Rodrigo Cortés is a most versatile artist: director, actor, producer, screenwriter, aphorist… and novelist. His latest book, Los años extraordinarios, is a novel in the tradition of Valle-Inclán that takes us on a journey through the 20th century. The work, particularly its protagonist, Jaime Fanjul, has received praise from both critics and fellow writers. No challenge seems too great for this Salamanca artist: aged 25 he was already filming videos for Amenábar and he has not shied away from working with Hollywood stars like Robert de Niro, Sigourney Weaver and Uma Thurman (the star of Down a Dark Hall, his most recent film). Perhaps his most famous feature has been Buried, a suffocating film in which Ryan Reynolds plays a man who is trying to survive after being buried alive in a coffin. The movie won several Goyas in Spain as well as international awards. Given his career so far, this artist with the captivating smile must have something special.

Rodrigo Cortés will talk to the publisher Miguel Aguilar, who has worked with major figures in Spanish literature, such as Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio.