Issa López

Issa López
Born Issa Laura López
Mexico City, Mexico
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, producer
Years active 1994–present

Issa López is a Mexican writer and director. López has won several literature awards, including the National Novel Award granted by Mexico’s Institute of Fine Arts and Literature In addition to her literary work, she penned multiple TV shows, some of them reaching the highest audience ratings in Mexican prime-time TV, and wrote the scripts for several film features, three of them produced in Mexico by the Major Hollywood Studios, and two of those directed by herself; Efectos Secundarios (Warner Bros., 2006) and Casi Divas (Sony Pictures, 2008). In 2015, López shot her third feature as a director, and tenth as a writer, Tigers Are Not Afraid. As of June 2016, she's finishing post-production of the movie, and starting pre-production of 'Moctezuma & Me', her fourth feature film as a director, 11th as a writer.

In 2005, López was selected as one of the 50 Latino Impact Players in Entertainment, by Variety.

In Mexico, López’ movies have ranked among the highest grossing local productions: Ladies' Night (Disney, 2003) ranked fifth, Niñas Mal (Sony Pictures, 2007) seventh, and Efectos Secundarios fifteenth. Casi Divas opened in first place in the box office and went on to open theatrically in the U.S, distributed by Maya Entertainment.

Casi Divas received very positive reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and the L.A. Times, among other critics. The film is the only Mexican movie to be scored by acclaimed Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, who only charged $1 for his extensive work on the film.[1] In October 2013, the romantic comedy Pulling Strings, with a script co-adapted by López, opened in the U.S. With only 387 copies, it ranked as number 10 in the U.S. Box Office. The film averaged an “87% audience likes it” grade in Rotten Tomatoes.[2] It opened as No. 1 in Mexican box office, and ranked No. 2 Mexican movie in the Mexican box-office for 2014.

In April 2015 A la Mala, with an original script co-written by her, opened in the US and in Mexico, where it ranked in the yearly overall as No.10, considering all productions, including American and international.

Also in 2015, 600 Millas, a film produced in 2014 with an script co-written by López, won the Best First Feature Award at Berlin Film Festival, and Best Movie at Guadalajara Film Festival. In 2016, the Script for 600 Millas was nominated for the Mexican Film Academy Ariel Award.

In September 2017, Tigers Are Not Afraid (Vuelven in Spanish) Premieres at Fantastic Fest, in Austin Texas, and receives the Best Horror Director Award. Issa López directed, wrote, and was Executive Producer of the film, a dark fable about the children surviving the Mexican drug war, and the ghosts that haunt them. López is the first woman ever to receive said award.

By April 2018, the film has collected a total of twenty-three awards in Film Festivals around the world, three Diosas de Plata Awards (the Mexican equivalent of the Golden Globes), including Best Picture and Best Director, and has received 10 nominations for the Ariel, (the Mexican Film Academy Award) and has earned a rating of 100% in Rotten Tomatoes, from both critics and audiences. Stephen King and Guillermo Del Toro have both manifested their enthusiasm for the movie via their Twitter accounts, and different interviews. During his visit to Guadalajara Film Festival, Guillermo del Toro announced that he'll produce Lopez' next film.

Life and career

Issa López was born and raised in Mexico City. After two years of Archeology Studies, she changed her major, and obtained a BA in Film Directing and Screenwriting from Mexico’s National University. One of her student short films, Tan Callando, was selected to represent the National University at the Mexican Motion Picture Academy Awards (Ariel), under the Best Short Film category. After obtaining her BA in Filmmaking she completed a two-year graduate program created by Televisa (the biggest broadcasting network in the Spanish speaking world) to train for TV, film, radio and playwriting.

López has been a lecturer in several seminaries on Film Semiotics and Film and Architecture at the Metropolitan University and the National University, and she has published several essays on the subjects.

In 1995, she was selected as part of the jury for the 1995 Efraín Huerta Award. She was the youngest jury member ever for the award.

From 1997 to 2000, she was Screenwriting professor at the Writing Studies Center of Televisa, from which she graduated. She was the youngest professor ever to enter the program.

She has written and directed many different TV shows at Televisa, such as Plaza Sésamo (the Latin American version Sesame Street). She co-wrote two widely successful telenovelas, both of them ranking as the number one rated show in Mexico throughout their run.

In 2003 she wrote the feature film Ladies' Night.[3] The movie became the biggest grossing Mexican film of 2003 and 2004, and became the 5th biggest grossing Mexican film over all. In 1995, it won Best Screenplay Award at the Cyprus International Film Festival.[4] Ladies' Night was the first Mexican movie produced by a Hollywood major studio (Disney).

