Aída Bortnik (7 January 1938 – 27 April 2013) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for her work in the film '' La historia oficial'' (1985). She has the notable distinction of having written the screenplay for both the first Argentine film nominated for an Academy Award (''

The Truce ''The Truce'' ( it, La tregua), titled ''The Reawakening'' in the US, is a book by the Italian author Primo Levi. It is the sequel to ''If This Is a Man'' and describes the author's experiences from the liberation of Auschwitz ( Monowitz), which ...

'', 1974) and the first Argentine film to win an Academy Award (''La historia oficial'').

Career

After starting out as a TV-screenwriter in 1971, Bortnik co-wrote with débutant director

Sergio Renán Sergio Renán (30 January 1933 – 13 June 2015) was an Argentine actor, film director, and screenwriter. Biography Born Samuel Kohan in Buenos Aires in 1933, his parents were Jewish immigrants who had lived in one of the numerous Jewish ag ...

the screenplay for ''The Truce'' (1974), based on the eponymous novel by

Mario Benedetti Mario Orlando Hardy Hamlet Brenno Benedetti Farrugia (; 14 September 1920 – 17 May 2009), was an Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet and an integral member of the Generación del 45. Despite publishing more than 80 books and being publi ...

. It was the first Argentine film to be nominated for an Academy Award (the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) in 1975, but lost out to

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most ...

's ''

Amarcord ''Amarcord'' () is a 1973 comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, a semi- autobiographical tale about Titta, an adolescent boy growing up among an eccentric cast of characters in the village of Borgo San Giuliano (situated near the anci ...

''. That year, Bortnik co-wrote ''Una mujer'', directed by Juan José Stagnaro. After a three-year break, Bortnik worked one more time with Renán in writing a screenplay in 1977 for Haroldo Conti's novel, ''Crecer de golpe''. She then co-wrote ''La isla'' (1979) with director Alejandro Doria. In 1985, Bortnik co-wrote with writer-director

Luis Puenzo Luis Adalberto Puenzo (born 19 February 1946) is an Argentine film director, producer and screenplay writer. He works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, but has also worked in the United States. Biography Puenzo was born in Buenos Aires in 1946 ...

a screenplay for a film about the Argentine

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

, which had recently ceased. The film denounced the atrocities of the military regime and made the brutal dictatorships known worldwide. The film won the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

in 1986, and earned Bortnik a nomination for ''Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen'', shared with Puenzo. That same year, she co-wrote ''Pobre mariposa'' with director

Raúl de la Torre Raúl de la Torre (19 February 1938, in Zárate, Buenos Aires, Zárate – 19 March 2010, in Buenos Aires) was an cinema of Argentina, Argentine film director screenwriter and film producer. He was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 1986 Cannes Fil ...

. In 1989, Bortnik helped Puenzo write the screenplay for

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), ''Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christopher ...

' novel ''

Old Gringo ''Old Gringo'' is a 1989 American romantic adventure film starring Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, and Jimmy Smits. It was directed by Luis Puenzo and co-written with Aída Bortnik, based on the 1985 novel '' The Old Gringo'' by Mexican novelist Carl ...

'', a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

production; the only non-Argentine project in which Bortnik was involved. During the 90s, Bortnik worked strictly with newcomer writer/director

Marcelo Piñeyro Marcelo Piñeyro (born March 5, 1953) is an Argentine award-winning film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Piñeyro studied cinematography at the University of La Plata's School of Fine Arts. In 1980, he ...

, who had served as executive produced to '. Bortnik helped Piñeyro write the screenplays for '' Tango feroz: la leyenda de Tanguito'' (1993), ''

Caballos salvajes ''Wild Horses'' ( es, Caballos salvajes) is a 1995 Argentine road movie directed by Marcelo Piñeyro and written by Piñeyro and Aída Bortnik. It stars Héctor Alterio, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Cecilia Dopazo and Federico Luppi in a cameo appearan ...

'' (1995) and ''

Cenizas del Paraíso ''Ashes of Paradise'' ( es, Cenizas del paraíso) is a 1997 Argentine crime drama film directed by Marcelo Piñeyro. It tells in flashbacks how the untroubled private happiness of a family – a judge and his three grown-up sons – c ...

'' (1997), a loose trilogy. She renewed her working relationship with Sergio Renán, co-writing ' (2002). Her last work was as an occasional writer for the series ' in 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bortnik, Aida 1938 births 2013 deaths Argentine screenwriters Argentine television writers Argentine women writers Jewish Argentine writers Women screenwriters Women television writers Writers from Buenos Aires