Paulina García Alfonso (born 27 November 1960), better known as Pali García, is a Chilean actress, stage director, and playwright.

Pali García
Born
Paulina García Alfonso

(1960-11-27) 27 November 1960 (age 63)
Santiago, Chile
OccupationActress
Years active1983–present
SpouseJuan Carlos Zagal
Children3

García debuted on television with a small role in the telenovela Los títeres (1984), but she was soon known for her theatre direction and for her various performances in films such as Tres noches de un sábado (2002), Cachimba (2004), Casa de remolienda (2007) and Gloria (2013).

García has received four nominations for the Altazor Awards, winning on one occasion, and three for the APES Awards — the Chilean Arts and Entertainment Critics Awards—winning twice. In February 2013 she won the prestigious Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in the movie Gloria, directed by Sebastián Lelio.[1][2] In 2016, she appeared in Ira Sachs' film, Little Men.

Biography edit

Born in Santiago, García studied acting at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where she graduated with a degree in theatre arts and later with diplomas in theatre direction and writing.

García made her debut at Catholic University's theatre in 1983 in ¿Dónde estará la Jeanette? ("Where could Jeanette be?") by Luis Rivano, a work for which she received an APES Award for best actress. Since then, she has acted in over thirty productions including Cariño malo, by Inés Margarita Stranger, El tío Vania, by Chekhov, The Trojan Women, by Euripides, El lugar común, Las analfabetas and BBB-Up.[3]

The year following her theatre debut, García appeared on television as Adriana Godán in the TV series Los títeres, a role she shared with actress Gloria Münchmeyer.[4]

The first work she directed was El continente negro ("The Dark Continent") by Marco Antonio de la Parra for which she received an APES Award nomination for best director in 1996. A grant from the National Arts Development Fund (Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cultural de las Artes, FONDART) allowed for the financing of productions such as Lucrecia y Judith by the same author, and Look Back in Anger by John Osborne. She has also directed at national theatre festivals on three occasions, directing works by authors such as Alberto Fuguet and Celeste Gómez.

García has taught acting at the theatre school of the University of Chile, at Fernando González night school, at the University for the Arts, Sciences, and Communication and the University for Development. Between 1997 and 2001, she founded and formed a part of the Theatre Directors Association (Asociación de Directores de Teatro, ADT).

In television, of note is her performance in Cárcel de Mujeres ("Women's Prison") as Raquel,[5] a role for which García received both an APES Award and the Altazor Award for best actress.[6]

In 2002, García received an Andes Foundation grant to undertake research on conjugal violence, Golpes extraños al amor ("Blows outside love"), which led to the work Peso negro ("Dark weight"), selected for the Unipersonales de Galpón 7 Festival, and Frágil ("Fragile"), a work presented at Matucana 100 Cultural Center under her direction.

In film, García debuted in the 2002 movie Tres noches de un sábado ("Three nights of one Saturday") by Joaquín Eyzaguirre, receiving a nomination for the Altazor Awards for her interpretation of the character Mathilde. She also appeared in the 2004 film Cachimba ("Hookah") by Silvio Caiozzi, in Casa de remolienda ("Party house") by Eyzaguirre in 2007,[7] and in Gloria, by Sebastián Lelio, for which she received the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival.[1][2]

Filmography edit

Films edit

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Tres noches de un sábado Mathilde Directed by Joaquín Eyzaguirre
Nominated—Altazor Awards Best Actress for Cinema
2004 Cachimba Antoinette Doublé Directed by Silvio Caiozzi
Mónica, vida mía Noemí Television film
2007 Casa de remolienda[7] Doña Rebeca Directed by Joaquín Eyzaguirre
2012 Bahía azul Directed by Nicolás Acuña
El muro Former Minister for Culture Directed by Paula Bravo
2013 Gloria Gloria Cumplido Directed by Sebastián Lelio
Altazor Award for Best Actress
Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival Award for Best Actress
Pedro Sienna Award for Best Actress
Nominated–Guardian Film Award for Best Actor
Illiterate Ximena Directed by Moisés Sepúlveda
Kikito for Best Actress at the Festival de Cinema de Gramado - Brazil
2014 Voice Over Matilda Directed by Cristián Jiménez
2015 The 33 Isabel Pereira, assistant to President Piñera Directed by Patricia Riggen
2016 Aquí no ha pasado nada Roxana Directed by Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Little Men Leonor Calvelli Directed by Ira Sachs
Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
2017 The Desert Bride Teresa Godoy Directed by Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato
The Summit Paula Sherson, President of Chile Directed by Santiago Mitre
2019 Blood Will Tell Adriana, the mother Directed by Miguel Cohan
Some Beasts Dolores Directed by Jorge Riquelme Serrano
2021 My Brothers Dream Awake Professor Ana Directed by Claudia Huaiquimilla

