Ignacio Castillo Cottin

Ignacio Castillo Cottin (born in Caracas, Venezuela on December 12, 1982) is a Venezuelan film director, screenwriter and producer. His first film “The Black Virgin” (2008) starred Carmen Maura, Angélica Aragón, Matheus Nachtergaele and Carolina Torres. “El Inca” (2016), his second film, was Venezuela's entry to the 89th Academy Awards and is currently the only movie banned in the country.
== Career ==
Ignacio started his career by writing and directing three theater plays (Zomba, Cáncer and El Bar de Mis Sueños) while attending high school. The last two plays where shown at the prestigious Ateneo de Caracas.
Upon finishing high school, Ignacio moved to Los Angeles to study Film at the University of South California (USC). While studying, he worked as a freelance journalist for the popular Venezuelan newspaper “El Nacional” in the Politics and Culture sections.
Back in Caracas, Ignacio co-founded and became the production manager of the investigative journalism magazine Contrabando (owned by Cadena Capriles).
In 2008, Castillo Cottin premiered his first film “The Black Virgin” at La Mostra de São Paulo in Brazil. The comedy starred Carmen Maura, Angélica Aragón, Matheus Nachtergaeele, Carolina Torres, among others. Soon after, Ignacio began directing commercials for brands like Coca-Cola, Jeep, Kraft, Nestlé, Ford, Movistar, Ron Santa Teresa, Kellogg's, and others. He has also directed TV Ads for non-governmental organizations like Acción Solidaria and Caja Mágica, obtaining local and international recognition.
In 2009, Random House Mondadori published Penélope, a book of short fiction stories written by Castillo Cottin. In 2010, Ignacio presented in Caracas “En Blanco”, a comedy monologue written and directed by himself, which obtained excellent critiques and sold out almost every show for two whole seasons.
His second film “El Inca” co-written with Ada Hernández, premiered in Venezuela on November 25th, 2016. After only two weeks, the film was taken out of cinema theaters due to a judicial measure that violates the right of freedom of expression as contemplated in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. After having been projected in several high-profile international film festivals, El Inca was postulated as Venezuela's entry to the 89th Academy Awards.
== Film industry ==
In 2005, Ignacio Castillo Cottin created Pa’ Los Panas Productions, a production company specialized in cinematographic projects and based in Caracas.
In 2008, Castillo Cottin premiered The Black Virgin at La Mostra de São Paulo, receiving a nomination for Best Young Director. The film starred Carmen Maura, Angélica Aragón, Matheus Nachtergaele and Carolina Torres. That same year, Ignacio became a member of the Nacional Association of Cinematography Authors (ANAC). Two years later, he joined the board of directors, where he remained until 2013.
In November 2016, Castillo Cottin premiered his second film, El Inca, starring Alexander Leterni and Scarlett Jaimes. The movie became the first film to be banned in the history of Venezuelan cinema, due to a judicial measure that violated the right of freedom of expression as contemplated in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
In 2018, Ignacio was appointed as a member of the jury in the Festival Venezolano de Cine de Mérida. The previous year, he had been a part of the jury for the Festival de Cortos Universitarios at the same festival.
That same year (2018), Castillo Cottin became a member of the Academia de Ciencias y Artes Cinematográficas de Venezuela (ACACV).
Ignacio Castillo Cottin became the President of the Selection Committee of the Venezuelan movie entry for the 2019 Oscar, and was reelected to undertake the same charge for the 2020 Oscars.
== The Black Virgin (2008) ==
The Black Virgin (2008) is a film written and directed by Ignacio Castillo Cottin and produced by Pa’ Los Panas Productions, featuring Carmen Maura, Angélica Aragón, Matheus Nachtergaele and Carolina Torres. The film narrates the surprising changes that the habitants of a small fishing town in the Caribbean go through after the apparition of a black virgin.
The film was premiered at La Mostra de São Paulo, gathering two nominations: Best Film and Best Young Director. Some of the nominations of La Virgen Negra include:
São Paulo International Film Festival (2008):
Nominated: Best New Director, Best Film.
Festival del Cine Venezolano (2008):
Winner: Public's Choice, Best Film.
Syracuse International Film Festival (2009):
Nominated: Best Film.
Paraguay Film Festival (2009):
Nominated: Golden Panambi, Best Film 
Manchester International Film Festival (2009)
Nominated: Festival Price, Best International Film.
Park City Film Music Festival (2011):
Winner: Gold Medal for Excellence, Nest Impact of Music in a Feature Film, Jury's Choice.
== El Inca (2016) ==
El Inca (2016) is a film directed by Ignacio Castillo Cottin and co-written by Ada Hernández. The film (Pa’ Los Panas Producciones) represented Venezuela at the 89th Academy Awards. Some of the cast members include: Alexander Leterni, Scarlett Jaimes, Miguel Ferrari and Daniela Bueno.
