Patricia Riggen
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Patricia Riggen (born June 2, 1970) is a Mexican film director. She is best known for directing the 2007 film ''
Under the Same Moon ''Under the Same Moon'' ( es, La misma luna) is a 2007 Mexican-American drama film in Spanish and English directed by Patricia Riggen (in her feature film directorial debut) and starring Kate del Castillo, Adrián Alonso, and Eugenio Derbez. P ...
'' and the 2011
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original film ''
Lemonade Mouth ''Lemonade Mouth'' is a young adult novel by Mark Peter Hughes, published in 2007 by Delacorte Press. It follows five teenagers who meet in detention and ultimately form a band to overcome the struggles of high school, forming deep bonds with ea ...
''.


Early life and career beginnings

Riggen was born in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
,
Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
.Patricia Riggen bio
at
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.com
While in her home country, she gained experience in journalism and writing for documentaries. Riggen obtained a degree in Communication Sciences from ITESO (Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente), Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara. Her thesis work was titled "Female Directors" and allowed her to interview the four important female film directors in Mexico at the time. Riggen had many jobs up and into her early 20s, she worked as a writer for her local Guadalajara newspaper, worked for producer Bertha Navarro, and collected research on the death industry for a Guillaremeo Del Toro documentary. In the late 90s, while working as Production Vice President of the short films department at the Mexican Film Institute, Riggen realized she wanted to go back to school. She moved to New York City, where she received her master's degree in directing and screenwriting at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. Riggen noted, "I had to write and direct all my exercises and English is not my first language, so I started writing all these little movies that had no dialogue". While attending Columbia, she directed two short films ''The Cornfield'' (2002) and ''Family Portrait'' (2004), a documentary, the former film won a number of film festival awards. ''Family Portrait'' went on to win the Sundance Film Festival Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking. Riggen found her way into writing and producing film, though she never thought she would end up as a director, comparing the chances of landing a career as a director to the chances of landing a career as an astronaut – slim to none. Unhappy with producing, Riggen moved to New York to pursue a career in writing. She found herself as a director after directing one exercise.


Directing career

In 2007, ''
Under the Same Moon ''Under the Same Moon'' ( es, La misma luna) is a 2007 Mexican-American drama film in Spanish and English directed by Patricia Riggen (in her feature film directorial debut) and starring Kate del Castillo, Adrián Alonso, and Eugenio Derbez. P ...
'', Riggen's first major film was released, starring
Kate Del Castillo Kate del Castillo Negrete Trillo () is a Mexican-American actress. At the age of 19, del Castillo became known for her lead role in the telenovela '' Muchachitas'' for Televisa in 1991. Afterwards, she continued her career in film and televisio ...
and
America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featu ...
.Patricia Riggen: Love and Politics Under the Same Moon
Riggen partnered up with writer and producer Ligiah Villabobos for the creation of ''Under the Same Moon''. Riggen and Villabobos are both Mexican-born but relocated to the United States, and after taking many years to embrace their careers, they became extremely passionate about the work they produced. Funding for the binational film ''Under the Same Moon'', which was started in an American studio before Riggen made the decision to direct it independently, was done through both a funding from the Mexican government, and American financers. The film was very well received in 2007 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 ...
. Additionally, the film won the 2008 ALMA Outstanding Spanish Language Motion Picture award, as well as both the 2008 Best Director and Best Film Imagen Foundation Awards. In 2010, she was chosen to direct the 2011
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
original film ''
Lemonade Mouth ''Lemonade Mouth'' is a young adult novel by Mark Peter Hughes, published in 2007 by Delacorte Press. It follows five teenagers who meet in detention and ultimately form a band to overcome the struggles of high school, forming deep bonds with ea ...
''. The film received over 7 million views on its premiere night and was well received. Riggen's work on this film was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Awards category of Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs. She has continued to direct feature films, with her next two being: ''Revolución'' (2010) and ''
Girl in Progress ''Girl in Progress'' is a 2012 American drama film directed by Patricia Riggen, written by Hiram Martinez, and starring Eva Mendes, Matthew Modine, Patricia Arquette, Eugenio Derbez, and introducing Cierra Ramirez as Ansiedad Gutierrez. The film ...
'' (originally titled ''Ansiedad'') starring
Eva Mendes Eva de la Caridad Méndez (, ; born March 5, 1974), known professionally as Eva Mendes, is an American actress, model and fashion designer. Her acting career began in the late 1990s, with a series of roles in films such as '' Children of the Cor ...
and
Patricia Arquette Patricia Tiffany Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). Her other notable films include '' True Romance'' (1993), ''Ed W ...
. The film was released in 2012. Riggen believed ''Girl in Progress,'' could be a crossover movie that attracted many audiences as a coming of age story with a female lead that just happens to be Latina led, but found out it would be marketed exclusively to a Hispanic audience. She worked with this audience she was given and casting actresses who had their own fanbases, including Espinoza Paz. Riggen's next film was ''
The 33 ''The 33'' ( es, Los 33) is a 2015 biographical disaster- survival drama film directed by Patricia Riggen and written by Mikko Alanne, Craig Borten, Michael Thomas, and José Rivera. The film is based on the real events of the 2010 Copiap ...
,'' a movie based on the 2010 Copiapó mining accident. The movie was first released in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
in August 2015, coinciding with the five-year anniversary of the mine collapse. It was then released throughout
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
before going to theaters in the U. S. and the rest of the world in November 2015. When approached in 2010 to direct ''The 33'', Riggen recounted her satisfaction that a woman would direct a film with such masculine subject matter. ''The 33'' was shot in the Atacama Desert in Chile, as well as two mines in Colombia. Filmed in real salt mines over 35 days for 14-hour days 6 days a week, Riggen's goal was to have the cast and crew understand what being a miner is like. In 2016 she completed the film ''
Miracles from Heaven ''Miracles from Heaven: A Little Girl, Her Journey to Heaven, and Her Amazing Story of Healing'' is a memoir written by an American author Christy Beam, released on April 14, 2015. The author wrote the book about her daughter Annabel Beam. Plot ...
'' with
Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compan ...
,
Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...
, and
Eugenio Derbez Eugenio González Derbez (; born September 2, 1961) is a Mexican actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films and television series including '' The Book of Life, The Angry Birds Movie 2 and The Secret Life of Pets.'' In the 2010s, he ap ...
, a Christian contemporary story based on the book of the same title, recounting the illness and miraculous recovery of a young girl in Texas. As the director of  Miracles from Heaven, Riggen is the only Latin woman director in 12 years (as of 2016) to have a movie appear in the top 100 annual box office films. In 2018 Riggen expanded her directing talents to TV. She jumped right in, directing 3 episodes of the
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
TV Series '' Jack Ryan,'' starring
John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...
. This action political thriller was based on Tom Clancy's character Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who specializes in T-FAD (Terror, Finance and Arm Division). Riggen directs Season 1, Episode 3 – "Black 22" , Episode 5 – "End of Horror" and Episode 7 – "The Boy". Riggen said that she was able to explore new genres by working on episodic TV. She found that she was very comfortable shooting the aggressive fighting sequences and focusing on a sense of character and performance. In 2021, Riggen joined
Danny Strong Daniel William Strong (born June 6, 1974) is an American actor, film and television writer, director, and producer. As an actor, Strong is best known for his roles as Jonathan Levinson in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and Doyle McMaster in ''Gilmo ...
on his
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
mini-series, '' Dopesick''. Dopesick stars
Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...
and is based on the book: ''Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America'' by Beth Macy. Riggen directed Season 1 Episode 5 – "The Whistleblower" and Episode 6 – "Hammer the Abusers". The biggest challenge Riggen faced while filming Dopesick was shooting amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Riggen said it was vital that young people be aware of what is happening and the risks involved with addictive prescription drugs.


