Melina León (director)

This article is about the Peruvian filmmaker. For the Puerto Rican singer and actress, see Melina León.

Melina León
León in 2022
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Lima, Peru
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active2000-present

Melina León (Spanish: [meli.na leˈon]; born 1977) is a Peruvian filmmaker.[1]

Early life and education

Melina León was born in Lima in 1977,[1] to Ismael León Arias, a renowned journalist and one of the founders of the newspaper La República, who helped expose a child trafficking network that illegally sent children abroad in the 1980s.[2][3][4]

She studied communications at the University of Lima and completed a master's degree in Film Directing at Columbia University,[5] which she was able to finish thanks to a three-year scholarship funded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).[6]

Career

León directed her first short film A 45 for the Month's Expenses (2000), which won the Best Short Film award from Conacine (now DAFO, part of the Ministry of Culture) and was selected for the Tampere Film Festival in 2002.[7]

Her short film, Lili’s Paradise (2009), premiered at the 47th New York Film Festival and has won 11 awards, including Best Latin-American Film at the São Paulo International Short Film Festival.[8]

León's critically acclaimed directorial debut, Song Without a Name, premiered at the Directors' Fortnight during the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, making her the first Peruvian director to be selected by the festival.[9]

Filmography

Year Title Notes Ref.
2000 A 45 for the Month's Expenses Short film [10]
2007 Girl with a Walkman Short film [10]
2009 Lili's Paradise Short film [10]
2019 Song Without a Name [10]

References

  1. ^ a b Vichez, Gerson (19 January 2021). "Melina León "Hablo de la indiferencia como forma de violencia"". AISGE (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  2. ^ Burstein, Sergio (8 August 2020). "Esta impresionante 'Canción sin nombre' le da voz a los peruanos oprimidos de ayer y de hoy". Los Angeles Times (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  3. ^ Cano, José A. (28 December 2021). "Esta impresionante 'Canción sin nombre' le da voz a los peruanos oprimidos de ayer y de hoy". ethic (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  4. ^ Frisancho, Jorge (20 September 2014). ""Fujimori y Montesinos tienen un lugar en la historia del delito en el Perú, más que en la política"". LaMula (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Los más creativos de Perú 2022 | Melina León". Forbes Perú (in Spanish). 26 December 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  6. ^ Lerman, Gabriel (4 August 2020). "Melina León: "En el cine en Perú se está yendo por el buen camino"". goldenglobes.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  7. ^ Méndez, Josué (12 March 2009). "[10 directoras peruanas] Melina León". Cinencuentro (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Melina León". ficunam.unam.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Melina León, primera directora peruana en Cannes". peru.info (in Spanish). 17 May 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d "Melina León". centrocultural.pucp.edu.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.