Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas

Laura Amelia Guzmán (born May 7, 1980) and Israel Cárdenas (born February 15, 1980) are a husband and wife directorial team.

Early life

Guzmán was born in the Dominican Republic to parents who worked as art directors.[1] She initially worked as a cinematographer before turning to directing.

Cárdenas was born and raised in Mexico.

Filmmaking career

Guzmán and Cárdenas began directing together in 2007 with their movie Cochochi.

In 2010 they co-directed the movie Jean Gentil which caught the attention of actress Geraldine Chaplin. After hearing Chaplin's warm praise of their film they decided to offer her a role in their next film Sand Dollars. After Chaplin agreed to appearing in a small role the couple decided to rewrite the male main characters to be women in order to give Chaplin a larger role.[2] The film was chosen as the Dominican Republic's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2015 but did not make the short list.[3]

In 2016 Guzmán announced she was directing a sequel to Sand Dollars called Noeli Overseas.[4] The final film premiered in the Dominican Republic in 2018 and was credited to both Guzmán and Cárdenas.

Their film Holy Beasts premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.[5] The film starred Geraldine Chaplin and Udo Kier as fictional friends assembling to film the lost screenplay of real-life Dominican screenwriter Jean-Louis Jorge who was murdered in 2000.[6]

Filmography
  • Cochochi (2007)
  • Jean Gentil (2010)
  • Sand Dollars (2014)
  • Noeli Overseas (2016) (Guzmán only)
  • Golden Boys (2016)

References
  1. Molina, Mary Angelica. "The Director Of The DR's Oscar Entry Talks Writing Charlie Chaplin's Daughter Into Her Film". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. "Interview: The Filmmakers of Dominican Republic's Oscar Entry 'Sand Dollars'". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. Salazar, Francisco. "BEHIND THE SCENES: How 'Sand Dollars' Overcame Casting Challenges to Become Oscar Contender". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  4. Levine, Sydney. "Screening in Cannes: Dominican Work-in-Progress Winner at IFF Panama 'Noeli Overseas'/ 'Noeli en los países'". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. Young, Deborah (2019). "'Holy Beasts' ('La Fiera y la Fiesta'): Film Review | Berlin 2019". Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  6. Hopewell, John; Lang, Jamie. "Laura Amelia Guzman, Israel Cardenas Drill Down on 'Holy Beasts'". Retrieved 12 June 2019.
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