Statement /Bio

Statement 

The work of Lois Patiño, multidisciplinary filmmaker and artist, has a strong identity component, in reference to an identity that is not chosen, which, it is suggested, is transmitted genetically and which, therefore, is inalienable – a theory defended by Fichte and Herder-. Angel Calvo Ulloa writes about his films: Lois Patiño’s cinema is purely Atlanticist, as Atlanticist it is the feeling of Carlos Oroza who invokes Pessoa to whom he tells that he finally understands him, that he finally shares his sensations. […] I want to live terminally, on the last shores. From these shores, I am seeing another world. That saved me: going to live at the end of the land in Europe. I long for the distance… The work of Lois Patiño presents great emotional intensity while pursuing an ideal of a landscape close to the dream of a fleeting moment or a sudden vision; apprehended in a state of spiritual and creative grace. It is nothing other than intuition, as immediate and evidential knowledge of things; the sensible experience of reality. His is a spiritual realism, where the world of representation is replaced by that of presentation. In 2016, Harvard University awarded him the Robert Fulton III Scholarship, intended for emerging filmmakers “with an independent spirit, who explore diverse cultures with a deep aesthetic sensitivity.”

Bio

(Vigo, 1984)

Lois Patiño studied psychology at the Universidad Complutense, Madrid, and, at the same time did film studies at the Tai School. He continued his film training in New York and Barcelona, where he completed the Master of Creative Documentary at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra, respectively. Later he studied philosophy at the Universidad Autónoma, Barcelona. His films and video installations have been seen in art centers such as MoMA, Center Pompidou, MACBA, CCCB, Casa Encendida or at art fairs such as ARCO, Estampa, SWAB, Paris Photo (France), Photo London (UK), Unseen (Amsterdam) or the Aichi Triennale (Japan), Casa Encendida (Madrid), MARCO (Vigo), ARCO, Centro Cultural San Martín (Buenos Aires), Konstnarshuset (Stockholm), JIFF Art Gallery (South Korea) or in the Paris Photo fair (France). His vídeos have been widely awarded: Montaña en sombra at the Oberhausen Festival (Germany), in Clermont-Ferrand (France), at Bucharest Experimental IFF (Romania) or at FIDOCS (Chile), among others. And in 2013, at the Locarno Festival, he received the award for best emerging director with his first feature film Costa da Morte. This work has also received 15 other awards at festivals such as Jeonju IFF (South Korea), FICUNAM (Mexico City), Festival dei Popoli (Italy), Valdivia IFF (Chile) or at the European Festival of Seville. His short film Noite sem distância was presented at the Toronto Film Festival and, among other awards, won the San Francisco Festival. Fajr, made with a grant from the BBVA Foundation, was premiered at the Rotterdam IFF. His films have been shown at film festivals such as Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Ann Arbour, MI(US), Biennale Venezia o Roma (IT), Cinema du rèel… or at Les Rencontres Internationales, which takes place at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (FR), Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (DEU) and the Reina Sofía Museum, Madrid (ES). Samsara (2023) was presented at the Berlinale, Encounters Section, winning the Special Jury Prize. Lúa vermella (2020) was also presented at the Berlinale, Forum (DEU); and Costa da morte (2013) at the Locarno Festival (CH), where he won the Best Emerging Director Award. Ariel, filmed in the Azores Islands (PT), will be his fourth feature film. His latest two short films: Sycorax (2021) and The Star Sower (2022) have been premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight (FR) and in the Official Section of the Berlinale (DEU), respectively, receiving awards at the latter festival. It have made specific focuses on their work in places such as the New York Film Festival, Views from the Avant Garde; Flaherty Seminar, Colgate University (US), BAFICI (AR) or at the Cali Festival (COL). And he has been invited to show his work at universities such as Harvard (Sensory Ethnography Lab), CalArts (L.A.), California College of the Arts (San Francisco) or at the Universidad del Cine de Buenos Aires (FUC). In fact, Harvard University awarded him the Robert Fulton III scholarship in 2016, intended for emerging filmmakers “with an independent spirit, who explore diverse cultures with a deep aesthetic sensitivity.” Lois Patiño is part of the generation of Galician filmmakers called ‘Novo Cinema Galego’, along with authors such as Oliver Laxe, Eloy Enciso, Diana Toucedo and Alberto Gracia.