Patricia Cardoso

Colombian-American film director

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Patricia Cardoso

Alma mater| University of California, Los Angeles
[1] Universidad de los Andes (Colombia).
Occupation(s)| Film director
Screenwriter
Producer[2]
Website| cardosopatricia.com

Patricia Cardoso is a Colombian and American filmmaker. She is best known for her 2002 film Real Women Have Curves, which centers around the experiences of a young Mexican-American woman navigating the challenges of family, culture, and body image. The film's lasting impact was recognized in 2019, when it was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry "as a cinematic treasure and worthy of preservation as part of America's patrimony".[3] This honor made Cardoso the first Latin woman director to have a film included in the registry.

Cardoso has also achieved several other notable firsts in her career. She was the first Latin woman director to receive a Sundance Audience Award, which she won for Real Women Have Curves. Additionally, she was the first Latin woman director to receive a Student Academy Award, an achievement she earned for her short film The Water Carrier.

In 2017, Cardoso was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in the Directors Branch,[4][5] and in 2021 she was invited to join the British Film Academy.

Cardoso's directing credits extend beyond the big screen, and include work on several popular television shows. In 2018, she was handpicked by acclaimed director Ava DuVernay to direct an episode of her hit series Queen Sugar. Additionally, Cardoso has directed episodes for a variety of other popular shows, including Will Trent, The Society and Tales of the City on Netflix, All Rise, Emergence, Party of Five, and Diary of a Future President. Her directing credits include the pilot for Harlan Coben's Shelter for Amazon Prime.

Cardoso is a graduate of UCLA's film school and a Fulbright scholar; her anthropological approach to directing guides her film and television work.[6][7]

## Early life

[edit]

Cardoso was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. As a child she wrote and illustrated home-made picture-books. Only when she became a film student at UCLA she realized these books were story boards.[6][7] Cardoso's first film was a humorous documentary titled Vacas Flacas y Vacas Gordas (Skinny Cows and Fat Cows) about the famine and feast periods her family endured. Due to the lack of technology in her household the film was made with toothpicks, paper, and cardboard.[6][7]

She studied anthropology at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

## Career

[edit]

At UCLA film school she was at the top of her class earning all major directing awards at the school: the Colin Higgins Foundation Award in Film, the Lynn Weston Fellowship in Film, and the Verna Fields Award.[6][7]

Cardoso's directing credits include episodes of The Society, All Rise, and Tales of the City and the feature Teresa —the largest box office for a woman director in Colombia.

Cardoso was the first Latin woman to win a Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Audience Award[8] and to receive a Student Academy Award for Real Women Have Curves.[9][10][11][12] She was also the first Latin woman to have a film in the Library of Congress National film Registry.

On the creation of Real Women Have Curves, Cardoso described struggling to find funding for the film with writers Josefina Lopez and George LaVoo[13]—many industry heads citing it as "having no market" despite its compelling script. After the script was picked up, Cardoso was officially hired to direct. She completed the casting process as well as crew assembly herself, conducting one-on-one interviews with potential crew members.

Cardoso attributes her anthropological background to the respect she has for every character in her films, the depth and dimension of her character development, and for the rigorous research she does during pre-production to create reality and truthfulness in her movies.[6][7]

Cardoso's Real Women Have Curves broke many conventions of traditional Hollywood filmmaking and became a landmark in American independent film. According to Entertainment Weekly, it is "one of the most influential movies of the 2000s," and cast "a wide shadow over the new generation of filmmakers to come." The movie is cited for showing "the impact a movie could have in the culture," and it is acclaimed for its nuanced portrayal of its characters and of Los Angeles.[6][7]

According to an interview with The L.A. Times, Cardoso struggled to find work after the success of Real Women Have Curves. Since her spouts of TV movies throughout the 2000s and 2010s, she has caught the attention of filmmaker Ava DuVernay, with whom she directed an episode of her drama Queen Sugar in 2016.[14]

In September 2021, Cardoso's Real Women earned the main spot at the Significant Movies and Movie Makers Gallery,[15] held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Clips and stills from Real Women were the only ones depicted in color. According to an assistant curator of the gallery, Sophia Serrano, the museum wanted Real Women to "stand out as the hero of the gallery."[16]

Cardoso also donated film's script notes, casting calls, storyboards, production stills, location scouting photos and design drawings to the academy's Margaret Herrick Library as part of the Patricia Cardoso Papers;[17] making her work a public resource and allow the curators to resurface various parts of it in future exhibits.

## Filmography

[edit]

### Real Women Have Curves

[edit]

Directed by Cardoso, this drama is based on the comedic play of the same name by Josefina Lopez, who co-wrote the screenplay with George LaVoo. The film is actress America Ferrera's feature debut. She stars alongside Latin-American actors Lupe Ontiveros and George Lopez. The film follows a high school student named Ana who lives in Boyle Heights with her mother, father and grandfather. Ana works with her mother in a factory making designer gowns. Tension in the family rises when Ana receives a scholarship to Columbia University; she wants to accept, but her critical mother believes she should focus on settling down with a husband and beginning a family after high school. As Ana's mother Carmen continuously criticizes her choices, body and beliefs throughout the film, Ana grows in confidence and decides to deem her worth as a woman in her own way. The film is shot in a unique vignette style, with no significant plot driving the film aside from Ana's personal development. The film is praised for its lively and warm portrayal of East L.A. culture and commentaries on capitalistic class struggle.