In 2005, Issa was selected as one of the 50 Latino Impact Players in Entertainment, by Variety.

In 2006 Efectos secundarios,[5] her first feature as a writer-director, opened to become the 2nd highest grossing Mexican film of the year. After its run, it ranked number 15th among the top grossing Mexican films of all times. Efectos secundarios received 12 nominations for the Diosa de Plata Award (the Mexican Film Press Award), including Best Director and Best Picture, and two nominations for the Ariel (the Mexican Motion Pictures Academy Award).[6] It received a Diosa de Plata award for Best Screenplay. Efectos Secundarios was the first movie produced by Warner Bros. in Mexico.

In 2007 the teen-comedy Niñas Mal,[7] written by Lopez, was the 4th biggest opening ever for a Mexican film, and ranked as the 7th biggest grossing Mexican film over all. Niñas Mal was the first movie developed and produced by Columbia Pictures in Mexico.

In 2008, Issa wrote and directed Columbia Pictures’ second Mexican feature, Casi Divas. The film opened at number one in the box office, and was among the top 3 Mexican films released that year. Casi Divas is the first and only Mexican film scored by Academy Award Winner Hans Zimmer. The film won as Best Screenplay at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival,[8] and received an Outstanding Achievement in Acting award for its lead actress, in a roll that also received a best supporting actress nomination from the Latino Imagen awards. Additionally, the movie was nominated for Outstanding Film (limited release) for the GLAAD awards. Casi Divas opened in the U.S. in August 2009, and received rave reviews from Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and Los Angeles Times, among other publications.[9][10] In 2009, Issa was selected as one of 10 notable Mexican directors to helm a short for Rally Malayerba. The short film (Siete) was shot, edited and delivered in 24 hours, and, together with the rest of the 10 shorts, was part of the official selection at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (the foremost Latin American film festival in the world).

In 2010, she was selected to be on the Jury panel for the San Diego Latino Film Festival.

In October 2013, the romantic comedy Pulling Strings, with a script co-adapted by López, opened in the U.S. With only 387 copies, it ranks as number 10 in the Box Office. It opened at No. 1 in Mexican box office.

In April 2015 A la Mala, with an original script co-written by her, opened in the US and in Mexico, where it ranked in the yearly overall as No.10, considering all productions, including American and international.

Also in 2015, 600 Millas, a film produced in 2014 with an script co-written by López, won the Best First Feature Award at Berlin Film Festival, and Best Movie at Guadalajara Film Festival. In 2016, the Script for 600 Millas was nominated for the Mexican Film Academy Ariel Award.

In September 2017, Tigers Are Not Afraid (Vuelven in Spanish) has its world premiere at Fantastic Fest. The film is an hyper-real, dark fairy tale, centered on the survival of a gang of children orphaned by the drug-war in Mexico, but told from the magical-realism tinted point of view of the children themselves. López wrote, directed and was Executive Producer of the movie, that earned the Best Horror Picture Director award at the Festival. López became the first woman ever to receive the honor, and also the first Mexican.

The movie went on to receive an extensive collection of rave reviews from the press and websites dedicated to genre cinema, earning a rating of 100% in Rotten Tomatoes, from both critics and users.. Both Stephen King and Guillermo Del Toro have expressed their enthusiasm for Tigers Are Not Afraid through their Twitter accounts, and Del Toro has spoken highly of it in different interviews, numbering it among his top ten movies of 2017. In 2018's edition of Guadalajara Film Festival, Del Toro announced he will produce Lopez' next film/

By April 2018, Tigers Are Not Afraid has received a total of twenty three awards in festivals around the world, after the first one in Fantastic Fest:

Screamfest, Los Angeles, CA: Best Actress: Paola Lara. Best Actor: José Ramón López. Best Editing: Joaquim Martí. Best Director: Issa López, and Best Picture.

Dedfest, Alberta, Canada: Audience Award for Best Picture.

Mórbido Fest, Mexico City, Mexico: Press Award, Best Latin-American Picture.

Itaca Fantastik: Audience Award, Best Pur Film

Paris International Fantastic Film Festival: L'Oeil D'Or Audience Best Picture Award, and Cinema+ Frisson Best Picture Award.

NOXFILMFEST, El Salto, Uruguay: Best Feature, Jury Award

Panic Fest, Kansas City, Best Feature, Jury Award

Lost Weekend, Austin, TX: Best Script, Best Director.

Boston Underground Film Festival: Best Feature, Audience Award.

Chattanooga Film Festival: Best Feature Award.

Chicago Latino Film Festival: Best Feature, Audience Award.

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Silver Raven Award (Jury, 2nd Place). Best Feature, Audience Award.

