Diego Quemada-Díez

Born in the iberian peninsula. He has lived in the American continent for over two decades. Nationalized Mexican. His first job in the film industry was in Ken Loach's film Land and Freedom. His graduation film at the American Film Institute (AFI) as writer/director/DoP, A Table is a Table, won the Best Cinematography award given by the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). He then went on to collaborate as camera operator with directors Alejandro Gonzalez-Iñarritu (21 Grams), Tony Scott (Man on Fire), Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener), Spike Lee, among others, as he wrote and directed his own short films and documentaries. In 2006 he premiered his second short film I Want to Be A Pilot at the Sundance Film Festival. The film played at over 200 festivals and won over 50 awards, including Audience Award at La Mostra Sao Paulo Film Festival, Special Mention at the Amiens Film Festival. That same year he directed in Mexico his short documentary La Morena, that premiered at Morelia Film Festival in 2007. In 2010 he won a scholarship awarded by Cannes Film Festival Cinéfondation, which enabled him to participate in the Cannes Film Festival Atelier workshop with his first long-feature film, La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Dream). The film was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival -Un Certain Regard Official Selection-, winning Un Certain Talent Award, Gillo Pontecorvo Award and François Chalais Special Mention Award. As a Director he has won Best Director at Vladivostock FF, Best New Director Hugo Award at the Chicago FF, Best Director at Tesalonica FF, Best Director at Havana New York FF, Best Director at Luis Buñuel Calanda FF in Spain, Best Director from Satjavit Ray Foundation at the London FF and Jean Renoir Award in France. It also won Best First Film in Lima, La Habana, República Dominicana and Best Film in Mumbai (Golden Gateway of India), Mar de Plata (Astor de Oro), Tesalónica (Golden Alexander Theo Angelopoulos) and Zurich (Golden Eye). In its Mexican premiere at the Morelia Film Festival, the film won three awards: Audience Award, Best First Film and Press Guerrero Award. Then it won 9 Arieles from the Mexican Film Academy (Mexican Oscars), including Best Film, Best First Film and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Iberoamerican Film at the Fenix Iberoamerican Awards. The film was eligible for the 88th Academy Awards. Until now the film has received 81 awards, becoming the most awarded Mexican film in history and one of the most awarded in the world. He is a member of the Mexican Motion Picture Academy (AMAAC), Mexican Directors Association, Mexican Writers Association (SOGEM), Mexican National System of Creators (SNCA), LatinAmerican Filmmaker Association Cinema 23 / Fenix Awards.