### El Regalo

[edit]

Written and produced by Dago García and directed by Cardoso, the film stars Cesar Mora, Ella Becerra, Javier Ramirez and Margalida Castro.

### The Toymaker

[edit]

Directed and produced by Cardoso the documentary film is about Horst Damme, a blind German toymaker, who has lived in Bogotá since 1936 when he arrived with his family as refugees from Nazi-Germany.

### La Clave

[edit]

Directed by Cardoso and written by Josefina Lopez the short film tells the story of a family faced with the mental illness of their daughter. The film stars Mariana Montes, Luis Enrique, and Ivette Gonzales. The film won the First Place Drama Short for the United Latino Film Festival, a Gold CINDY Award, a Robert Townsend Social Issues Award and Merit Special Mention at The Best Shorts Competition.[18]

### Meddling Mom

[edit]

Directed by Cardoso, written by Nina Weiman and produced by Frank Konigsberg and Patricia Clifford, Meddling Mom was the first Latino film ever made by Hallmark Channel. The film stars Sonia Braga, as Carmen Vera, a ceramics art dealer and meddling mother pursued by a charming dance professor played by Tony Plana. The film was nominated to an IMAGEN Award for Sonia Braga's strong performance. Carmen Vega is guilty of being a meddling mom. Her crimes include slipping into daughter Yolanda's home to leave behind "how-to" books on starting a family and manipulating daughter Ally into a doomed relationship with her best friend Marisol's son Pablo. Now Carmen Vega, notorious mother of good intentions, is about to get a crash course in butting out and maybe she'll even find a romantic life of her own. The film was shot on location at Jose Vera's Fine Arts and Antiques wonderful store in Eagle Rock.[19]

### Ro

[edit]

Cardoso directed a six-episode web series for YouTube channel WIGS. Ro, a young woman in parole, played by Melonie Diaz, goes to a speed dating bar trying to rebuild his life after prison. The series was produced by Rodrigo García, John Avnet and Jake Avnet. The series is written by talented Mattie Brickman and stars along Diaz William Mapother, Jonathan Tucker and Christopher Carley.[20]

### Lies in Plain Sight

[edit]

Cardoso directed the remake of the Israeli movie Out of Sight [fr; he]. Written by Teena Booth based on Noa Greenberg's script the film stars Rosie Perez, Martha Higadera, Chad Michael Murray and Benito Martinez. It was produced by Frank Konigsberg and Yan Fisher-Romanovsky for Sony Television and Lifetime. The story of Eva and her blind cousin Sofia (Martha Higadera), who were inseparable as children, with Eva the loyal companion who helped Sofia through her tough adolescent years. When Eva suddenly commits suicide, Sofia rushes home to her father, Hector (Benito Martinez), and Eva's parents, Marisol (Rosie Perez) and Rafael (Yul Vásquez), to find answers. But the more she delves into Eva's life, questioning her past boyfriend's Ethan (Chad Michael Murray) and Christian (Christoph Sanders), the more Sofia realizes that their childhood was actually filled with dark, disturbing secrets. The film received a NAMIC Vision Award, an IMAGEN Award for Martha Higadera's performance and was selected as Lifetime Movie of the Year in 2011. It was nominated to an NAACP Image Award for Rosie Perez's performance.[21]

## Awards and honors

[edit]

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately.
Find sources: "Patricia Cardoso" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Year  | Award  | Festival  | Nominated work  | Result

|
|
|
|

1990  | Premio Mesquite Best First Work  | San Antonio CineFestival  | The Air Globes (Cartas al Niño Dios) | Won
Premio Mesquite Best Short Film  | Won
Primer Premio  | Concurso Nacional de Cortometrajes  | Won
Premio Especial del Jurado Hernando Salcedo Silva  | Concurso Nacional de Cortometrajes [22] | Won
1996  | Festival Prize  | Black Maria Film and Video Festival  | The Water Carrier (El Reino de los Cielos) | Won
Crystal Heart Award  | Heartland Film Festival | Won
DGA Student Film Award  | Student Academy Awards[23] | Won
Gold Medal  | Won
Grand Prize  | Angelus Student Film Festival  | Won
Golden Eagle Award  | CINE | Won
Premio Mesquite Best Narrative  | San Antonio CineFestival  | Won
UNESCO Igualada Institut Català Award  | UNESCO | Won
MacArthur Foundation Subtitling Grant  | Toronto International Film Festival | Won
Ida Lupino Student Award  | Directors Guild of America | Won
Harry Kurnitz Creative Writing Competition  | Dashew Center - UCLA | Won
Golden Reel Award | Motion Picture Sound Editors | Nominated
2002  | Audience Award | Sundance Film Festival | Real Women Have Curves | Won
Grand Jury Prize | Nominated
Premio Eroski de la Juventud (Youth Award)  | Festival de Cine de San Sebastián | Won
Humanitas Prize Sundance Feature Film  | Humanitas Prize | Won
Excellence in Filmmaking  | National Board of Review | Won
Silver Plate Audience Choice Award  | Chicago International Film Festival | Won
Excellence in Film Latino Spirit Award  | California State Legislature | Won
Planned Parenthood Award  | Planned Parenthood | Won
California Governor's Commendation  | Governor of California | Won
2011  | Best Creative Media Film  | Poppy Jasper Film Festival  | Deep Blue Breath | Won
Best Young Actor for Clay Beabout  | Action on Film International Film Festival | Won
Best Short Film  | Tampa Independent's Film Festival  | Won
2011  | NAMIC Vision Award  | NAMIC Vision Award  | Lies in Plain Sight | Won
Best Actor for Martha Higadera  | Imagen Awards | Won
Movie of the Year  | Lifetime (TV Network) | Won
Best Actor for Rosie Perez  | NAACP Image Awards | Nominated
2013  | Best Actor for Sonia Braga | Imagen Awards | Meddling Mom | Nominated
2015  | First Place Drama Short  | United Latino Film Festival  | La Clave | Won
Gold CINDY Award  | CINDY Awards  | Won
CINDY Social Issues Award  | Won
Award of Merit Special Mention  | The Best Shorts Competition  | Won

