Víctor Manuel Gaviria González (born January 19, 1955, in Liborina,

Antioquia Antioquia is the Spanish form of Antioch. Antioquia may also refer to: * Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders th ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

) is a Colombian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, writer, and poet. His four feature-length films are acclaimed and have won many international awards. He is the first Colombian filmmaker to be featured at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. He is often recognized as Colombia's most influential and well-known filmmaker.

Early life

He was born in the town of Liborina and raised in Medellin, Colombia, the sixth of 8 siblings. He grew up during the beginning of the

Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict () began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates and far-left guerrilla groups fighting each other to increase their i ...

; an ongoing civil war between the Colombian government and extremist groups and drug cartels, which led to immense violence and unrest throughout Medellin. He attended the

University of Antioquia The University of Antioquia (), also called UdeA, is primarily a public research-based university, located in the city of Medellín, Colombia. With regional campuses in Amalfi, Andes, Caucasia, Carmen de Viboral, Envigado, Puerto Berrío, S ...

and earned a degree in psychology. Gaviria took interest in poetry, writing seven poetry books that won several awards. He studied psychology at Antioquia University, but quit to pursue his film-making career. He joined several art collectives and met Catholic priest Luis Alberto Álvarez, who became a close friend and an important figure in his development.

Career

He is known for his raw style in portraying social issues and exclusion. His method has influenced Colombian and

Latin American cinema Latin American cinema refers collectively to the film output and film industries of Latin America. Latin American film is both rich and diverse, but the main centers of production have been Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Latin American cinema fl ...

; presenting actors with no acting background, but who are natural storytellers and are actively involved in the development of the film.

Films

Awards

*'' Rodrigo D: No Future'', 1990 (official selection at the

1990 Cannes Film Festival The 43rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 10 to 21 May 1990. Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker David Lynch won the ''Palme d'Or'', for the drama film '' Wild at Heart' ...

) * ''

La vendedora de rosas ''La vendedora de rosas'' (''The Rose Seller'') is a 1998 Colombian film directed by Víctor Gaviria, who also co-wrote the script. The film is loosely based on the 1845 fairy tale "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen; it was enter ...

'', 1998 (official selection at the

1998 Cannes Film Festival The 51st Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 1998. American filmmaker Martin Scorsese served as jury president for the main competition. Isabelle Huppert was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. Greek filmmaker Theo A ...

) * '' Sumas y restas'', 2004 * '' The Animal's Wife'', 2016

Books

References

External links

* 1955 births Living people Colombian film directors People from Medellín {{Colombia-film-director-stub