Pablo Daniel Magee (born 22 April 1985) is a French Swiss author, investigative journalist, screenwriter and playwright.

Early life and education

His father is the Swiss painter, sculptor and filmmaker Patrice Stellest. His mother is a poet and photographer who named her son after

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

. He grew up in

Saint-Rémy de Provence Saint-Rémy or Saint-Remy (French for Saint Remigius) may refer to: Places Belgium * Saint-Remy, district of the municipality of Chimay, province of Hainaut, Wallonia * Saint-Remy, district of the municipality of Blegny, province of Liège, Wall ...

. He was inspired to become a journalist by reading the adventures of

Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...

at a young age and after meeting

Jorge Semprún Jorge Semprún Maura (; 10 December 1923 – 7 June 2011) was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived cla ...

– an author,

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

survivor and

scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; from Italian , "that which is pinned to the scenery") is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and actio ...

writer for

Costa Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

– during his final year at the Lycée Mistral of

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. Having obtained his literary baccalaureat, he was about to enter the

Institut d'Etudes Politiques An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

in Paris when he shifted from this initial academic choice and travelled to Peru. Upon his return to Europe in 2005, he attended the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

, in London, where he pursued a multiple programme in philosophy, the arts, cinema and journalism. During his London years, his philosophy professor disclosed to him that he had worked for the cabinet of U.S. Secretary of State

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

and had attended meetings with the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

that focused on the coup d'état against Chilean President

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

and the United States' support for

Operation Condor Operation Condor (; ) was a campaign of political repression by the right-wing dictatorships of the Southern Cone of South America, involving intelligence operations, coups, and assassinations of left-wing sympathizers in South America which fo ...

in Latin America. This prompted Magee to become closely interested in the issue. In 2012, he traveled to Paraguay, where he met Martin Almada, human rights defender, and discoverer in 1992 of the

archives, and decided to write a book about him. In 2013, he left France to settle in Paraguay for an investigation that was to last eight years, during which he met and interviewed personalities such as

Stéphane Hessel Stéphane Frédéric Hessel (born Stefan Friedrich Kaspar Hessel; 20 October 1917 – 26 February 2013) was a French diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, Resistance member and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a nat ...

Robert Badinter Robert Badinter (; 30 March 1928 – 9 February 2024) was a French lawyer, politician, and author who enacted the abolition of capital punishment in France in 1981, while serving as Minister of Justice under François Mitterrand. He also serve ...

, Juan-Martín Guevara (brother of revolutionary

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

Pierre Rabhi Pierre Rabhi (born Rabah Rabhi; 29 May 1938 – 4 December 2021) was a French writer, farmer, and environmentalist. Originally a Muslim, he converted to Christianity before abandoning that religion as well. Rabhi studied in France, and is consi ...

Jean Ziegler Jean Ziegler (; born Hans Ziegler, 19 April 1934) is a Swiss former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris, and former vice-president of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He ...

, Miguel Angel Estrella, and

. Parallel to his research, Magee devotes his time to dramatic and journalistic writing, contributing articles to international journals such as ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

''. He also familiarizes himself with buddhist scriptures at the

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

, under the supervision of Professor

Charles Hallisey Charles Hallisey is the Yehan Numata Senior Lecturer on Buddhist Literatures at Harvard Divinity School and an authority on Sinhala literature and Theravada Buddhism. Biography Hallisey obtained his AB from Colgate University, M.Div. from Harvard ...

, Yehan Numata Senior Lecturer on buddhist literatures at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Work

Literature

In 2020, Magee published with Editions Saint-Simon. This non-fiction novel focuses on the life of Paraguayan human rights defender Martin Almada, also known as "the hunter of the Condor" for having unearthed the Terror Archives of Operation Condor in 1992. Opération Condor is prefaced by filmmaker

, president of the

Cinémathèque Française A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typically ...

and director of the films ''Missing'' and ''

State of Siege ''State of Siege'' () is a 1972 French–Italian–West German political thriller film directed by Costa-Gavras starring Yves Montand and Renato Salvatori. The story is based on an actual incident in 1970, when U.S. official Dan Mitrione was k ...

''. The cover of the book is the photograph of a condor taken by renowned wildlife argentinean photographer Eliseo Miciu. In the 6 February 2021 edition of ''Marianne'', philosopher

Robert Redeker Robert Redeker is a French writer and philosophy teacher. He was teaching at the Pierre-Paul-Riquet high school, in Saint-Orens-de-Gameville, and at the École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile. He is currently in hiding under police protection. On ...

writes: ''"The real-life novel of Pablo Daniel Magee, breathtaking like a crime novel, moving like a love novel, political like a spy novel and educational like a historical novel installs in the European imagination a character worthy of a place next to Antigone"''. In his book, Magee is the first investigator to establish the presence of Cuban revolutionary

in Paraguay on 3 October 1966, based on

Top Secret Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...

documents of the Archive of Terror and testimonies of first-hand witnesses such as Joel Filartiga, whose role was interpreted by actor

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

biopic ''

One Man's War ''One Man's War'' is a 1991 television drama film set in Paraguay in 1976, under the dictatorship of General Alfredo Stroessner. It is based on the true story of Joel Filártiga (played by Anthony Hopkins), who sought justice for his son's death ...

