Hernán Jiménez (born 1980)Matthew Aho
"El Regreso,"
''

Americas Quarterly ''Americas Quarterly (AQ)'' is a publication dedicated to politics, business, and culture in the Americas. Distribution ''AQ'' has an established relationship with NTN24, an online news channel from Colombia with three million viewers, to bro ...

'', Fall 2011. is a

Costa Rican Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

film director, screenwriter, actor and stand-up comedian.

Early life and education

Jiménez was born in

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...

."Interview with Hernan Jimenez & his Kickstarter Film Success,"
Sweeney Entertainment, October 5, 2014. and left the country when he was 16 to attend

Pearson College UWC Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (also referred to as Pearson College UWC) is one of eighteen schools and colleges around the world in the United World Colleges movement, located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. ...

in British Columbia, Canada.Martin Dale
"IFF Panama: Hernan Jimenez Talks About 'Entonces Nosotros',"
''

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), ...

'', April 14, 2016.Amanda Zuniga
"5 questions for a Costa Rican comedian – 'To hear them laugh is poetry',"
''

The Tico Times ''The Tico Times'' is an English-language media organization based in Costa Rica. Established in May 1956, it closed its print edition in 2012 and became an online-only publication; in 2017, it began publishing special print editions with highli ...

'', September 6, 2015. Jiménez earned a BFA in film from

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a Private college, private art school, 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 Mis ...

and an MFA in screenwriting and directing at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He trained as an actor at the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, ) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants awarded by the Government of Canada and cultural ...

in Montreal.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Jiménez started out as a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

in Costa Rica. He consistently performs sold-out shows at venues across Costa Rica, and has written and starred in four stand-up comedy television specials since 2012, including, "Se despichó Tere", which shattered attendance records locally and sold over 80,000 tickets.

Filmmaking

Jiménez's debut feature, ''A ojos cerrados'' (''Eyes Closed''), premiered in Costa Rica in 2010.Adam Williams
"Costa Rica's own 'El Regreso' hits theaters,"
''The Tico Times'', August 31, 2011. The film is about a successful young executive who must choose between honoring her grandmother and an important work project. With money made from his first film and his stand-up comedy act, Jimenez funded his second feature, ''El regreso'' (''The Return''). Jiménez wrote and directed the film and starred as Antonio, who after a decade living in New York City returns to Costa Rica for a visit and is confronted with his past. It won Best International Feature Film at the 2011 New York International Latino Film Festival, and premiered theatrically in Costa Rica in September 2011. His follow-up, the romantic comedy '' Entonces nosotros'' (''About Us''), stars Jiménez as Diego, who is trying to salvage his relationship with his longtime girlfriend Sofia (Noelia Castaño). It premiered at IFF Panama in April 2016 and in theaters in Costa Rica in May 2016.Francisco Salazar
"Oscar 2017 Predictions: 'About Us' Will represent Costa Rica at the Oscars,"
''Latin Post'', October 12, 2016. It had the second-best opening weekend for a local film (by attendance) in the history of Costa Rican cinema. In October 2016, the film was selected to be the Costa Rican entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the

89th Academy Awards The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2016 in film, films of 2016, and took place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californ ...

. In 2017, Jiménez wrote and directed his feature film and English language debut ''Elsewhere'', starring

Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress. Known for playing eccentric characters in independent films, she was named "Queen of the Indies" by ''Time'' in 1997. She has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Awa ...

Aden Young Aden Young (born 30 November 1971) is a Canadian-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Daniel Holden in the SundanceTV drama '' Rectify'', for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor ...

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong ( ; ; born July 13, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the NBC sitcom ''Community'' ...

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award, Emmy, two-time Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nomine ...

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...

and

Jackie Tohn Jaclyn Tohn (born August 25, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She is best known for playing Melanie "MelRose" Rosen on the Netflix series ''GLOW (TV series), GLOW'' and List of The Boys characters#Courtenay Fortney, Courtenay Fortney i ...

. The film was shot near

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and premiered on January 24, 2020. He co-wrote the upcoming biopic ''A Million Miles Away'' for

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

, based on the life of NASA astronaut José Hernández, starring

Michael Peña Michael Peña (; ; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including '' Crash'' (2004), '' World Trade Center'' (2006), '' Shooter'' (2007), '' Observe and Report'' (2009), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), '' Battle: L ...

. The project will be directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella and produced by Mark Ciardi. Jiménez directed the Netflix romantic comedy Love Hard, starring Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Darren Barnett. The film premiered on November 5, 2021, and became the # 1 movie on the platform worldwide. The film is produced by Mary Viola and

McG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the el ...

under their banner

Wonderland Sound and Vision Wonderland Sound and Vision, Inc., or simply known as Wonderland, Inc., is an American production company founded by director and producer Joseph McGinty Nichol in 2001. It independently develops, produces and finances its own slate of feature ...

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Stand-up specials

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jiménez, Hernán Living people 1980 births Spanish-language film directors Costa Rican male film actors Costa Rican film directors Male actors from San José, Costa Rica Writers from San José, Costa Rica Costa Rican stand-up comedians People educated at a United World College San Francisco Art Institute alumni National Theatre School of Canada alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni