Paulina García Alfonso (born 27 November 1960), better known as Pali García, is a Chilean actress, stage director, and playwright.
García debuted on television with a small role in the
telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
''
Los títeres'' (1984), but she was soon known for her theatre direction and for her various performances in films such as ''Tres noches de un sábado'' (2002), ''Cachimba'' (2004), ''Casa de remolienda'' (2007) and ''
Gloria'' (2013).
García has received four nominations for the
Altazor Awards
The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...
, winning on one occasion, and three for the APES Awards — the Chilean Arts and Entertainment Critics Awards—winning twice. In February 2013 she won the prestigious
Silver Bear for Best Actress
The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...
at the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
for her performance in the movie ''
Gloria'', directed by
Sebastián Lelio
Sebastián Lelio Watt (born 8 March 1974) is a Chilean director, screenwriter, editor and producer. He received critical acclaim for directing the films ''Gloria'' (2013) and ''A Fantastic Woman'' (2017), the latter of which won an Academy Award ...
.
[Chilean Paulina García wins best actress at Berlin Film Fest]
, ThisisChile.cl, 27 February 2013; retrieved 16 March 2013.[Paulina García gana Oso de Plata a mejor actriz por "Gloria" en Festival Internacional de Cine de Berlín]
LaTercera.com, 16 February 2013; retrieved 1 April 2013. In 2016, she appeared in
Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs (born November 21, 1965) is an American filmmaker. His first film was the short ''Lady'' (1993).
Biography
Sachs was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His films include '' The Delta'' (1997), '' Forty Shades of Blue'' (2005), '' Married Li ...
' film, ''
Little Men
''Little Men,'' or ''Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys,'' is a children's novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was first published in 1871 by Roberts Brothers. The book reprises characters from her 1868–69 two-volume ...
''.
Biography
Born in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
, García studied
acting at the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...
, where she graduated with a degree in theatre arts and later with diplomas in theatre
direction and
writing
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
.
García made her debut at Catholic University's theatre in 1983 in ''¿Dónde estará la Jeanette?'' ("Where could Jeanette be?") by Luis Rivano, a work for which she received an APES Award for best actress. Since then, she has acted in over thirty productions including ''Cariño malo'', by Inés Margarita Stranger, ''El tío Vania'', by
Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
, ''The Trojan Women'', by
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...
, ''El lugar común'', ''Las analfabetas'' and ''BBB-Up''.
The year following her theatre debut, García appeared on television as Adriana Godán in the TV series ''
Los títeres'', a role she shared with actress
Gloria Münchmeyer
María Gloria Münchmeyer Barber (born September 2, 1938 in Santiago) is a Chilean television, film and theatre actress, known for her roles in some telenovelas like La Madrastra, Marrón Glacé, and others. She was married with the actor/come ...
.
The first work she directed was ''El continente negro'' ("The Dark Continent") by Marco Antonio de la Parra for which she received an APES Award nomination for best director in 1996. A grant from the National Arts Development Fund (Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cultural de las Artes,
FONDART) allowed for the financing of productions such as ''Lucrecia y Judith'' by the same author, and ''
Look Back in Anger
''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
'' by
John Osborne. She has also directed at national theatre festivals on three occasions, directing works by authors such as
Alberto Fuguet and Celeste Gómez.
García has taught acting at the theatre school of the
University of Chile
The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843. , at Fernando González night school, at the
University for the Arts, Sciences, and Communication and the
University for Development. Between 1997 and 2001, she founded and formed a part of the Theatre Directors Association (Asociación de Directores de Teatro, ADT).
In television, of note is her performance in ''Cárcel de Mujeres'' ("Women's Prison") as Raquel, a role for which García received both an APES Award and the
Altazor Award
The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...
for best actress.
In 2002, García received an Andes Foundation grant to undertake research on conjugal violence, ''Golpes extraños al amor'' ("Blows outside love"), which led to the work ''Peso negro'' ("Dark weight"), selected for the Unipersonales de Galpón 7 Festival, and ''Frágil'' ("Fragile"), a work presented at
Matucana 100 Cultural Center under her direction.
