Issa López

Issa López is a Mexican writer and director. López has won several literary 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. Tigers premiered in September 2017 at Fantastic Fest. In March 2018, Todo Mal, her fourth feature film as a director, 11th as a writer, opened in Mexico.

Issa López
Born
Issa Laura López

Mexico City, Mexico
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter, producer
Years active1994–present

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 a limited theatrical run in the U.S.

Casi Divas received enthusiastic reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and the L.A. Times, among others. 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. In October 2013, the romantic comedy Pulling Strings, with a script co-written by López, opened in the U.S. With only 387 copies, it ranked as number 10 in the U.S. Box Office. The film opened as No. 1 in the 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) Premiered at Fantastic Fest, in Austin Texas, and received 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 was the first woman ever to receive the award.

By February 2020, Tigers has collected a total of fifty awards in Film Festivals around the world, three Diosas de Plata (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), of which it won two, has earned a large amount of positive reviews by major trades and critics, and a rating of 97% in Rotten Tomatoes; the aggregator has given its "Certified Fresh" stamp to the movie. It also got a Best Latin American Director Award in 2019 from NALIP (National Association of Latino Producers) and Fangoria Magazine, specialized in Horror Cinema, awarded it Best Foreign Language Movie in 2020. Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Guillermo Del Toro have manifested their enthusiasm for the movie via social media and interviews.

Guillermo del Toro announced that he'll produce Lopez' next film, a haunted western about the werewolf mythology, set at Searchlight Pictures. Paramount Players is producing with López a Latino Musical set in Queens, New York, titled 3 Sundays, Legendary Pictures signed her to write and direct an untitled "supernatural revenge thriller", and Searchlight Pictures signed her to write and direct The Book of Souls, a film based in the short story Lost Souls, by Matthew Baker, to be produced by Noah Hawley.

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. After her BA, she completed a two-year graduate program to train for creative writing for TV, film, radio and theatre.

In the academia, she has been a lecturer on Film Semiotics and Film and Architecture for the Metropolitan University and the National University.

In 1995, she was selected as part of the jury for the 1995 Efraín Huerta Award.

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

She has written and directed many different TV shows for Mexican television, such as Plaza Sésamo (the Latin American version Sesame Street). She co-wrote two telenovelas and two comedy shows.

In 2003 she wrote the feature film Ladies' Night.[1] 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.[2] 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,[3] 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).[4] 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,[5] 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, López 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,[6] 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.[7][8]

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 the 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, earning a rating of 97% in Rotten Tomatoes, and achieving 'Certified Fresh' status.. Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Guillermo Del Toro have expressed their enthusiasm for Tigers Are Not Afraid. Del Toro announced he will produce Lopez' next film, and it's currently in development at Searchlight pictures

By December 2018, Tigers Are Not Afraid has received a total of fifty awards in festivals around the world:

Fantastic Fest, Austin, Texas: Best Horror Director.

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.

Hola Mexico Film Festival, Los Angeles: Best Director and Best Feature, Audience Award.

Fant Bilbao, Spain: Best Script and Best Feature, Audience Award.

BIFAN, South Korea: Best Director.

Popcorn Frights, Florida: Best Feature, Jury Award.

Grimmfest, Manchester: Best Feature Jury Award, Best Feature Audience Award, Best Script, Best Actor.

Lund Fantastic Film Festival, Sweden: Best Feature Audience Award.

Celluloid Screams, Sheffield UK: Best Movie Audience Award.

Nocturna Festival, Madrid: Dark Visions Jury Award for Best Feature.

Toronto After Dark: Best Screenplay, Best Female Actor, Best Director, Best Editing, Most Original Film, Best Feature Silver Award.

Cine Mexico Now, Detroit: Best Feature Audience Award.

Terror Molins, Catalunya: Best director, Best Feature Golden Critics Award, Best Actress.

Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival, Canada: Audience Choice Award, Horror, Gold.

Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, Argentina: Best Feature, Best Script, Best Visual Effects.

Additionally, 'Tigers' has received the following awards and nominations by the Mexican Film Academy, the Mexican Film Critics Association, the US Latino Entertainment Journalists Association, and the National Latino Independent Producers:

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 blockbuster, selling close to three million tickets, and Todo Mal sold close to one million.

Currently, López is developing several projects in English, all features: 3 Sundays, for Paramount Players, A horror western centered on the werewolf myth, to be produced by Guillermo del Toro, Legendary Pictures has announced she's getting ready to direct her own script for a supernatural revenge thriller, and

The Book of Souls, a dystopian psychological thriller based on a short story by Matthew Baker, to be produced by Noah Hawley and set up at Searchlight Pictures.

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 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

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References

[10][11][12] [13][14][1][15][8][16][5][6][17][9]

  1. " Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine" Ladies Night, Miravista Films, 2003, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  2. "" Best Screenplay Award for Ladies' Night, CYIIF, 2006, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  3. "" Efectos Secundarios, Warner Bros., 2008, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  4. "" Efectos Secundarios, Awards on IMDb, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  5. "" Charm School, Sony Pictures, 2007, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  6. ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-05-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)" Best Screenplay Award, Los Angeles Latino Film Festival, 2008, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  7. "Casi Divas review by Variety, 2009, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  8. " Casi Divas Review by Los Angeles Time, 2009, Accessed nov 5 2013
  9. ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-05-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)" Casi Divas Best Screenplay Award at Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, 2008, Accessed Nov 7 2013
  10. ""Issa López National novel award, Accessed 5 Nov 2013
  11. "" Music Hans Zimmer for Casi Divas, Variety, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  12. "" Arieled Members of Mexican Motion Picture Academy, 1994, Accessed Nov 7 2013.
  13. "" Rotten Tomatoes rating and info, Rotten Tomatoes, 2013, Accessed Nov 7 2013
  14. "" Best Screenplay Award for Ladies' Night, CYIIF, 2006, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  15. "" Casi Divas review by Variety, 2009, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  16. "" Efectos Secundarios, Warner Bros., 2006, Accessed Nov 5 2013
  17. "" Efectos Secundarios, Awards on IMDb, Accessed Nov 5 2013
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