Alice Waddington | |
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Born | Irene Lago Clavero July 31, 1990 Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain |
Citizenship | Spanish |
Alma mater | University of the Basque Country |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Years active | 2010–present |
Alice Waddington (born July 31, 1990) is a Spanish film director, writer, photographer and costume designer[1][2] having developed most of her work in the field of modern cinema. Her directing style is defined by a contemporary approach to the golden era of large-scale-studio horror films (1920s–1970s) in classical production companies such as Hammer Films or Universal's Creature Features; mixed with current surreal humor and sometimes including musical cinema.
Born as Irene[3] on July 31, 1990, in Bilbao, Spain to a Catalan forensic psychiatrist and a Galician teacher. She grew up in the blue-collar neighborhood of San Mamés, known for its working-class pride and industrial surroundings pre-gentrification.[4] During the 1990s, Bilbao was experiencing significant changes and facing various socio-economic challenges, such as terrorism[5] and a heroin crisis,[6] an awareness Alice credits with her first contacts with the abstract ideas of horror.
Waddington adopted her stage name[3] at sixteen, while assisting director of photography Quique López.[7] At 18, she studied advertising at UPV-EHU University where she started capturing promotion stills and directing fashion films as a photographer and assistant of photography for the Spanish editions of Harper's Bazaar, Neo2[8] and others.
At 20 and for three years, she worked as an advertising creative, a producer and an advertising video editor at the agencies Leo Burnett Iberia and Social Noise also specializing as a digital storyboard artist.
In 2014, with the help of Mexican executive producer Yadira Ávalos, Waddington took a year off advertising agency work to write and direct a short movie. She found sponsors[9] to help her produce her first narrative 11-minute film,[10] Disco Inferno (2015), which received nominations in 63 international film festivals including genre fan favorites such as Palm Springs,[11] Fantasia, Sitges (Noves Visions Short award[12]) or Fantastic Fest, which first awarded her as Best Director in her category, and second best feature project of the Fantastic Market for her movie Paradise Hills.[13] Eleven other international festival wins ensued, with a considerable comparative presence of the short picture in American and Canadian festivals.
Waddington entered pre-production of her first full-length feature, Paradise Hills in 2017[13] with Spanish production company Nostromo Pictures.[2][14] The film is a science-fiction thriller written by Brian DeLeeuw[15] and Nacho Vigalondo. It was released in 2019.
Waddington has pointed out in interviews that after Paradise Hills she desires to direct biopics, socially metaphorical fantastic horror about minorities[16] and terror stories that have taken place.[17]
In June 2019, it was announced that Waddington is developing her second film Scarlet, from a script written by her and Kristen SaBerre. The film will be distributed by Netflix.[18]
In September 2021, Waddington was tapped to direct adaptation of comic book series Dept. H for Netflix.[19]
In October 2022, [20] Waddington premiered her first episode of television, in which she personally cast Álvaro Morte and Mina El-Hammani, co-written with Spanish legacy writer Rocío Martínez Llano. An adaptation of heritage Spanish IP Historias para no Dormir based on a vampiric story. Waddington credited her [21] lifelong friend and collaborator Minhal Baig as giving her the idea that a Muslim vampire could not enter Jannah as the conflict.
Waddington is a proactive demander for progressive social change regarding causes related to female cooperation[22] and sorority within the arts.[3]
In the context of film, she has been vocal about the need for both more female-led and more diversely-cast films worldwide[23] and about motivating young women to enroll into filmmaking programs.[24] She has also often mentioned the need for film studios around the world to hire more women, with an accent on women of color.[16]
Waddington is fluent in Spanish and English and conversational in French and Catalan.
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Disco Inferno | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film | |
2019 | Paradise Hills | Yes | Yes | No |
Waddington's short film "Disco Inferno" has been presented on 63 plus,[25] genre and conventional film festivals across the world, winning several awards:
Year | Festival | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Austin Fantastic Fest - United States | Shorts with Legs - Best Director[26] | Disco Inferno | Won[27] |
Austin Fantastic Fest - United States | Best Feature Project | Paradise Hills | Won (Silver)[28] | |
Sitges Film Festival - Spain | Noves Visions - Best Short Film[12] | Disco Inferno[29] | Won | |
2016 | Brooklyn Horror Film Festival - United States | Best Director[30] | Disco Inferno[31] | Won[32] |
Slamdance Film Festival United States[33] | Best Anarchy Short Film | Disco Inferno[34] | Won[35] | |
Monster Fest - Australia | Best Cinematography | Disco Inferno | Won[36] | |
C-FEM - Festival de Cine Fantástico Europeo de Murcia | Grand Jury Prize | Disco Inferno | Won | |
Mikrofilm Short Festival - Spain | Best Director[37] | Disco Inferno | Won | |
Cinefantasy Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantástico - Brazil[38] | Best Short Film[39] | Disco Inferno | Won (Best Soundtrack) | |
Festival de Cine de Horror - Mexico | Best Short Film | Disco Inferno | Won[40] | |
Festival Fantosfreak - Spain | Best Short Film | Disco Inferno | Won[41] |