Arantxa Aguirre holds a doctorate in Spanish Literature and has published the books Buñuel, lector de Galdós (Pérez Galdós prize, 2003) and 34 actores hablan de su oficio, a sequel to her documentary Hécuba, nominated for a Goya film award in 2007. She has worked as assistant director to Mario Camus, Basilio Martín Patino, Pedro Almodóvar and Carlos Saura, among others. Prominent among her documentaries are the prizewinning El esfuerzo y el ánimo (2009), American Swan in Paris (2011) and Dancing Beethoven (2016) – the latter also nominated for Goya, Forqué and Platino awards – which have been shown in commercial cinemas in several countries. In 2020 she was named a full member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.