Imagine International Fantastic Film Festival, Amsterdam: Black Tulip (Jury Award).

Calgary Underground Film Festival: Best Feature, Audience Award.

And the following awards and nominations by the Mexican Film Academy and the Mexican Film Critics Association

In the first trimester of 2018, López opened two comedies in Mexico: La Boda de Valentina, (of which López was co-writer and Executive Producer) and Todo Mal, written, directed and produced by her. Valentina went on to become a monster blockbuster, selling close to three million tickets, and Todo Mal sold close to one million.

Currently, López is preparing her first English Language feature, Three Sundays, for Paramount Players. Three Sundays is a musical about the banda music scene in Queens. At the same time, she's working on a yet unnamed horror project to be produced by Guillermo del Toro.

Selected filmography

Year Project Type Cast Details
1994Tan callandoShort filmGerardina Martínez, Carmina MartínezWriter, Director
2000Primer amor... a mil por horaTelenovelaKuno Becker, AnahíWriter
2003Ladies' NightFilmAna Claudia Talancón, Ana de la Reguera, Luis Roberto GuzmánWriter
2006Efectos secundarios (Side Effects)FilmMarina de Tavira, Alejandra Gollás, Arturo BarbaWriter, Director, Associate Producer
2007Niñas mal (Charm School)FilmMartha Higareda, Camila Sodi, Blanca GuerraWriter
2008Casi DivasFilmPatricia Llaca, Julio Bracho, Maya ZapataWriter, Director
2010Sucedió en un día (Segment "Siete")Short filmGustavo Sánchez Parra, Luis Gerardo MéndezWriter, Director
2012Viaje de GeneraciónFilmDanny Perea, Esmeralda PimentelWriter
2013 Pulling Stings Film Jaime Camil, Laura Ramsey, Stockard Channing, Tom Arnold Writer
2015 A la Mala Film Aislinn Derbez, Mauricio Ochmann Writer
2015 600 Millas Film Tim Roth, Kristyan Ferrer Writer
2017 Tigers Are Not Afraid (Vuelven) Film Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Tenoch Huerta, Ianis Guerrero Writer, Director, Executive Producer
2018 La Boda de Valentina (Valentina's Wedding) Film Omar Chaparro, Marimar Vega, Ryan Carnes. Writer, Executive Producer
2018 Todo Mal Film Osvaldo Benavides, Martín Altomaro, Alfonso Dosal, Marcela Guirado Writer, Director, Producer

Awards

Fiction Writer awards

  • Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts Novel Award, 2007.
  • Efraín Huerta Short Story Award, 1995.
  • Punto de Partida Short Story Award, 1995
  • Alica Short Story Award, 1994.
  • Finalist, Ricardo Pozas Short Story Award, 1996.
  • Finalist, Efren Hernández Short Story Award, 1994.
  • Finalist, New Writers Plaza y Valdes Award, 1992.

Movie awards

References

[12][1][13] [14][15][3][16][10][17][7][8][18][11]

  1. 1 2 "" Music Hans Zimmer for Casi Divas, Variety, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  2. ↑ "" Rotten Tomatoes rating and info, Rotten Tomatoes, 2013, Accessed Nov 7 2013
  3. 1 2 "" Ladies Night, Miravista Films, 2003, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  4. 1 2 "" Best Screenplay Award for Ladie's Night, CYIIF, 2006, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  5. ↑ "" Efectos Secundarios, Warner Bros., 2008, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  6. ↑ "" Efectos Secundarios, Awards on IMDB, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  7. 1 2 "" Charm School, Sony Pictures, 2007, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  8. 1 2 ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-05-29. " Best Screenplay Award, Los Angeles Latino Film Festival, 2008, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  9. ↑ "Casi Divas review by Variety, 2009, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  10. 1 2 " Casi Divas Review by Los Angeles Time, 2009, Accessed nov 5 2013
  11. 1 2 ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-05-29. " Casi Divas Best Screenplay Award at Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, 2008, Accessed Nov 7 2013
  12. ↑ ""Issa López National novel award, Accessed 5 Nov 2013
  13. ↑ "" Arieled Members of Mexican Motion Picture Academy, 1994, Accessed Nov 7 2013.
  14. ↑ "" Rotten Tomatoes rating and info, Rotten Tomatoes, 2013, Accessed Nov 7 2013
  15. ↑ "" Best Screenplay Award for Ladies' Night, CYIIF, 2006, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  16. ↑ "" Casi Divas review by Variety, 2009, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  17. ↑ "" Efectos Secundarios, Warner Bros., 2006, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  18. ↑ "" Efectos Secundarios, Awards on IMDB, Accessed Nov 5 2013
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