Luis Mandoki (born August 17, 1954) is a Mexican

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

working in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and Hollywood. Luis Mandoki studied

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

in Mexico and at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

, the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

, and the

London International Film School London Film School (LFS) is a film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, neighbouring Soho, a hub of the UK film industry. It is the oldest film school in the UK.

. While attending this last institution he directed his first short film ''Silent Music'' which won an award at the International Amateur Film Festival of

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in 1976. Back in Mexico he directed short films and documentaries for the

Instituto Nacional Indigenista The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples ( es, Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas, INPI) is a decentralized agency of the Mexican Federal Public Administration. It was established on December 4, 2018, though the earliest Mexican ...

(the National Institute for the Indigenous), Conacine (National Commission of Film) and the Centro de Produccion de Cortometraje (Center for the Production of Short Films). In 1980 he received an

Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...

of the

Mexican Academy of Film Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous peopl ...

for his short film ''El secreto''. Four years later, his film ''Motel'' was selected to represent Mexico in film festivals around the globe. At the age of 30 he developed, wrote, produced and directed '' Gaby: A True Story'', a movie about the struggles of disability activist Gaby Brimer. This film was nominated for both the

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

and

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

s. For the next 15 years he filmed only in English until the critically acclaimed ''

Voces inocentes ''Voces Inocentes'' (English title: ''Innocent Voices'') is a 2004 war film directed by Luis Mandoki. The plot is set during the Salvadoran Civil War, and is based on writer Óscar Torres's childhood. The film serves as a general commentary on t ...

'' of 2004. This film gave him a ''Best Director'' nomination for the Ariel Award in 2005. The film also received three awards and was nominated for ''Best Film''. The film was selected to represent Mexico for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

and had a box-office output of 49.4 million

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...

(roughly 4.5 million U.S. dollars) and was seen by 1.5 million people. Luis Mandoki currently resides in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

with his wife, Olivia, and three children Camille, Daniel and Michelle.

Films

* ''Mundo mágico'' (1980) * ''Campeche, un estado de ánimo'' (1980) * ''El secreto'' (1980) * ''Papaloapan'' (1982) * ''

Motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

'' (1984) * '' Gaby: A True Story'' (1987) * ''The Edge'' (TV, 1989) * '' White Palace'' (1990) * '' Born Yesterday'' (1993) * '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994) * ''

Message in a Bottle A message in a bottle (abbrev. MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water). Messages in bottles have been used to send distres ...

'' (1999) * '' Angel Eyes'' (2001) * '' Trapped'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * '' ¿Quién es el señor López?'' (2006) (TV) * ''Fraude: México 2006'' (2007) * '' La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas'' (2012) * '' Presencias'' (2021)

External links

*
Luis Mandoki
at the San Diego Latino Film Festival
Luis Mandoki
at Filmbug
Videostream of Who is Mr. Lopez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandoki, Luis 1954 births Living people Mexican expatriates in England Mexican expatriates in the United States Film directors from Mexico City Mexican people of Hungarian descent Alumni of the London Film School