Doctor, Outstanding Cum Laude, in «Film Theory and Analysis» from the Complutense University of Madrid; Bachelor of Fine Arts and musician, awarded by the AIE for three years, Honorable Mention in Harmony and Counterpoint. He began his film studies creating in 1993 the Independent Animated Film Company «El Gandul» with which he directed and produced short films in Super 8. One of them, «El Porquet», won several animation awards in Madrid and Barcelona, and was presents the year 1998 at the Sitges International Film Festival.

He graduated in Filmmaking at the Microobert school in Barcelona and in Directing at the Madrid Film School (ECAM), and with Bigas Luna, as part of his workshop for young filmmakers. He collaborates in 35mm shorts, as assistant director, assistant editor or artistic director, one of them awarded at the Venice Biennale. Between 1998-2001 he collaborated with TV Cardedeu. In 2001/2002 he wrote film reviews for the specialized magazine «Los Olvidados», nominated for the best journalistic work at the 2002 Cinematographic Writers Circle Awards.

He co-directs the documentary feature 200 km, selected at the 51st edition of the 2003 San Sebastian Film Festival, and premiered in commercial theaters, winning the Golden Gate for best documentary script at the San Francisco Film Festival. His short film Don Giovanni, wins the Golden Chord Award (Best Music Film) at the «Cosí fan tutte» VIENNA Short Film Competition 2006, and Patarei Prison, the Best Experimental Film at «In The Palace» Film Festival 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Among more than a hundred Festivals, his work has also been exhibited at the Center Pompidou in Paris, at the Seminci in Valladolid, the Transmediale in Berlin, the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival, in Cityzooms in Bremen, in Documentamadrid, in Up and Coming Film Festival in Hannover, the Sounding Images in Pasadena in the USA, the Santa Fe Film Festival, in the Stuttgarter Filmwinter, the International Festival of Young Directors of Granada, the Fest. Barcelona Documentary Int. «Docupolis», the Fest. Alcalá de Henares Cinema Int., Or the Fest. Barcelona Independent Film Institute «l’Alternativa», and has been broadcast on TV.

He has received master classes from Bigas Luna, Abbas Kiarostami, Christopher Doyle, Víctor Erice, Joaquim Jordá, José Luis Cuerda, Juan Madrid, and attended lectures by David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, Arthur Penn, Amos Gitai, Abel Ferrara, Barbet Schroeder, Lasse Hallstrom, Maurice Jarre, Roland Topor, Manoel de Oliveira, Jonas Mekas, Javier Aguirre, Jirí Menzel, Pere Portabella…

Ricard Carbonell is currently a University Professor of Undergraduate and Master’s degrees at the TAI Arts Center, a center attached to the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid.