The Argentinian-born critic Juan Carlos Frugone, who has died of cancer aged 71, was a highly regarded figure in international film circles.
Having studied literature and philosophy in his native Buenos Aires, he was engaged in cineclub activities and critical writing from an early age. Emigrating to Spain in 1976, at the inception of Argentina's military dictatorship, he continued to write film reviews for the Argentinian newspaper Clarín, while contributing to many Spanish publications.
An habitué and regular collaborator in international film festivals, from 1984 to 1992 he was co-director with Fernando Lara of the Valladolid film festival in north-central Spain, taking sole charge from its 50th anniversary in 2005 until 2008. His appointment as subdirector of the Argentinian Mar del Plata festival in 1996 had been cut short by heart trouble, from which he recovered.
A critic of profound knowledge and impeccable taste, he published books on Stanley Donen, Mario Camus and Rafael Azcona, as well as a number of translated works, and wrote several screenplays. He was a man of great charm and social elegance, but nevertheless lived a solitary private life in his modest Madrid apartment.
• This article was amended on 20 July 2009. The original said that Juan Carlos Frugone emigrated to Spain in 1966. This has been corrected.
