Mikel Rueda

Mikel Rueda Sasieta (born 6 July 1980 (1980-07-06)) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter.

Mikel Rueda Sasieta
Born	(1980-07-06) 6 July 1980 (age 45) Bilbao, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation(s)	Filmmaker, writer
Known for	Hidden Away
Website	mikelrueda.com

He is a graduate in audiovisual communication with a specialty in script from the University of Navarra.^[1] He worked as a producer in Euskal Telebista (EITB) for four years and, after working on several short films, he received a scholarship to study at the New York Film Academy, where he did his post-graduate work in Film Direction.^[2]

Career

Mikel Rueda made his film debut as both a director and a writer in 2007 with the release of his short film, Presente Perfecto.^[3] His first feature length film, Izarren argia was released in 2010 at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.^[1] He filmed his first full length documentary, Quinta Plata, in New York in 2016.^[1]

Many of his films and short films contain themes of the gay and queer community as he believes there is still a lot for the community to claim.^[4]

He has directed films in English, Spanish, and Basque.^[5]

Filmography

• Presente Perfecto (2007)
• Cuando Corres (2010)
• Stars to Wish Upon [es] (2010)
• Agua! [es] (2012)
• Hidden Away (2014)
• Nueva York. Quinta planta (2016)
• The Double Plus Fifteen [es] (2019)
• Veneno (2020)
• Vestidas de azul (2023)
• The Gardener (2025)

Awards and nominations

Year	Festival	Category	Film	Outcome
2014	Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival	Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Award	A escondidas	Nominated[6]
2015	Queer Lisboa – Lisbon Gay & Lesbian Film Festival	Jury Prize		Nominated
2016	San Sebastian International Film Festival	Best Basque Screenplay	Nueva York. Quinta planta	Won[7]