El Inca is the tragic love story of the two times world winner boxer Edwin “El Inca” Valero. The film premiered in Venezuela on November 25th of 2016 but was taken out of cinemas the second week of December due to a judicial measure that violated the right of freedom of speech contemplated in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Six months after being taken out from cinemas, the Appeal Tribunal of the Teenager and Child Protection Judicial Circuit revoked the sentence that forbade the film to air in Venezuela. On July 2017, El Inca was premiered for the second time at the Festival Venezolano de Cine de Mérida, obtaining seven awards (including Public's Choice, Best Director and Best Actor). Three days after the movie returned to cinemas, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) ordered for the second time the suspension of the movie's screening, summoning a court hearing that never took place.
São Paulo International Film Festival (2017)
Nominated: Best New Director, Best Film.
Morelia International Film Festival (2017)
Nominated: Public's Choice, Best Film.
Miami Film Festival (2017)
Nominated: HBO Ibero-American Competition, Best Film.
Festival del Cine Venezolano (2017)
Winner: Best Music (Luis Miguel Emmanuelli)
Winner: Best Actor (Alexander Leterni)
Winner: Best Director (Ignacio Castillo Cottin)
Winner: Best Editing (Maikel Jimenez)
Winner: Best Makeup (Stella Jacobs)
Winner: Best Script (Ada Hernández, Ignacio Castillo Cottin)
Winner: Best Film (Public's Chice)
Chicago Latino Film Festiva (2018)
Nominated: Film, Best Film (Pa' Los Panas)
INDIEBO (Festival de Cine Independiente de Bogotá) (Colombia - 2017)
Fine Arts Festival (Domenican Republic - 2017)
Cinema Venezuela Miami (USA - 2017)
Cine Latino Film Festival (Australia - 2017)
Hola Mexico Film Festival (Mexico - 2017)
La Película Film Festival (Czech Republic - 2018)
Academic Hispanic Film Festival (Canada - 2018)
HAY FILM FESTIVAL- Cartagena (Special participation) (Colombia - 2018)
Chicago Latino Film Festival (2018):
* Nominated: Film, Best Film.
== Awards & Nominations ==
==== Film ====
São Paulo International Film Festival (2008):
* Nominee: Best New Directors, Best Film (La Virgen Negra)
Festival del Cine Venezolano (2008):
* Winner: Audience award, Best film. (La Virgen Negra)
Syracuse International Film Festival (2009):
* Nominee: Best film. (La Virgen Negra)
Paraguay Film Festival (2009):
* Nominee: Golden Panambi, Best film. (La Virgen Negra)
Manchester International Film Festival(2009):
* Nominee: Festival Price, Best International Film. (La Virgen Negra)
Festival de Cine Venezolano (2017):
* Winner: Best Director - El Inca
* Winner: Best Screenplay (Ada Hernández, Ignacio Castillo Cottin) - El Inca
* Winner: Best Film (Audience award) - El Inca
São Paulo International Film Festival (2017):
* Nominado: Best New Directors, Best film.
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) (2017)
Morelia International Film Festival (2017):
* Nominee: Best film.
Miami Film Festival (2017):
* Nominado: HBO Ibero-American Competition, Best film.
Chicago Latino Film Festiva (2018):
* Nominee: Best film.
==== Advertising ====
ANDA AWARDS (2011):
* Bronze Best Direction: “Caja Mágica, campaña Paz en las Calles
* Gold en Best Direction: Movistar (Versión Tortugas)
ANDA AWARDS (2012):
* Bronze Best Direction: Jeep (Versiones Despeje y Abrebocas
* Gold in Best Video On-line: Acción Solidaria (Versión Video Porno)
* Gold in Multimedia Campaign: Acción Solidaria (Versión Video Porno)
Ojo Iberoamericano (2012):
* Bronce en Best Direction: Movistar (Versión Tortugas)
ANDA AWARDS (2013):
* Bronce Best Direction: Ferretotal (Versión Cena)
* Gold in Best Direction: Cheez Whiz
Ojo Iberoamericano (2014):
* Bronce in Best Direction
===== Others =====
Premio Municipal de la Alcaldía de Baruta (1998):
* Second place in painting
==In the media==
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== References ==
==External links==
* Ignacio Castillo Cottin - IMDb
* Ignacio Castillo Cottin on facebook
* ‘El Inca’ Director Ignacio Castillo Preps First English-Language Film, ‘The Death of Marquez’ (EXCLUSIVE)
* The Director & Producer of ‘El Inca’ On Why the Film Was Banned in Venezuela
* El Inca, by Ignacio Castillo Cottin
* ‎Films directed by Ignacio Castillo Cottin • Letterboxd
* Ignacio Castillo Cottin: Movies, TV, and Bio | Prime Video
* The Best Movies Directed by Ignacio Castillo Cottin - Flickchart
* Ignacio Castillo Cottin - Rotten Tomatoes
* Ignacio Castillo Cottin on Moviebuff.com
* Ignacio Castillo Cottin – Movies, Bio and Lists on MUBI
Category:1982 births
Category:People from Caracas
Category:Venezuelan producers
Category:Venezuelan film producers
Category:Venezuelan film directors
Category:Venezuelan screenwriters