A leading Mexican writer-director since the late 1970s, Hermosillo attracted widespread attention with his fourth feature, "Passion According to Berenice" (1977), and has since enjoyed a string of commercial and critical successes. His work typically examines the fear of loneliness and the foibles of the Mexican middle classes. Probably his best-known film in the United States is the hilarious "Dona Herlinda y su hijo/Dona Herlinda and Her Son" (1984), the first gay-themed film made in Mexico and the best-selling Mexican film to date on the American video market.Hermosillo collaborated with novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez on the screenplays for "Maria de Mi Corazon/Mary My Dearest" (1979) and "El Verano de la Senora Forbes/The Summer of Miss Forbes" (1988). Several of his films have taken a decidedly offbeat approach to character exposition, notably "Intimidades en un Cuarto de Bano/Bathroom Intimacies" (1990), a study of a family in crisis revealed through the bathroom habits of its members; and the erotic "La Tarea/Homework" (1990), a film shot in four days with long takes interrupted only for reel changes, about a female film student who records a sexual encounter with her ex-husband.
Profession(s):
director, screenwriter, producer
Sometimes Credited As:
1977 Achieved international recognition and popularity with "Passion According to Berenice"
1971 Directed first feature film, "La verdadera vocacion de Magdalena/The True Vocation of Magdalena"
1969 Made the 16mm short feature "Our Folk"