Joseph Novoa

Joseph Novoa (Jose Ramon Novoa or Jose R. Novoa) is a Venezuelan-Uruguayan Film Director and Executive Producer with a renowned career.^[1] He is married to the Director and Scriptwriter Elia K. Schneider and is the father of the Film Director Joel Novoa.

Biography

Joseph Novoa was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on August 22, 1950. He studied architecture in Uruguay but his real path was the arts. He started the entertainment career at El Teatro Circular of Uruguay. Following his dream he moved to Paris to study Performance Arts in the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. In Paris he founded the theatre group El Circo and organized and performed different plays. He got a scholarship from the Danish Government to work with Eugenio Barba Directing Te Odin Teatret (Holstebro, Denmark). He lived in Europe for a few years where he Directed and Produced plays that were presented in Theater Festivals like Festival d'Avignon and Festival Nancy. Some of the plays were "The night of the Assassins", "Masks" and "The Exile of the Sun".

In Venezuela he became the Associate Director of the International Theater Festival (Theatre of Nations - UNESCO) in 1978 and 1982. He received the Critven Award (Critic's Prize for best lighting) for the play "Gaz". He studied film at the New York University and Television at the New School of Arts.

As a Film Director he released his debut long feature "Agony" in 1984 in the Montreal Film Festival and The Indian Film Festival. His movie "Assassin's for Hire" (Sicario) was released in 1994 and was in theaters for 35 weeks becoming one of the bigger blockbusters in Venezuela. It received 27 awards from international film festivals and was the official selection from Venezuela to the Oscars in 1995.

His third movie "Devil's Gold" (Oro Diablo, 1999) was another blockbuster in Venezuela and won 3 international awards becoming the official selection for the Oscars in Venezuela's behalf. "The Boss" (2006) and "A Distant Place" (2009) received good critics from national and international press. A distant Place went to different festivals in Europe, America and Asia. This is the only Venezuelan movie shoot with Panavision cameras in cinemascope 35mm. "Alone" (2014) was his sixth movie as a Director.

He worked as a Producer in some Venezuelan feature films: Glue Sniffer (1999), Step Forward (Punto y Raya, 2004), Un-Authorized (2009), God's Slave (2013) and Tamara that is going to be released this 2015. Internationally he produced In This Tricky Life (Uruguay, 2001), Be Happy (Chile, 2004), Encarnacion (Argentina, 2007), Polvo Nuestro Que Estas en los Cielos (Argentina, 2008), El Premio (Peru, 2009), Verdades Verdaderas La Vida de Estela (Argentina, 2011) y Cuchillos en el Cielo (Peru, 2013).

His films had participated in more than hundred International Film Festivals an received more than 80 important awards. The most recent was thee SEGIB Award by Ibermedia for his last production Tamara.

He is member by invitation of the Spanish Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences (Goya Awards). He was the founder and first VP of the Board of Trustees of the Iberoamerican Federation of Cinematographers (FIPCA), president of the Federation of Film Producers in Venezuela (CAVEPROL) and was a member of the board of National Autonomous Center of Film in Venezuela (CNAC).

He moved to Los Angeles California and from there he is developing new projects using English as the speaking language. Some of his projects are the featured films Bullet Lullaby and Pando, the documentary Music and Action and a TV Show. As Producer he is working n the movie Unfit Directed by Elia K. Schneider.

Filmography

Long Feature Films

• Tamara (2015 | Producer-Editor)
• Alone (Solo, 2014 | Producer-Director)
• God's Slave (Esclavo de Dios, 2013 | Producer)
• A Distant Place (Un Lugar Lejano, 2009 | Producer-Director)
• An-Authorized (Des-Autorizados, 2007 | Producer)
• The Boss (El Don, 2006 | Producer-Director)
• Step Forward (Punto y Raya, 2004 | Producer) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
• Devil Gold (Oro Diablo - Garimpeiros, 2000 | Producer-Director-) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
• Glue Sniffer (Huelepega, 1999 | Producer-Editor) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
• Assassin's for Hire (Sicario, 1994 | Producer-Director-Editor) OSCAR-Academy Awards Entry- Best Foreign Film
• Agony (Agonia, 1985 | Writer-Producer-Director-Editor)

Short Films

• Borrowed Lands (Tierras Prestadas. 1981 | Producer-Editor)
• Pedro Navaja (1980 | Writer-Producer-Director-Editor)
• The Big World (El Gran Mundo, 1979 | Writer-Producer-Director-Editor)

International Co-productions

• El Premio (2009) Directed by Alberto Chicho Durant, Peru.
• Encarnación (2007) Directed by Anahi Berneri, Argentina.
• Be Happy (2004) Directed by Gonzalo Justiniano, Chile.
• In This Tricky Life (En la Puta Vida, 2002) Directed by Beatriz Flores Silva, Uruguay.

Awards

Future Projects

Right now Joseph Novoa is working in a variety of six English and Spanish spoken language films all together with his wife and son, both of them Directors, Producers and Screenwriters.^[2] All the movies have different estimated costs and are likely to be co-produced with other countries. In each movie his role will vary between Producing, Directing and Screenwriter.

• “Ashes of the Condor” is based on a Fernando Butazzoni novel where he exposes his research about the Operation Condor.
• “Blind” is set in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict where two brothers face each other supporting different sides of the conflict.
• “Bullet Lullaby” is an adaptation of Sicario (1995) set in the Mexican border with California and Texas.
• “Pando”, this one is going to be in Spanish with subtitles, tells the story of a city when the guerillas try to take it.
• "The Box" is the story of a Cuban and the interesting way in which he manages to get himself into US.
• "Unfiy"in this movie they tell the story of the eugenics program originated in California in the 90's and from where the Nazis adapted their way to build an Aryan race.

See also

List of Venezuelan films

References