Damián Szifron

"The cinema has this ability to make you closer to someone you are not, but with whom you can form a bond thanks to the narrative point of view.” Born in Argentina in 1975, Damián Szifron is a crucial figure in the evolution of Argentine cinema for his ability to reflect reality through an existential and creative lens. The director and screenwriter is the mastermind behind stories that explore the absurd, the dark, and the most visceral desires of human nature, such as the series Los Simuladores (2002), a hit across Latin America, the film El fondo del mar (2003), and his Almodovar-produced hit Relatos Salvajes (2014), which brought him international recognition and nominations for awards such as the Oscar and the Goya, ultimately winning the BAFTA for Best Foreign Picture. His work has been influenced by directors such as Hitchcock, Kubrick and Tarantino, and his style blends black humor with social criticism, while also combining genres to create psychologically complex characters and achieve a tense, deep and chaotic narrative. His works are a feast of emotions, taking the form of stories of revenge and satire. In 2023, Szifron made his Hollywood debut with Misanthrope and was invited to serve as a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, confirming his strong presence in global cinema.