Sebastián Sepúlveda (born 1972) is a Chilean

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 ...

, film producer,

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and

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Life and career

Sepúlveda was born in Concepción,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. He lived the first 18 years of his life between Europe and South America due to his family's exile from Chile during the military regime. On return to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in 1990, he began studying history. Towards the end of the 1990s Sepúlveda studied at two prestigious film schools, La Fémis in

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(screenwriting) and Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión,

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(editing) and began creating his first short films. He was involved in editing and writing a number of films in the 2000s, including '' Young and Wild'' (2012). Sepúlveda's directorial debut was the documentary ''O Areal'' ''(The Sandpit)'', about the Guajará community in

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’s

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. Sepúlveda received funding from Fonds Sud cinema (managed by France's

Institut Français The Institut Français (; French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for promoting French, francophone as ...

) to create his next film as director, '' The Quispe Girls''. The film was based on the true story of the Quispe sisters who died in mysterious circumstances in 1974 and stars Catalina Saavedra as well as Digna Quispe, the niece of one of the Quispe sisters. ''The Quispe Girls'' won the audience's award at the FILMAR Festival of Latin American film and also screened at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

Filmography

Director

* '' The Quispe Girls'', 2013 * ''O Areal'' ''(The Sandpit)'', documentary, 2008

Screenwriter

* '' The Quispe Girls'', 2013 * '' Young and Wild'', 2012 * ''Grado 3'', 2009 * ''Maria y el Nuevo Mundo'', documentary, 2009 * ''O Areal'' ''(The Sandpit)'', documentary, 2008

Editor

* '' The Blue Trail'' (''O Último Azul''), 2025, * '' Spencer'', 2021 * '' Lisey's Story (series)'', 2021 * '' Ema (film)'', 2019 * '' Chicuarotes'', 2019 * '' Jackie'' (2016) * '' El Club'', 2015 * '' Young and Wild'', 2012 * '' Ulysses'', 2011 * '' The Year of the Tiger'', 2011 * ''Maria y el Nuevo Mundo'', documentary, 2009 * ''O Areal'' ''(The Sandpit)'', documentary, 2008 * ''The crime of Zacarias Barrientos'', documentary, 2008 * '' La León'', 2007 * ''Ralco'', documentary, 1999 * ''Sensibile'' Short, 1998

Producer

* ''O Areal'' ''(The Sandpit)'', documentary, 2008 * ''Jo jo jo'', short, 1996

References

Chilean film directors Living people Chilean screenwriters Chilean male screenwriters 1972 births People from Concepción, Chile {{Chile-film-director-stub