Dany Saadia
Encyclopedia
Dany Saadia is a Mexican
interactive entrepreneur
, screenwriter
and filmmaker.
to Victor Saadia and Lisette, both French citizens who moved to Mexico after World War 2. He speaks fluent Spanish, French and English; and Portuguese and Arabic to some degree.
Saadia graduated from the Lycée Franco-Mexicain
in Mexico City, tried 3 different universities in Mexico, and then applied to the State University of New York at Stony Brook
where he majored in Mathematics
with a minor in Anthropology
and French.
After graduating from college, he went back to Mexico, and studied Directing for Theater in the Centro de Arte Dramático AC (CADAC) with Héctor Azar, and after completing the two-year program, he moved back to New York and studied Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy
, where he studied with Gael García.
. The film won 'Best Screenplay' at the 2004 Rhode Island Film Festival, and 'Best Short Film' at the 2004 Austin Film Festival
, among others. Genesis 3:19 went on to be in the Short List for the 2006 Academy Awards
nominations.
, Felix Gomez, Juan Diaz, Barbara Goenaga and Diana Bracho. The soundtrack was scored by Robin Guthrie
, ex-Cocteau Twins
. Ivan Aledo, a two-time winner of the Spanish Academy Award "Goya" and seven-time nominee for Best Editing, edited "3:19".
The world premiere of 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad was during the 2008 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
. Variety
film critic Robert Koehler
wrote "An improbable juggling of romantic comedy and fatal-illness melodrama makes for a somewhat dazzling show in Dany Saadia's debut, 3:19 Pic hints at a work made by a young Claude Lelouch had he been trained as a mathematician, as a dying guy's desire for a woman he's only seen once sets off a chain reaction of relationships that may or may not be caused by chance alone."
During the festival run, 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad won 'Best Director' in the 2008 Málaga Spanish Film Festival, and won for 'Best Film' and for 'Best Actor' for Miguel Angel Silvestre in the 2008 Mostra de Valencia. 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad has been distributed in Spain
, Mexico and other countries.
In Rainbows Contest to create a full length animated video clip for Radiohead
, and his video clip submission Faust Arp was one of the finalists of the In Rainbows Animated Music Video Contest.
Saadia is currently working on a new script about time-travel.
in 1999 for an undisclosed amount, and later became Ogilvy Interactive Mexico.
In 2005, Saadia founded Dixo, the first and leading network of podcasts and blogs in Mexico. Dixo signed in 2007 an alliance deal with prodigy/msn, a joint venture between Microsoft
and Telmex
, for commercial distribution and sale of their content and catalog.
In 2008, Saadia and Rafael Jimenez, who resigned his position as CEO of Yahoo! Mexico, started 'Substance', an interactive agency that won the Interactive Agency of the Year 2009.
film critic Robert Koehler
wrote "Saadia has built his feature on the groundwork of his 2004 short, Genesis 3:19, but the final work may be overbuilt," expanding, "Saadia's warm cast, full of youthful Spanish thesps (many direct from the Iberian tube), add a lightness of being to a film that gets a little too eager to fling ideas at the viewer." However, he granted that "Production values add considerable allure to the brainy entertainment, decked out with an interesting score by the Cocteau Twins
' Robin Guthrie
."
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
interactive entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and filmmaker.
Early life and education
Saadia was born in Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
to Victor Saadia and Lisette, both French citizens who moved to Mexico after World War 2. He speaks fluent Spanish, French and English; and Portuguese and Arabic to some degree.
Saadia graduated from the Lycée Franco-Mexicain
Lycée Franco-Mexicain
The Lycée Franco-Mexicain is a private French school located in Mexico City's Polanco district. It is one of the largest French Lycées in the world with over 3000 students in two campuses, Polanco in northern Mexico City and Coyoacán in the South, there is also another dependency located in the...
in Mexico City, tried 3 different universities in Mexico, and then applied to the State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
where he majored in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
with a minor in Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and French.
After graduating from college, he went back to Mexico, and studied Directing for Theater in the Centro de Arte Dramático AC (CADAC) with Héctor Azar, and after completing the two-year program, he moved back to New York and studied Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy - School of Film and Acting is a film school andacting school based in New York City, Universal City, California, USA and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. NYFA offers short-term film-making and acting courses, as well as one- and two-year conservatory and Master of Fine Arts...
, where he studied with Gael García.
Genesis 3:19
In 2003 he wrote and directed Genesis 3:19 a short film whose world premiere was at the 2004 Tribeca Film FestivalTribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
. The film won 'Best Screenplay' at the 2004 Rhode Island Film Festival, and 'Best Short Film' at the 2004 Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
, among others. Genesis 3:19 went on to be in the Short List for the 2006 Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominations.
