Gerardo Chijona Valdés

Born in Havana, 1949. Having graduated in English Language and Literature from the University of Havana, in 1974 he joined the Centre for Cinematographic Information in the ICAIC (The Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry), where he was a film critic. Two years later he began to work as a production assistant on films such as Río Negro (1976) by Manuel Pérez and Leyenda (1981) by Rogelio París and Jorge Fraga. He worked as assistant director to Pastor Vega in Retrato de Teresa (1979) and Habanera (1984) and to Rogelio París in Canto a la vida (1983). In 1984 he made his debut as a director of documentary films, in which capacity he has won numerous awards at international festivals.

Chijona participated in screenwriting and directing workshops at the Sundance Institute under the guidance of directors such as Sydney J. Pollack, Oliver Stone and James Brooks. His first fiction feature film Adorables mentiras, which had its premiere at the Sundance Festival in 1992, was also a candidate for the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Festival. He has also received awards for his work in national festivals (“26 de Julio”, UNEAC) and in international ones (Rio de Janeiro, New York, Moscow, Havana, Bilbao....). He is currently working as a screenplay and directing advisor at the International School of Film and TV in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.