FRANCESC GARCÍA DONET, born in Cullera (Valencia) in 1962, has a degree in philosophy from the University of Valencia and in dramatic art from the Escola Superior d'Art Dramàtic de Valencia.
His contact with amateur theatre began as an actor in the production of the play The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1978), by Jordi Teixidor, with the group of the Club Jovenívol de Cullera. Later, he created the group Faula Teatre, with which he acted as an actor in the production of the play Pic-nic (1982), by Fernando Arrabal, and as a director and actor in the play Vendaval per a quatre monstres (1983), of which he was the author. He later joined the group La Colla Teatre (arising from the Theatre Workshop of the Casa de Cultura de Cullera), where he acted as an actor in the play “Ubú Rei” (1985), by Alfred Jarry, as an assistant director in the play “Que no pagui ningú” (1985), by Dario Fo, and as a lighting designer (1987), by Bertolt Brecht.
His first professional experience in the theater will be as assistant director and production assistant in the production of “El Carnestoltes dels Animals en concert”, directed by Vicent S. Genovès (1986), a production by the Vaganovos company for the “Teatre dels Somnis” of the Sala Escalant (Diputació de Valencia).
He began his professional career in the audiovisual field with the short films “Corre, Jaume!” (1986) and “Crits” (1987), of which he was producer, screenwriter and co-director (with Jordi Piris in the first and Jordi Piris and Gerard Collins in the second). He joined the Valencian Regional Television (TVV) as a staff producer in 1989. From that year until 1992 he worked as a producer of all types of programs, being named Head of Artistic Media of TVV in 1992, a position he held until 1995.
Between 1996 and 1996, from 1998 to 2004, he was in charge of the cultural programming of the second channel of TVV, Punt Dos. During these years, he intervened, as Delegate Producer, in some Valencian film co-productions, such as the documentary “Les cendres del volcà” (directed by Pedro P. Rosado), the animated feature film “Joc de xiquets” (directed by Pablo Llorens), the TV Movie “La tarara” and the fictional feature film “Contes de la guerra sahrauí” (directed by Pedro P. Rosado). He also deals with the hiring and programming of short films from all over the world at Punt Dos.
He also develops activities within amateur theatre, as director of the JONAC theatre group, with which he premiered the productions of the works “Jacques o la submissión” (1992), by Eugène Ionesco, and “El servidor de dos amos” (1994), by Carlo Goldoni (both translated by himself). He then took charge of the theatre section of the Ateneu Musical de Cullera, with which he premiered the productions of the works “Tres forasters de Madrid” (1996, in celebration of the Ateneu’s centenary), by Eduard Escalante, and “El país del drac” (1998), by Tennessee Williams.
After going on leave at TVV, he worked as a political advisor and communications consultant between 2004 and 2008. In 2004 he released a new short film, “Un assumpte personal”, written and directed by himself (which was shown at the Zinebi Festival in Bilbao, in Valencia, in Palma de Mallorca and in the Verdi cinemas in Barcelona). In 2009 he released another short film, entitled “Toro Díaz”, of which he is the screenwriter and director, and which won the Third Prize at the Torrelavega International Short Film Festival.
In September 2008, he returned to his job at TVV, where he was responsible for the delegated production of co-productions and broadcasting rights, essentially of documentaries and fiction films (such as the TV Movies “Asunto Reiner”, directed by Carlos Pérez Ferré and released in 2009, or “Quatre estaciones”, directed by Marcel Barrena and released in 2010). He also carried out dubbing and subtitling production tasks, with cycles such as the most outstanding filmography of Alfred Hitchcock or American independent cinema.
In 2013 he participated in the creation of the audiovisual production company ON AIR COMUNICACIÓ I PRODUCCIÓ SL, of which he is administrator and creative director. With this company, he produced the documentaries: “La caixa negra”, directed by José Carlos Díaz (2014); “Carnval”, a production by the Universitat Politècnica de València and the Universitat de València (2016) where he also wrote the script; “Rodolfo Llopis, la conducta del mestre”, directed by Francesc M. Picó (2018); and “Territori Boom: la defensa del Saler”, directed by José Carlos Díaz (2023). He also works as director and screenwriter of the documentary “Tot canvi comença a l’escola” (2018), produced for the Agricologia entity. He acts as producer and executive co-producer of the short animated documentary “On estaves tu?”, directed by Maria Trénor (2020), which participates in more than 30 international festivals, where it wins several awards.
In 2016 he participated in the creation of the audiovisual production company VISUAL PRODUCCIONES, SL, with which he collaborated on the following productions: “Benvingut Mr. Loach” (2022), a feature documentary of which he is co-executive producer; and “Desenterrats” (2022), a fiction series for À Punt (10 x 52’), where he acts as screenwriter and co-executive producer. This series won 4 awards at the 2022 edition of the Berlanga Awards of the Valencian Academy of Audiovisual.
In 2023 he participated in the creation of the company GARGUD PRODUCCIONS SL, with which he distributed the theatrical production “a-fràgil”, written and directed by Aurora Garcia Agud, and participated in the production of the theatrical production “El tembleque”, also written and directed by Aurora Garcia Agud.
In 2025 he returned to direct the theater section of the Ateneu Musical de Cullera, where he taught courses in theater interpretation and dramaturgy.