''. Magee later dedicated a trilogy of chronicles entitled ''My uncle the Che'' to this part of his investigation, published in the political analysis magazine ''Terere Cómplice'' in 2022. On 25 May 2021 Opération Condor was added to the U.S.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Following the book's publication, Almada was decorated with the National Order of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

, on 6 December 2021. The latest work by Magee, ''Pundonoroso/Honorablissime'', published in the

Southern Cone The Southern Cone (, ) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pac ...

in a bilingual French/Spanish edition by Edición Servilibro, retraces Martin Almada’s journey in search of historical justice. The book is prefaced by Agustín Nuñez, a master of South American theater, who describes it as occupying ''"a central place in the Latin American cultural pantheon"''. This work is illustrated by urban street artist Oz Montanía. The author relates that he was a victim of continuous threats against his life during his investigation and the writing of these two works, which he has dedicated to preserving the memory of the horrors of Latin American dictatorships.

Books

* , Éditions Lapachos, 2014, 37p. ISBN 978-9-99532-884-9 * , Saint-Simon, 2020, 378p. ISBN 978-2-37435-025-7 * ''Pundonoroso/Honorablissime'', Servilibro, 2021, 117p. ISBN 978-99925-254-1-8

Cinema

Between 2005 and 2009, Magee worked for

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

in the production teams of many American blockbusters, including ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

'' by

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

, and ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'' by

Rob Letterman Robert Thomas Letterman (born October 31, 1970) is an American film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut as co-director of the animated comedy film ''Shark Tale'' (2004), for which he received a nomination for the Annie Award ...

. During those years, he shared film sets with actors

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...

Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Laura Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Emily Blunt, several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition t ...

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from York University in 2001 with a BFA in theatre, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film '' Perfect Pie'' (2002), ...

, and

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...

This immersion in the world of cinema fuelled his passion for the field. Magee reported in a televised interview that Sir

told him about the dictatorship in Paraguay and his interpretation of human rights activist Joel Filartiga, when they met on the set of '' Wolfman'' by

Joe Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston II (born May 13, 1950) is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' (1989), '' The Rocketeer' ...

, which also encouraged the young writer to study paraguayan history. In 2009, Pablo Daniel Magee wrote and directed a short film titled ''Pass:on'' for Watch a Thought Productions, in which he featured eight international artistes, four painters and four musicians, who did a free

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

, live and direct, of a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

and an original piece of music. The painters Magee directed included his father, artist Patrice Stellest. Magee also collaborated for this work with British musician John Altman, film score composer of ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' by

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

, ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

:'' '' Golden Eye'' and ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy thriller film and the twenty-fifth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series, and the fifth and final to star Daniel Craig as fictional British MI6 agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bon ...

'', or

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

’s ''

Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British biblical black comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michae ...

''; composer for

Barry White Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

; and musician with the bands of

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

and many others, as he describes in his memoirs ''Hidden Man: My many musical lives''. In 2011, Magee co-authored and directed the short 3D movie ''Stellest Genesis'' for artist Patrice Stellest. For this work he collaborated with New York City DJ

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

, who composed the music for it. In 2018, he collaborated with Canadian filmmaker Jorge Diaz de Bedoya to develop the scenario for the feature film ''El Supremo Manuscrito'', which plunges the spectator into the corrupt world of contemporary Paraguay in search of the last manuscript of writer

Augusto Roa Bastos Augusto Roa Bastos (13 June 1917 – 26 April 2005) was a Paraguayan novelist and short story writer. As a teenager he fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, and he later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and professor. ...

, stolen by art traffickers.

Film awards

''Stellest Genesis'' * Best International Peace Short Award at the Dubai Independent film festival 2022 * Best Music Video Award at the Five Continents International Film Festival 2022 * Best Animated Film Gold Award at the Hollywood Gold Awards Film Festival 2022 * Best Music Video Gold Award at the Hollywood Gold Awards Film Festival 2022 * Best Music Video Award at the London Movie Awards 2022 * Honorable Mention Award in the Best Animation Film category at the Los Angeles Film Awards 2022 * Best Short Animation Silver Award at the Milan Gold Awards Film Festival 2022 * Honorable Mention Award in the Best Short Animation Category at the Paris Film Awards 2022 * Honorable Mention Award in the Best Original Score category at the South Film and Arts Academy Festival 2022 * Best Animation Short Film Audience Award at the South Film and Arts Academy Festival 2022 * Best Short Animation Award at the South Film and Arts Academy Festival 2022 * Honorable Mention Award in the Best Screenplay in a Short Film category at the South Film and Arts Academy Festival 2022 * Best Sound and Music Award at the Wildsound Writing and Film Festival - Toronto 2022 * Best Short Animation Award at the Arthouse Festival of Beverly Hills 2022 ''PASS:ON'' * Best Experimental Short Award at the Five Continents International Film Festival 2022 * Nominee in the Best Director category at the Los Angeles Film Awards 2022 * Honorable Mention Award in the Best Experimental Film category at the Los Angeles Film Awards 2022 * Nominee in the Best Experimental Short category at the Hollywood International Golden Age Festival 2022 * Best Experimental Film Award at the London International Short Film Festival 2022 * Nominee in the Best Experimental Film category at the London Movie Awards 2022 * Honorable Mention Award in the Best Video Art Film category at the Los Angeles Experimental Forum Film Awards 2022 * Nominee in the Best Poetic Film category at the Sensei Tokyo Film Festival 2022 * Best Experimental Short Award at the Rio de Janeiro World Film Festival 2022 * Nominee in the Best Poetic Film category at the Lonely Wolf - London International Film Festival 2022 * Nominee in the Best New Media category at the Lonely Wolf - London International Film Festival 2022 * Honorable Mention Award in the Best Experimental Film category at the New York Movie Awards 2022 * Best Director at the New York Movie Awards 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Pablo Daniel 21st-century French male writers 1985 births Living people Alumni of the University of Greenwich Writers from Paris 21st-century French dramatists and playwrights 21st-century French journalists French male dramatists and playwrights French male journalists