Alberto De Zavalia (4 May 1911 – 7 May 1988 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

) 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 ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

and

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

Biography

De Zavalía was born in Buenos Aires to a middle-class, well-off family. He completed

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

but never worked as a lawyer, instead dedicating himself to movie-making, an industry that was then thriving. In 1935, he co-founded with

Luis Saslavsky Luis Saslavsky (April 21, 1903 – March 20, 1995) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer, and one of the influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era. Personal life Saskavsky was born in Rosario, Sa ...

the producer SIFAL, which disbanded that very same year, but each of its founders managed to debut as filmmakers: De Zavalía directed '' Escala en la ciudad'', which he also wrote, while Saslavsky directed his second and most famous movie, '' Crimen a las tres''. De Zavalía went on to writer and direct '' The Caranchos of Florida'' in 1938, but came to prominence in 1939 when he was asked to adapt a biography of the recently deceased

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...

to the screen, starring Hugo del Carril. It was during production that he met actress Delia Garcés, who went on to become her wife and starred in most of his films then on. De Zavalía directed another 12 movies throughout his career, also writing the last two. He retired in 1950 from movie business, and died in 1988.

Filmography

*''El Otro yo de Marcela'' (1950) *''La Doctora quiere tangos'' (1949) *''De padre desconocido'' (1949) *''El Hombre que amé'' (1947) *''Rosa de América'' (1946) *''El Gran amor de Bécquer'' (1946) * (1944) *''Cuando florezca el naranjo'' (1943) *'' Malambo'' (1942) *''Concierto de almas'' (1942) *''20 años y una noche'' (1941) *''La Maestrita de los obreros'' (1941) *''Dama de compañía'' (1940) *''

The Life of Carlos Gardel ''The Life of Carlos Gardel'' (Spanish: ''La vida de Carlos Gardel'') is a 1939 Argentine musical film directed by Alberto de Zavalía and starring Hugo del Carril, Delia Garces and Elsa O'Connor. The premiered in Buenos Aires on May 24, 1939. ...

'' (1939) *'' The Caranchos of Florida'' (1938) *'' Escala en la ciudad'' (1935)

External links

* 1911 births 1988 deaths Argentine film directors Argentine film producers {{Argentina-film-director-stub