3:19 Nada Es Casualidad
In 2006 he wrote and directed his first feature feature film, 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad, a Spanish-Mexican production, in Valencia, Spain. It starred Miguel Angel SilvestreMiguel Ángel Silvestre
Miguel Ángel Silvestre Rambla is a Spanish actor. -Biography:He was going to become a professional tennis player, but he suffered an injury in a Hungarian tournament...
, Felix Gomez, Juan Diaz, Barbara Goenaga and Diana Bracho. The soundtrack was scored by Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie is a musician best known as co-founder of the Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing...
, ex-Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
. Ivan Aledo, a two-time winner of the Spanish Academy Award "Goya" and seven-time nominee for Best Editing, edited "3:19".
The world premiere of 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad was during the 2008 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a film festival and non-profit organization, established in 1985, that showcases independent American and international films. The SBIFF line-up includes 20 world premieres and 11 U.S. premieres, with newly expanded 11-day festival...
. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
film critic Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler was a German-born painter and art teacher who spent most of his career in the United States of America.-Biography:...
wrote "An improbable juggling of romantic comedy and fatal-illness melodrama makes for a somewhat dazzling show in Dany Saadia's debut, 3:19 Pic hints at a work made by a young Claude Lelouch had he been trained as a mathematician, as a dying guy's desire for a woman he's only seen once sets off a chain reaction of relationships that may or may not be caused by chance alone."
During the festival run, 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad won 'Best Director' in the 2008 Málaga Spanish Film Festival, and won for 'Best Film' and for 'Best Actor' for Miguel Angel Silvestre in the 2008 Mostra de Valencia. 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad has been distributed in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Mexico and other countries.
Faust Arp
In 2008 he entered the AniboomAniBOOM
Aniboom is an online production studio that makes animation by reaching out to its database of over 9,500 creators who are located around the globe...
In Rainbows Contest to create a full length animated video clip for Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, and his video clip submission Faust Arp was one of the finalists of the In Rainbows Animated Music Video Contest.
Saadia is currently working on a new script about time-travel.
Interactive entrepreneurship
In 1996, Saadia, Eric Descombes, Rafael Jimenez and Geraldina Jimenez founded Interfaz 401, an interactive agency that was sold to WPP GroupWPP Group
WPP plc is a global media communications services company with its main management office in London, United Kingdom and its executive office in Dublin, Ireland. It is the world's largest advertising group by revenues, and employs over 150,000 people in 2,400 offices in 107 countries...
in 1999 for an undisclosed amount, and later became Ogilvy Interactive Mexico.
In 2005, Saadia founded Dixo, the first and leading network of podcasts and blogs in Mexico. Dixo signed in 2007 an alliance deal with prodigy/msn, a joint venture between Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and Telmex
Telmex
Telmex is a telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunication products and services in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and other countries in Latin America. In addition to traditional fixed-line telephone service, Telmex also offers Internet access, data,...
, for commercial distribution and sale of their content and catalog.
In 2008, Saadia and Rafael Jimenez, who resigned his position as CEO of Yahoo! Mexico, started 'Substance', an interactive agency that won the Interactive Agency of the Year 2009.
Filmography
| Writer / Director | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Other notes |
| 2004 | "Genesis 3:19" | Short film |
| 2005 | "The Perfect Date" | Short film |
| 2006 | 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad | Feature film |
Recognition
In comparing 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad to Saadia's earlier work, VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
film critic Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler was a German-born painter and art teacher who spent most of his career in the United States of America.-Biography:...
wrote "Saadia has built his feature on the groundwork of his 2004 short, Genesis 3:19, but the final work may be overbuilt," expanding, "Saadia's warm cast, full of youthful Spanish thesps (many direct from the Iberian tube), add a lightness of being to a film that gets a little too eager to fling ideas at the viewer." However, he granted that "Production values add considerable allure to the brainy entertainment, decked out with an interesting score by the Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
' Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie is a musician best known as co-founder of the Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing...
."
Awards and nominations
- 2004, won 'Best Screenplay' at Rhode Island Film Festival for Genesis 3:19
- 2004, won 'Best Narrative Short Film' at 'Austin Film FestivalAustin Film FestivalThe Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
for Genesis 3:19 - 2006, shortlisted for 'Best Short Fiction Film Short by - Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Genesis 3:19 - 2008, won 'Best Director' at Málaga Spanish Film Festival for 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad
- 2008, won 'Best Feature Film' at Mostra de Valencia for 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad
- 2008, won 'Best Actor' for Miguel Angel Silvestreat at Mostra de Valencia for 3:19 Nada Es Casualidad