# Joseph Novoa

Joseph Novoa (José Ramón Novoa or José R. Novoa) is a Venezuelan-Uruguayan film director and executive producer. He is married to the director and scriptwriter Elia K. Schneider and is the father of the film director Joel Novoa.

## Biography

Joseph Novoa was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on August 22, 1954. He studied architecture in Uruguay but his real path was the arts. He started his entertainment career at El Teatro Circular of Uruguay. Following his dream, he moved to Paris to study Performance Arts in the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. In Paris, he founded the theatre group El Circo and organized and performed different plays. He got a scholarship from the Danish Government to work with Eugenio Barba Directing Te Odin Teatret (Holstebro, Denmark). He lived in Europe for a few years, where he Directed and Produced plays that were presented in Theater Festivals like Festival d'Avignon and Festival Nancy. Some of the plays were "The night of the Assassins", "Masks" and "The Exile of the Sun".
In Venezuela, he became the Associate Director of the International Theater Festival (Theatre of Nations - UNESCO) in 1978 and 1982. He received the Critven Award (Critic's Prize for best lighting) for the play "Gaz". He studied film at the New York University and Television at the New School of Arts.
As a film director, he released his debut long feature "Agony" in 1984 at the Montreal Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival. His movie "Assassins for Hire" (Sicario) was released in 1994 and was in theaters for 35 weeks becoming one of the bigger blockbusters in Venezuela. It received 27 awards from international film festivals and was the official selection from Venezuela to the Oscars in 1995.
His third movie, "Devil's Gold" (Oro Diablo, 1999), was another blockbuster in Venezuela and won 3 international awards, becoming the official selection for the Oscars on Venezuela's behalf. "The Boss" (2006) and "A Distant Place" (2009) received good critics from national and international press. A distant Place went to different festivals in Europe, America and Asia. This is the only Venezuelan movie shot with Panavision cameras in cinemascope 35mm. "Alone" (2014) was his sixth movie as a Director.
He worked as a Producer in some Venezuelan feature films: Glue Sniffer (1999), Step Forward (Punto y Raya, 2004), Un-Authorized (2009), God's Slave (2013) and Tamara that is going to be released this 2015. Internationally he produced In This Tricky Life (Uruguay, 2001), Be Happy (Chile, 2004), Encarnacion (Argentina, 2007), Polvo Nuestro Que Estas en los Cielos (Argentina, 2008), El Premio (Peru, 2009), Verdades Verdaderas La Vida de Estela (Argentina, 2011) y Cuchillos en el Cielo (Peru, 2013).
His films have been featured in more than 100 international film festivals and have received over 80 significant awards. The most recent was the SEGIB Award by Ibermedia for his latest production, Tamara.
He is member by invitation of the Spanish Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences (Goya Awards). He was the founder and first VP of the Board of Trustees of the Iberoamerican Federation of Cinematographers (FIPCA), president of the Federation of Film Producers in Venezuela (CAVEPROL) and a member of the board of National Autonomous Center of Film in Venezuela (CNAC).
He moved to Los Angeles, California and from there he is developing new projects using English as his primary language. Some of his projects are the featured films Bullet Lullaby and Pando, the documentary Music and Action and a TV Show. As producer, he is working n the movie Unfit Directed by Elia K. Schneider.

## Filmography
### Feature films

* Tamara (2015 | Producer-Editor)
* Alone (Solo, 2014 | Producer-Director)
* God's Slave (Esclavo de Dios, 2013 | Producer)
* A Distant Place (Un Lugar Lejano, 2009 | Producer-Director)
* An-Authorized (Des-Autorizados, 2007 | Producer)
* The Boss (El Don, 2006 | Producer-Director)
* Step Forward (Punto y Raya, 2004 | Producer) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
* Devil Gold (Oro Diablo - Garimpeiros, 2000 | Producer-Director-) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
* Glue Sniffer (Huelepega, 1999 | Producer-Editor) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
* Assassin's for Hire (Sicario, 1994 | Producer-Director-Editor) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
* Agony (Agonia, 1985 | Writer-Producer-Director-Editor)

### Short films

* Borrowed Lands (Tierras Prestadas. 1981 | Producer-Editor)
* Pedro Navaja (1980 | Writer-Producer-Director-Editor)
* The Big World (El Gran Mundo, 1979 | Writer-Producer-Director-Editor)

### International coproductions

* El Premio (2009) Directed by Alberto Chicho Durant, Peru.
* Encarnación (2007) Directed by Anahi Berneri, Argentina.
* Be Happy (2004) Directed by Gonzalo Justiniano, Chile.
* In This Tricky Life (En la Puta Vida, 2002) Directed by Beatriz Flores Silva, Uruguay.

## Awards

| Movie | Award | Festival |
| Sicario | Best Film | Biarritz Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Film | Philadelphia Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Film | Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Actress | Tokyo International Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Film | Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva |
| Sicario | Best Jury Award | Trieste Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Editor | Caracas Film Festival |
| Glue Sniffer | Best Producer | Caracas Film Festival |
| Glue Sniffer | Best Photography | Gava |
| Glue Sniffer | Best Film Human Rights | Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema |
| Glue Sniffer | Best Film | Vitoria Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Actor | Festival de Gramado |
| Punto y Raya | Best Actor | Havana Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Jury Award | Festival de Gramado |
| Huelepega | Special Selection | Busan International Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Film | Los Angeles Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Film | San Francisco International Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Film | Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva |
| Punto y Raya | Presentation | Golden Globes |
| Punto y Raya | Best Film | Festival de Brasília |
| Punto y Raya | Best Actor | Festival de Merida |
| Sicario | Best Jury Award | Festival de Cine de Lima |
| Punto y Raya | Critics Award | Festival de Gramado |
| Sicario | Best Film | Best Municipal Award |
| Sicario | Finalist | Goya Awards |
| Sicario | Best Screenplay | Havana Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Film | Santa Barbara International Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Director | Tokyo International Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Director | Viña del Mar International Film Festival |
| | Best Film | Caracas Film Festival |
| | Best Director | Caracas Film Festival |
| | Best Jury Award | Festival de Gramado |
| Punto y Raya | Best Actor | Havana Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Actor | Biarritz Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Editor | Festival de Gramado |
| Oro Diablo | Best Photography | Santa Cruz Film Festival |
| Huelepega | Best Film | New York International Latino Film Festival |
| Huelepega | Best Film | Sant Feliu Guixols |
| Huelepega | Best Photography | Caracas Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Actor | Caracas Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Film Decade | MoMa |
| Sicario | Best Actor | Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Director | Bogota International Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Film | Montreal LAtino Film Festival |
| Sicario | Best Film | São Paulo International Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Jury Award | Santa Barbara International Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Jury Award | Festival do Rio |
| Punto y Raya | Best Edition | Merida Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Director | Merida Film Festival |
| Punto y Raya | Best Actor | Festival de Cine Global Dominicano |
| Sicario | Best Screenplay | Santa Cruz Film Festival |
| | Tatu Tumpa Award Excellence of Iberoamerican Producer | Bolivia Film Festival |
| | Nominated Platinum Awards | Egeda - Fipca |