Cardoso also received:[24]

* Smithsonian Institution Latino Recognition Award
* Reconocimiento Fulbright a la Excelencia
* UCLA Filmmaker Of The Year Honor
* Hubert Bals Fund for Film Production - International Film Festival Rotterdam
* Visionary Award LA Femme Film Festival
* California Governor's Commendation

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Patricia Cardoso". UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. UCLA. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
2. ^ Buchanan, Jason (2016). "Patricia Cardoso Biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
3. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019). "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks". Time. New York, NY. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
4. ^ Joey Nolfi, New Academy Members Speak on Diversity Push Archived August 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Entertainment Weekly, July 3, 2017, online. Retrieved August 2, 2017
5. ^ Ella Ceron, The Academy Announces Diverse Class of 2017 - but Is It Enough?, Teen Vogue, June 29, 2017, online. Retrieved August 2, 2017
6. ^ a b c d e f Salazar, Juan Sebastián (February 18, 2016). "El Oscar en la "Tierra del Olvido"". El Espectador (in Spanish). Retrieved August 2, 2017.
7. ^ a b c d e f Grajales, Daniel (December 8, 2013). "Patricia Cardoso, the owner of the Oscar (Patricia Cardoso, la dueña del Oscar)". El Mundo.com.
8. ^ Elvis Mitchell, Real Women Have Curves, The New York Times, March 22, 2002.
9. ^ Oscar a Película Colombiana, El Espectador, Colombia, 29 de mayo de 1996, 1. Retrieved August 2, 2017
10. ^ Juan Guillermo Ramirez, Hollywood premia a una colombiana, El Tiempo, 8 de junio de 1996. Retrieved August 2, 2017
11. ^ Patricia Cardoso Semana, Colombia, 4 de junio de 1996. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
12. ^ Reina del Oscar La Prensa, Colombia, 30 de mayo de 1996. Retrieved August 2, 2017
13. ^ González, Ana Luisa (October 20, 2015). "Latina Filmmaker Patricia Cardoso Was Almost Hired to Direct a Feature 7 Times". LA Weekly. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
14. ^ "PATRICIA CARDOSO". PATRICIA CARDOSO. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
15. ^ "Academy Museum". www.academymuseum.org. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
16. ^ "Patricia Cardoso's 'Real Women Have Curves' was landmark Latina cinema, but Hollywood shut her out. Until now". Los Angeles Times. September 7, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
17. ^ "ACADEMY COLLECTIONS | details". collections.new.oscars.org. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
18. ^ What is La Clave?, La Clave, online. Retrieved: August 2, 2017
19. ^ Meddling Mom, Hallmark Movies, online. Retrieved August 2, 2017
20. ^ Ro, WIGS, online. Retrieved August 2, 2017
21. ^ Lies in Plain Sight, IMDB, online. Retrieved August 2, 2017
22. ^ "Cartas al Niño Dios," cortometraje ganador, El Espectador, Colombia, 25 de abril de 1991, 15.
23. ^ Andrew Hindes, "Ex-archaeologist mines Oscar gold," Daily Variety, June 11, 1996.
24. ^ Make A Film Foundation Mentor. Retrieved April 29, 2013

## External links

[edit]

* Patricia Cardoso at IMDb
* Biography in the HBO web site
* Patricia Cardoso's Aha Moment in Oprah Magazine
* 15 Latino Directors Challenging Hollywood's Huge Diversity Problem
* 15 years later Real Women Have Curves remains one of the most important films for brown girls
* New Academy Members Speak
* El Oscar en la "Tierra del Olvido"
* Una colombiana en el cine americano
* Patricia Cardoso at the Strasberg Institute
* Patricia Cardoso Papers at Margaret Herrick Library
* Significant Movies and Moviemakers Gallery