Miguel Coyula Aquino (born March 31, 1977, in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n filmmaker and writer. At age 17, he made his first short with a VHS camcorder, which led to his admittance to Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television (The International Film and Television School) of

San Antonio de los Baños San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. It was founded in 1802. History There are 39 schools in the town, ...

. Since then he has won awards in his country with his short films ''Bailar Sobre Agujas'' (1999), ''Buena Onda'', (1999), and '' Clase Z "Tropical"'' (2000). His work has always been shot on very low budgets, his features taking several years to complete, using heavy digital manipulation in postproduction. In 2000, he traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on an invitation from the

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Latino Film Festival. While visiting

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, he met Anna Strasberg of the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and after screening his thesis film was offered a scholarship. While attending the Strasberg Institute, Coyula made his first feature, '' Red Cockroaches'' (2003), for less than $2000 over a two-year period. The film was described by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' as "a triumph of technology in the hands of a visionary with know-how..." The film won over twenty awards in film festivals around the world. In 2009, Coyula was awarded the

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

by The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for developing his second feature, the film '' Memories of Overdevelopment'' (2010), a follow-up to the Cuban classic ''

Memorias del Subdesarrollo ''Memories of Underdevelopment'' ( es, Memorias del Subdesarrollo) is a 1968 Cuban Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. The story is based on a novel by Edmundo Desnoes entitled ''Inconsolable Memo ...

'' (1968), based on the novel by Cuban writer Edmundo Desnoes. After its world premiere at the ''

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

'', the film garnered several awards and honors. The International Film Guide described it as one of the best films Cuba has produced. In 2013 La Pereza Ediciones published his first novel Mar Rojo, Mal Azul. From 2015 to the 2016 he produced the web Series Rafael Alcides and the documentary feature ''

Nobody Nobody may refer to: * Nobody, an indefinite pronoun Nobody may also refer to: Fictional characters * Nobody (''Kingdom Hearts''), a race of beings in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series *Nobody, a character in the Jim Jarmusch films '' D ...

'' (2017) which won the Best Documentary award at the Global Film Festival in Santo Domingo and screened at MoMA. His latest feature '' Blue Heart'' (2021), premiered at the ''

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

'' and won the ''

Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who report on the Cinema of the United States, entertainment industry activity and interests in the United States for media (newspaper, ...

'' award at the ''

Guadalajara International Film Festival The Guadalajara International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara) is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara since 1986. The presence in Guadalajara of delegates from other impo ...

''. His second novel, La Isla Vertical was published in 2022 by Ediciones Deslinde.

Filmography

* ''Pirámide'' (1996) * ''Válvula de luz'' (1997) * ''Detalles'' (1998) * ''Idea'' (1998) * ''Buena Onda'' (''Nice Going'') (1999) * ''Bailar sobre agujas'' (''Dancing on Needles'') (1999) * '' Clase Z "Tropical"'' (2000) * ''El Tenedor plástico'' (''The Plastic Fork'') (2001) * ''Cucarachas rojas'' ('' Red Cockroaches'') (2003) * ''Memorias del Desarrollo'' (aka '' Memories of Overdevelopment'') (2010) * ''Nadie'' (''Nobody'') (2017) * ''Corazon Azul'' (aka '' Blue Heart (film)Blue Heart'') (2021)

Awards and nominations

''Blue Heart''

* HFFP Jorge Camara Award for Best Latinamerican Film, Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico, 2022 * Nominated for the Golden St.George Award, Moscow International Film Festival, Russia, 2021

''Memories of Overdevelopment''

''Memorias del Desarrollo'' has won 20 awards, including: * Audience award for Best Foreign Film, Mostra Principal, Arraial CineFest, Brasil, 2012 * Best Director of Latinamerican Section, Málaga Film Festival, Spain 2011 * Best Film, Muestra Nacional de Nuevos Realizadores, Cuba, 2011 * Special Award, Premios ACE, USA, 2011 * Cine Latino Award, Washington DC Independent Film Festival, USA, 2011 * Most Innovative, Cero Latitud Film Festival, Ecuador, 2010 * Best Narrative Feature, Dallas Video Fest, USA, 2010 * Best Feature, New Media Film Festival, USA 2010 * Special Mention, Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, USA, 2010 * Best Film,

Havana Film Festival New York The Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY) is a film festival, based in New York City, that screens cinema from across Latin America with a special focus on Cuba and its film industry. It is a project of The American Friends of the Ludwig Found ...

, USA, 2010

''Red Cockroaches''

'' Red Cockroaches'' has won 23 awards, including: * Best Editing, Fearless Tales Genre Festival, USA, 2005 * GreenCine Online Film Festival, New Media Film Festival, USA, 2005 * Best Film, Microcinema Festival, USA, 2004 * Special Jury Award, Muestra de Jóvenes Realizadores, Cuba, 2004 * Gran Premio Plaza, Festival Cineplaza, Cuba 2004. * Special Mention for Visual Concept, Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, Argentina, 2004 * Best Editing, Encuentro Nacional de Video, Cuba, 2004 * Special Mention, Festival Internazionale de la Fantascienza, Italy, 2004. * Best Feature, Festival Almacén de la Imagen, Cuba, 2003

''Clase Z "Tropical"''

'' Clase Z "Tropical"'' is a short has won 9 awards, including: * Best Experimental Video, Encuentro Nacional de Video, Cuba 2001 * FIPRESCI Award, Festival Almacén de la Imagen, Cuba 2000

References

External links

*
Millimeter Magazine's Profile on Miguel Coyula
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coyula, Miguel 1977 births Living people People from Havana Cuban film directors