Miguel Ernesto Littin Cucumides (born 9 August 1942) is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

. He was born to a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

father, Hernán Littin and a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

mother, Cristina Cucumides.

Career

Miguel Littin directed ''

El Chacal de Nahueltoro ''Jackal of Nahueltoro'' ( es, El Chacal de Nahueltoro) is a 1969 Chilean drama film directed by Miguel Littín, based on the true story of Jorge Valenzuela Torres, a poor farmer who, during a drunken rampage in 1960, murdered his partner and fi ...

'' (1969) becoming a figure of the New Latin American Cinema. Littin was exiled in

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

shortly after

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

came to power in a military coup, which ousted President

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

, on September 11, 1973. His 1973 film '' The Promised Land'' was entered into the Cannes Film Festival, New York film festival and the

8th Moscow International Film Festival The 8th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1973. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius and the Bulgarian film ''Affection'' directed by Lud ...

. In México he directed several films: * ''

Letters from Marusia ''Letters from Marusia'' ( es, Actas de Marusia) is a 1975 Mexican film directed by Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. The ...

'', based on a miners strike in Chile. ''Letters from Marusia'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. * ''El Recurso del Método'' (''Long Live the President'') based on

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...

's novel '' El Recurso del método'' (''Reasons of State''); a co-production with Mexico, France and Cuba. * ''

The Widow of Montiel ''The Widow of Montiel'' ( es, La Viuda de Montiel) is a 1979 Mexican-Colombian drama film directed by Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littín. It is based on a short story of the same name by Gabriel García Marquez. It was entered into the 30th Berli ...

'', with

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

, based on a

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

short story. Then he went to Nicaragua to make

Alsino and the Condor ''Alsino and the Condor'' ( es, Alsino y el cóndor) is a 1982 Nicaraguan film directed by Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It won the Golden Prize at the 13th Moscow Interna ...

, based on the novel '' Alsino'' by

Pedro Prado Pedro Prado Calvo (8 October 1886 – 31 January 1952) was a Chilean writer and architect. He won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1949. Biography Prado was born to parents Absalón Prado Marín and Laura Calvo on October 8, 1886. H ...

. In 1981 he was a member of the jury at the

12th Moscow International Film Festival The 12th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1981. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Brazilian film '' O Homem que Virou Suco'' directed by João Batista de Andrade, the Vietnamese film '' The Abandoned Field: Free ...

. After moving to Spain in 1984, Littin decided to enter Chile clandestinely to make a documentary that showed the condition of the country under the Pinochet regime. It was made the subject of Nobel Laureate

Gabriel Garcia Marquez In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

's book '' Clandestine in Chile: The Adventures of Miguel Littin''. This book chronicles his incognito escapades in Chile as he exposes the regime. He eventually returned to Chile where he continued to make films, among them ''

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

'', based on the adventures of explorer

Julius Popper Julius Popper (December 15, 1857 – June 5, 1893), also known in Spanish language, Spanish as Julio Popper (), was a Wallachia, Wallachian-born Romanian-Argentine engineer, adventurer, and explorer. Popper was one of the perpetrators of the Sel ...

; and '' Dawson, Isla 10'', about a group of political prisoners sent to Dawson's Island during Pinochet's regime. Littin was the mayor of his home town in the center valley, Palmilla in 1992-94 and re-elected for the period 1996–2000. His films ''Actas de Marusia'' and ''Alsino and the Condor'' were nominated by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

for Best Film in a Foreign Language. ''Alsino and the Condor'' won the Golden Prize at the

13th Moscow International Film Festival The 13th Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; ab ...

. His 2005 film ''

The Last Moon ''Last Moon'' ( es, La última luna) is a 2005 Chilean-Mexican drama film directed by Miguel Littín. It was entered into the 27th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Aymann Abuloff as Solymann * Tamara Acosta Tamara Olga Acosta Zambr ...

'' was entered into the

27th Moscow International Film Festival The 27th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 17 to 26 July 2005. The Golden George was awarded to the Russian film ''Dreaming of Space'' directed by Alexei Uchitel. Jury * Valentin Chernykh (Russia – Head of the Jury) * Nicola ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Littin, Miguel 1942 births Ariel Award winners Best Director Ariel Award winners Living people People from Colchagua Province Chilean people of Palestinian descent Chilean film directors Chilean screenwriters Male screenwriters Chilean people of Greek descent Instituto Regional Federico Errázuriz alumni University of Chile alumni Mayors of places in Chile