Before releasing his first feature film, the filmmaker José Luis Rope (Albacete, 1947) worked at TVE, between 1969 and 1977, directing reports for news programs and collaborating on various cultural programs.

In 1982 he premiered his first film, Evens and odds and, three years later, the short film Totalwhich received a Special Jury Mention at the Monte Carlo Film Festival. His next film, The animated forest (1987), earned him an Honorable Mention at the San Sebastián Film Festival. In 1988, he directed Sunrise, which is no small thing, a success at the box office.

Producer of Alejandro Amenábar's first two films, Thesis y Open your eyes, with The tongue of butterflies (1999), won a Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2000, he received the Medal of Merit in Fine Arts.

Among his works, the following can also be highlighted: As in heaven, so on earth (1995) The education of fairies (2006) o Blind Sunflowers (2008).

Cuerda is a member of the Board of Directorsel Círculo de Bellas Artes and his latest film is Everything is silence (2012).