In film, García debuted in the 2002 movie ''
Tres noches de un sábado'' ("Three nights of one Saturday") by Joaquín Eyzaguirre, receiving a nomination for the
Altazor Awards
The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...
for her interpretation of the character Mathilde. She also appeared in the 2004 film ''
Cachimba'' ("Hookah") by Silvio Caiozzi, in ''
Casa de remolienda'' ("Party house") by Eyzaguirre in 2007,
[Director de "Casa de Remolienda": Lo folklórico es bonito, pero para los museos](_blank)
El Mercurio. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2013. and in ''
Gloria'', by
Sebastián Lelio
Sebastián Lelio Watt (born 8 March 1974) is a Chilean director, screenwriter, editor and producer. He received critical acclaim for directing the films ''Gloria'' (2013) and ''A Fantastic Woman'' (2017), the latter of which won an Academy Award ...
, for which she received the
Silver Bear for Best Actress
The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...
at the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
.
Filmography
Films
Television
Theatre
Actress
* ''¿Dónde estará la Jeanette?'', comedy by Luis Rivano
* ''Cariño malo'', by Inés Stranger; dir.: Claudia Echenique; 1990; 2012
* ''Malasangre'', dir.: Mauricio Celedón, 1991
* ''El tío Vania'', by
Anton Chekhov; dir.: Raúl Osorio, 1994
* ''El lugar común''
* ''Inocencia'', by Dea Loher; dir.: Luis Ureta; Muestra de Dramaturgia Europea, 2004
* ''En la Sangre'', by Suzan-Lori Parks; dir.: Carlos Osorio; interprets Hester, a beggar; Centro Cultural Matucana 100, 2004
* ''Déjala sangrar'', by Benjamín Galemiri, dir.: Adel Hakim; interprets Virna Vigo; 2005
* ''El último fuego'', by Dea Loer; dir.: Luis Ureta; April 2009
* ''Gertrudis, el grito'', by Howard Barker, dir.: Marcos Guzmán; 9th Festival of Contemporary European Theatre in Santiago, August 2009
* ''Las analfabetas'', by Pablo Paredes, 2010
* ''Fábula del niño y los animales que se mueren'', free version of
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...
''The Trojan Women'' by Pablo Paredes; dir.: Isidora Stevenson; García interprets queen Hecuba; La Nacional company in
Matucana 100, 6–15 January 2012
Director
* ''El continente negro'', by
Marco Antonio de la Parra; 1996
* ''Lucrecia y Judith'', by Marco Antonio de la Parra
* ''Recordando con ira'', by
John Osborne (
Look Back in Anger
''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
in English)
* ''Anhelo del corazón'', by
Caryl Churchill ("A Heart's Desire"); Muestra de Dramaturgia Europea, 2004
* ''El neoproceso'', work by Benjamín Galemiri inspired by
Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typi ...
, premiere: 15 July 2006
* ''La gran noche'', by Marcelo Simonetti; premiere: 28 May 2008,
Centro Mori
The Centro Mori or Centro Cultural Mori (''Mori Cultural Center'') is a cultural project founded in Santiago, Chile by actors Gonzalo Valenzuela and Benjamín Vicuña, together with their partner Cristóbal Vial. The center is located in Barrio B ...
in
Vitacura
Vitacura is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago. Inhabitants are primarily high income families. It belongs to the Northeastern zone o ...
* ''Apoteosis final: BBB up'', Santiago a Mil, January 2009
* ''Orates'', by Jaime Lorca; premiere: 4 November 2010
* ''La mantis religiosa'', by
Alejandro Sieveking
Alejandro Sieveking Campano (5 September 1934 – 5 March 2020) was a Chilean playwright, theatre director and actor.
Career
Sieveking was born in the Chilean city of Rengo (in the O'Higgins Region) on 5 September 1934. He performed as an actor ...
, La Palomera theatre, premiere: 9 June 2011
* ''Cerca de Moscú'', adaptation by Pablo Paredes of two pieces by Chekhov: ''Platonov'' and ''Ivanov''; Santiago a Mil International Festival 2013
Montaje dirigido por actriz ganadora del Oso de Plata se presentará nuevamente en Santiago
La Tercera. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
Playwright
* ''Peso negro''
* ''Frágil'', 2002; premiered and directed by García in 2003.
Awards and nominations
APES Award
Altazor Awards
Silver Bear for Best Actress
Platino Awards
Festival de Cinema de Gramado - Brazil
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Paulina
1960 births
Living people
Actresses from Santiago
Chilean film actresses
Chilean stage actresses
Chilean telenovela actresses
Chilean television actresses
Chilean women dramatists and playwrights
Chilean theatre directors
Silver Bear for Best Actress winners
21st-century Chilean dramatists and playwrights