Demián Rugna (born September 13, 1979) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

horror films Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

Biography

Rugna was born in Haedo,

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. From an early age, he made his own

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s that recreated his favorite movies. This led him, years later, to study comic illustration under Horacio Lalia, from whom he learned visual storytelling. In 2003, he graduated from

Universidad de Morón The Universidad de Morón (University of Morón) is a private university located in Morón, Buenos Aires province, Argentina, and was founded in 1960. Ten faculties offer courses on Agronomy and Agro-alimentary Sciences; Architecture, Design, ...

with a degree in

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

. In 2005, after making several

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s in the horror genre, he wrote the original screenplay for the film ''Death Knows Your Name''. In 2007 he directed his first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

, based on one of his short films named ''The Last Gateway''. In 2008 he wrote the original screenplay ''They Want My Eyes''. His second feature film as a director was ''Cursed Bastards'', which he co-wrote and co-directed with Fabián Forte. It was released nationwide in Argentina in 2013. Between 2016 and 2017, two of his films were released: ''You Don't Know Who You're Talking To'' and '' Terrified''. ''Terrified'' was a commercial success and considered one of the best Argentine horror films in recent years, winning Best Picture in the Horror category at Fantastic Fest. Although already a commercial success based on its performance in Argentine theaters, its release on the streaming service

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

additionally had large viewership numbers. In 2022 Rugna filmed his next feature film, '' When Evil Lurks'', while participating in the project ''

Satanic Hispanics ''Satanic Hispanics'' is a 2022 horror anthology film written by Alejandro Méndez, Demián Rugna, Lino K. Villa and Pete Barnstrom, directed by Mike Mendez, Demián Rugna, Eduardo Sánchez, Gigi Saul Guerrero and Alejandro Brugués and starri ...

'', an anthology of horror stories from

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n directors, with his story ''I Also Saw It''. ''When Evil Lurks'' had its

world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

at the 2023

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in the "Midnight Madness" section.

Filmography

* ''The Last Gateway'' (2007) * ''Cursed Bastards'' (2011): segments ''Cafeomancia'' and ''El curandero'' * ''You Don't Know Who You're Talking To'' (2016) * '' Terrified'' (2017) * ''

'' (2022): segment ''I Also Saw It'' * '' When Evil Lurks'' (2023)

Awards and recognition

* Best Feature Film at the 2023

Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...

in the Oficial Fantàstic Competition section for '' When Evil Lurks''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rugna, Demian Argentine film directors Argentine male screenwriters Argentine screenwriters 21st-century Argentine screenwriters Film people from Buenos Aires Spanish-language film directors Argentine horror film directors 1979 births Living people