Maite Alberdi

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Alberdi and the second or maternal family name is Soto.
Maite Alberdi
Maite Alberdi in 2024
Born
Maite Alberdi Soto

(1983-03-29) 29 March 1983 (age 41)
Santiago, Chile
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Chile
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2004–present
Known forThe Mole Agent

Maite Alberdi Soto (born 29 March 1983, Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean film producer, director, documentarian, screenwriter, and film critic.[1] She is the founder of Micromundo Producciones.[2]

She is internationally known for her film The Mole Agent (2020), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, being the first Chilean documentary film to be nominated for an Academy Award.[3] The film was also a nominee at the Goya Awards for Best Ibero-American Film.

Her next film The Eternal Memory furthered her international recognition. It premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim, winning the Grand Jury Prize. In Spain, the film won both the Forqué Award for Best Latin American Film and the Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film. The Eternal Memory was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, being Alberdi's second nomination in the category.

For her documentaries La once (The Tea Time, 2014) and Los niños (The Grown-Ups 2016), she won the Best Female Documentary Director Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.

Career

Alberdi is a director and filmmaker from the Pontificial Catholic University of Chile, and teaches documentary directing at several universities.[4] Her works as a film critic have been published on the website La Fuga, a film studies magazine founded in 2005 in Santiago, Chile, with the intent to "open a field of debate and academic reflection, producing and disseminating unpublished material of interest for the cinematographic cultural field."[1] She co-authored a book, Teorías del cine documental en Chile: 1957-1973.[4][5]

She was invited as a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in June 2018, under the documentary branch.[6] She was also acting producer for Los Reyes, following the lives of two stray dogs as "they wander around the oldest skatepark (Los Reyes) in the Chilean capital of Santiago."[7]

Education

Maite Alberdi has a degree in Aesthetics and a degree in Social Communication from the Pontificial Catholic University of Chile.[1]

Filmography

Since 2004, Alberdi has participated in taking on various roles in the making of each of these films. Films with their original Spanish titles are followed by their English translation, or English-provided title in parentheses.

  • In Her Place (2024)
  • The Eternal Memory (2023)[8]
  • The Mole Agent (2020)[9]
  • Los Reyes (The Kings) (2018)[10]
  • Los niños (2016)
  • Yo no soy de aquí (I'm Not From Here; short film) (2016)
  • Sex Life of Plants (2015)
  • Propaganda (2014)
  • La once (Tea Time) (2014)
  • Verano (Summer) (2011)
  • El salvavidas (The Lifeguard) (2011)
  • Las peluqueras (The Hairdressers; short film) (2008)
  • Los trapecistas (The Trapeze Artists; short film, 2005)
  • Carrete Down (Reel Down; short film) (2004)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2015 Goya Awards Best Iberoamerican Film La once Nominated
2016 Pedro Sienna Awards Best Feature Length Documentary Nominated
Best Direction Nominated
Platino Awards Best Documentary Nominated
29th European Film Awards Best Short Film (shared with Giedrė Žickytė) I'm Not from Here Nominated
2017 Pedro Sienna Awards Best Documentary Short Film Won
Miami International Film Festival Knight Documentary Achievement Award Los niños Nominated
Zeno Mountain Award Won
2018 Platino Awards Best Documentary Nominated [11]
2020 Academy Awards Best Documentary Feature (shared with Marcela Santibanez) The Mole Agent Nominated [12][13]
Bergen International Film Festival Documentaire Extraordinaire Nominated
Goya Awards Best Ibero-American Film Nominated [14]
Miami International Film Festival Knight Documentary Achievement Award Nominated
San Sebastián International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Film Nominated
Audience Award for Best European Film Won
National Board of Review Awards Top Five Foreign Language Films Won [15]
2021 Cinema Eye Honors Cinema Eye Audience Choice Prize Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Documentary Feature Nominated [16][17]
2023 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary Competition (Grand Jury Award) The Eternal Memory Won [18]
Berlin International Film Festival Audience Award Nominated [19]
Miami International Film Festival Documentary Achievement Award Nominated [20]
2024 Goya Awards Best Ibero-American Film Won [21]
Academy Awards Best Documentary Feature Film Nominated [22]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Maite Alberdi". Cinechile. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  2. ^ Micromundo Producciones website, Micromundo.cl. Accessed 31 July 2023.
  3. ^ 2021|Oscars.org. Accessed 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b POV (15 January 2015). "Filmmaker Bio". POV | American Documentary Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  5. ^ Teorías del cine documental en Chile: 1957-1973
  6. ^ New Members 2018
  7. ^ Mayorga, Emilio (6 November 2018). "IDFA: Cat & Docs Boards 'Los Reyes' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  8. ^ "The Eternal Memory | 2023 Sundance Film Festival". festival.sundance.org. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Director Masterclass with Maite Alberdi". Scottishdocinstitute.com. Accessed 31 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Los Reyes". Tribeca Film Institute. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  11. ^ "'Una mujer fantástica' domina las candidaturas de los Premios Platino" (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  12. ^ Lowry, Brian (26 April 2021). "Academy Awards 2021: 'Nomadland' wins Best Picture At an Oscars That Spreads the Wealth". CNN. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  13. ^ "My Octopus Teacher" Wins Best Documentary Feature | 93rd Oscars, youtube.com. Accessed 31 July 2023.
  14. ^ Belinchón, Gregorio (18 January 2021). "'Adú', 'Akelarre' y 'Las niñas' lideran las nominaciones a los Goya 2021". El País. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  15. ^ Davis, Clayton (26 January 2021). "National Board of Review Names 'Da 5 Bloods' Best Picture, Spike Lee Becomes Second Black Director Winner". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  16. ^ Lewis, Hilary (26 January 2021). "Film Independent Spirit Awards: 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always', 'Minari', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'Nomadland' Top Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  17. ^ 2021 Independent Spirit Awards Winner's List|IndieWire. Accessed 31 July 2023.
  18. ^ "The Complete List of 2023 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners". festival.sundance.org. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  19. ^ "The Eternal Memory". berlinale.de. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  20. ^ "The Eternal Memory". miamifilmfestival2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  21. ^ Cinemanía (2024-02-11). "Premios Goya 2024 | Palmarés completo: todos los ganadores de la gran noche de 'La sociedad de la nieve'". Cinemanía (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  22. ^ Pulver, Andrew; Shoard, Catherine (2024-03-11). "Ukraine war film 20 Days in Mariupol wins Oscar for best documentary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-13.