Ignasi Camós, director of the ICAA, dies at 56: “He did a lot of good for Spanish cinema”

The director of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), Ignasi Camós, died this Thursday at the age of 56, as confirmed by the Ministry of Culture in a statement in which he conveys his condolences to family, friends and relatives for this loss.

Ignasi Camós had been in charge of the ICAA since June 2023, when he replaced Beatriz Navas. The Ministry of Culture appreciates the great work and commitment of Ignasi Camós at the head of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts which, together with his vocation for public service, “will leave a great mark on the people and institutions with which he worked.”

A few minutes after the news became official, the co-founder and editorial director of the audiovisual platform Filmin, Jaume Ripoll, lamented in a message from

“He did a lot of good for Spanish cinema during his time at the ICAA. Hopefully in this next Cannes Festival, with so much presence of national cinema, we can pay him the tribute that he undoubtedly deserves. My last happy memory with him: on the closing day of Atlàntida (Mallorca), he arrived with his Oasis t-shirt, euphoric after having seen them in concert again. How much we laughed,” Ripoll recalled.

The organization of the Feroz Awards has also said goodbye to Camós with a message in X, in which they have highlighted his “intense” work at the head of the cultural institution. “We deeply regret his death. A big hug for his colleagues and friends,” the entity published.

For its part, the Malaga Festival has thanked him for his work and commitment to cinema and has conveyed its deepest condolences to his family, through a message on social networks. Likewise, DAMA, an entity specialized in the management of audiovisual authors’ rights, has also expressed its condolences with a message in X.

“We deeply regret the death of Ignasi Camós, director of the ICAA. We want to thank him for his dedication, his great institutional work and his firm commitment to culture, audiovisuals and authors. A big hug for his colleagues, friends and family,” the entity has published.

BIOGRAPHY

Camós was a doctor of Law, a professor of Labor and Social Security Law at the University of Girona and an official of the General State Administration. During his career, he held different positions of responsibility in the Generalitat of Catalonia and was Minister of Employment and Social Security in the Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels.

Since July 2021, he served as a parliamentary advisor in the Cabinet of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta, a position from which he coordinated the working groups for the development of the Artist Statute.

In addition, he had worked as a parliamentary advisor in the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (2020-2021) and in the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Immigration (2018-2019). Previously he had been a technical advisor at the Ministry of Education, at the Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels.