Sebastián Silva

Sebastián Silva

  • Birthday: 1979-04-09
  • Place of birth: Santiago, Chile
  • Also know as: Sebastián Silva Irarrázabal

Biography

Sebastián Silva Irarrázabal (born 9 April 1979; Santiago) is a Chilean director, actor, screenwriter, painter and musician. The second of seven brothers, Sebastián Silva was born in Santiago, Chile on 9 April 1979. After graduating from the Catholic Colegio del Verbo Divino school in Santiago, he spent a year studying filmmaking at the Escuela de Cine de Chile (“Film School of Chile” in Spanish) before leaving to study animation in Montreal, Canada. Here, he mounted the first gallery exhibition of his illustrations and started the band CHC, which went on to record three albums. Silva's second illustration show brought him in contact with Hollywood but a “frustrating period” in Los Angeles, spent pitching to Steven Spielberg and others, brought no tangible results. Leaving Hollywood, Silva started two more bands, Yaia and Los Mono, the latter of which was signed by British record label Sonic360. He exhibited his art in New York City while writing the script for what would become his first feature, La Vida Me Mata (“Life Kills Me” in Spanish; written with Pedro Peirano). Back in Chile, Silva recorded a solo album, Iwannawin & Friends and directed his debut feature, Life Kills Me. Released in 2007 by Chilean production company Fabula, Life Kills Me went on to win Best Film at the Chilean Pedro Sienna Awards in 2008. In February 2008, setting aside a script based on his trip to Hollywood, Silva wrote (with Pedro Peirano) and directed his next film: The Maid. The film, released in 2009, told the story of a maid trying to keep her job after having served a family for 23 years. It has won multiple awards, including the Grand Jury Prize - World Cinema Dramatic at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Golden Globes Awards and the 2010 NAACP Image Awards. Film critic David Parkinson called the film "an exceptional study of the emotional investment that domestics make in the families they serve." Silva partnered with Pedro Peirano again to write his next film, Old Cats, which premiered in 2010 at the Valdivia International Film Festival in Chile and at the New York Film Festival in the United States. He then made his TV debut in 2012 when he wrote, directed and produced the HBO short-form TV comedy show The Boring Life of Jacqueline. The success of The Maid took Silva to Sundance again in 2013 to premiere two new films, Magic Magic and Crystal Fairy, both starring indie actor Michael Cera. Silva won the Sundance Directing Award: World Cinema - Dramatic for Crystal Fairy and the LA Times described Magic Magic as “an exploration of insanity, selfishness and emotional brutality.” Silva told the LA Times that Cera's character in Magic Magic is "one of my favorite characters I've created in a movie." His latest film Rotting in the Sun premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and screened at Outfest.

Filmography

Nasty Baby

2015

As Freddy

Dolfun

2016

As

Rotting in the Sun

2023

As Sebastián Silva

Lorimer

2010

As

31 Minutos: The Movie

2008

As Cámara de Seguridad / Charangito (voice)

Life Kills Me

2007

As Fantasma 1

Production

Old Cats

2010

As Director of Photography

Neruda

2016

As Thanks

The Maid

2009

As Director

Old Cats

2010

As Director

Magic Magic

2013

As Director

Nasty Baby

2015

As Director

Life Kills Me

2007

As Director

Madly

2016

As Director

Dolfun

2016

As Director

Tyrel

2018

As Director

Fistful of Dirt

2018

As Director

Song to Song

2017

As First Assistant Director

Rotting in the Sun

2023

As Director

Indomable

2021

As Director

The Butler

2013

As Second Unit Director

Sal Disfruta: Año Nuevo

2000

As Director

Nasty Baby

2015

As Executive Producer

Old Cats

2010

As Producer

Tyrel

2018

As Executive Producer

Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus

2013

As Executive Producer

The Maid

2009

As Writer

Nasty Baby

2015

As Screenplay

Life Kills Me

2007

As Writer

Magic Magic

2013

As Writer

Tyrel

2018

As Writer

Madly

2016

As Story

Madly

2016

As Screenplay

Fistful of Dirt

2018

As Writer

Old Cats

2010

As Screenplay

Rotting in the Sun

2023

As Writer

Indomable

2021

As Screenplay

Dolfun

2016

As Writer

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