student film, "Mother's Wedding," by Jenny Wilkes. After assisting such major cinematographers as Billy Williams, Beristain shot Ken Russell's segment of "Aria," Franc Roddam's "K2," Taylor Hackford's "Dolores Claiborne" and three of Jonathan Lynn's Hollywood comedies: "The Distinguished Gentleman," "Greedy," and "Trial and Error." He won the Silver Bear at the 1987 Berlin Festival for his work on Derek Jarman's "Caravaggio."
return to the filmmakers index