Influences, style and themes

Many of Riggen's films center around authentic human experiences that are full of emotion and easily pull at the heartstrings of the audience. In an interview with
Filmmaker Magazine ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP (Independent Film ...
in 2005, when Riggen was just beginning her career in directing, she said, "Although I am a young filmmaker and I don't yet know what my style is, if I have to say one thing that I am interested in, it's to take the audience on a journey and make them feel things." Riggen's films are successful at doing exactly that. ''
Under The Same Moon ''Under the Same Moon'' ( es, La misma luna) is a 2007 Mexican-American drama film in Spanish and English directed by Patricia Riggen (in her feature film directorial debut) and starring Kate del Castillo, Adrián Alonso, and Eugenio Derbez. P ...
'' is a film that addressed the reality of separation that many families face when immigrating from Mexico to the U.S. The film is told through the eyes of a young boy named Carlito who crosses the U.S.-Mexico border in search of his mother who is working as a maid in
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. Within the first few minutes, the film "grabs your heart and squeezes it. The fact that
he film He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
has been crafted with such a sensitive touch should reassure viewers that, as it approaches its utterly gripping climax, their hearts are in good hands too." In the film ''Miracles From Heaven'''','' we once again get a heart wrenching story that by the end restores our faith in the beauty of our human experience. Once again told through the eyes of a child, this film is based on the true story of the miraculous healing of a 10-year-old Texan girl. The
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
said that, "the film reaches beyond that audience and provides confirmation of the more human miracles that exist in everyday life, if you choose to see them." ''
The 33 ''The 33'' ( es, Los 33) is a 2015 biographical disaster- survival drama film directed by Patricia Riggen and written by Mikko Alanne, Craig Borten, Michael Thomas, and José Rivera. The film is based on the real events of the 2010 Copiap ...
'' is a harrowing drama that follows the true story of the 2010 Chilean mining collapse whereby 33 Chilean miners were trapped underground for 69 days. The Amsterdam News said, "It's a story of ordinary people who reach incredible heights to rescue people trapped at an incredible depth. The well-written screenplay is expertly directed by Patricia Riggen. ''The 33'' will touch your heart without even trying."


In the media


Women's activism

Riggen publicly encourages women in film to claim their space in the male-dominated film industry. In an interview with ''Backstage'' magazine, Riggen is quoted as saying, "We deserve to be there. The time is now to enter all those areas, particularly the directing arena. That benefits everybody. More women in leadership roles create more jobs for women everywhere. And people of color, too. If we have one person of color n a leadership role suddenly there are many more who get an opportunity. What we need is to stop the exclusion". Riggen proudly supports the #LatinaEqualPay movement and has posted about her advocacy on her social media platforms sharing, "Latinas shouldn't be penalized because employers fail to recognize and compensate our brilliance, capacity and potential. Being denied $1.1+ Million over the course of our 40-year career doesn't just hurt us. It hurts our families, our economy and our entire country. We #DemandMore"


Personal life

Riggen currently lives in Los Angeles. She is married to cinematographer Checco Varese, with whom she has a daughter. Varese has served as the cinematographer for all of Riggen's directorial films since ''Under the Same Moon''.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riggen, Patricia 1970 births Living people American film directors American film producers American screenwriters American women screenwriters Columbia University alumni American women film directors Mexican emigrants to the United States Mexican people of German descent Mexican film producers Mexican screenwriters Mexican women film directors People from Guadalajara, Jalisco American women film producers 21st-century American women