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Los títeres Adriana Godán
1986 La villa Eliana "Eli"
1987 La invitación Laura del Solar
1989 A la sombra del ángel Edith
Los Venegas Jefa de Guillermo Televised series (Season 1)
1990 El milagro de vivir María Pía Santillán
2003 JPT: Justicia Para Todos Catalina Episode: "Tráfico de órganos" (Season 2)
2006 Huaiquimán y Tolosa Doña Berta Episode: "¿La mafia rusa?" (Season 1)
2007 Héroes María Encarnación de Fernández y Palazuelos Episode: "Portales, la fuerza de los hechos"
2007–08 Cárcel de Mujeres Raquel "La Raco" Reina WinnerAltazor Awards
2010 Los simuladores Marcela Episode: "El secreto de Marcela" (Season 2)
2011 Los archivos del cardenal Mónica Spencer
2015 Narcos Hermilda Gaviria
2018 Matar al padre Isabel [8]

Theatre edit

Actress edit

  • ¿Dónde estará la Jeanette?, comedy by Luis Rivano
  • Cariño malo, by Inés Stranger; dir.: Claudia Echenique; 1990; 2012
  • Malasangre, dir.: Mauricio Celedón, 1991
  • El tío Vania, by Anton Chekhov; dir.: Raúl Osorio, 1994
  • El lugar común
  • Inocencia, by Dea Loher; dir.: Luis Ureta; Muestra de Dramaturgia Europea, 2004
  • En la Sangre, by Suzan-Lori Parks; dir.: Carlos Osorio; interprets Hester, a beggar; Centro Cultural Matucana 100, 2004
  • Déjala sangrar, by Benjamín Galemiri, dir.: Adel Hakim; interprets Virna Vigo; 2005
  • El último fuego, by Dea Loer; dir.: Luis Ureta; April 2009
  • Gertrudis, el grito, by Howard Barker, dir.: Marcos Guzmán; 9th Festival of Contemporary European Theatre in Santiago, August 2009
  • Las analfabetas, by Pablo Paredes, 2010
  • Fábula del niño y los animales que se mueren, free version of Euripides The Trojan Women by Pablo Paredes; dir.: Isidora Stevenson; García interprets queen Hecuba; La Nacional company in Matucana 100, 6–15 January 2012

Director edit

  • El continente negro, by Marco Antonio de la Parra; 1996
  • Lucrecia y Judith, by Marco Antonio de la Parra
  • Recordando con ira, by John Osborne (Look Back in Anger in English)
  • Anhelo del corazón, by Caryl Churchill ("A Heart's Desire"); Muestra de Dramaturgia Europea, 2004
  • El neoproceso, work by Benjamín Galemiri inspired by Kafka, premiere: 15 July 2006
  • La gran noche, by Marcelo Simonetti; premiere: 28 May 2008, Centro Mori in Vitacura
  • Apoteosis final: BBB up, Santiago a Mil, January 2009
  • Orates, by Jaime Lorca; premiere: 4 November 2010
  • La mantis religiosa, by Alejandro Sieveking, La Palomera theatre, premiere: 9 June 2011
  • Cerca de Moscú, adaptation by Pablo Paredes of two pieces by Chekhov: Platonov and Ivanov; Santiago a Mil International Festival 2013[9]

Playwright edit

  • Peso negro
  • Frágil, 2002; premiered and directed by García in 2003.

Awards and nominations edit

APES Award edit

Year Award Category Work Result
1983 Best Actress Theatre ¿Dónde estará la Jeanette? Won
1996 Best Director Theatre El continente negro Nominated
2008 Best Actress Television Cárcel de Mujeres Won

Altazor Awards edit

Year Award Category Work Result
2003 Best Actress Film Tres noches de un sábado Nominated
2005 Best Actress Theatre En la Sangre Won
2008 Best Actress Television Cárcel de Mujeres Won
2009 Best Actress Television Cárcel de Mujeres 2 Nominated

Silver Bear for Best Actress edit

Year Award Category Work Result
2013 Silver Bear for Best Actress Film Gloria Won

Platino Awards edit

Year Award Category Work Result
2014 Best Actress Film Gloria Won

Festival de Cinema de Gramado - Brazil edit

Year Award Category Work Result
2014 Kikito for Best Actress Film Illiterate Won

References edit

  1. ^ a b Chilean Paulina García wins best actress at Berlin Film Fest Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, ThisisChile.cl, 27 February 2013; retrieved 16 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b Paulina García gana Oso de Plata a mejor actriz por "Gloria" en Festival Internacional de Cine de Berlín, LaTercera.com, 16 February 2013; retrieved 1 April 2013.
  3. ^ Pali García: De pendenciera a emplumada. LaNación.cl, 6 October 2008; retrieved 2 April 2013.
  4. ^ Gloria Münchmeyer recuerda el día en que Pali García la impresionó en la universidad. El Mercurio. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Gendarmería no nos permitió conocer su realidad". La Nación. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  6. ^ Paulina García Archived 26 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Premioaltazor.cl. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b Director de "Casa de Remolienda": Lo folklórico es bonito, pero para los museos. El Mercurio. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  8. ^ ""Matar al padre», retrato de una famili"". La Razón. 31 May 2018.
  9. ^ Montaje dirigido por actriz ganadora del Oso de Plata se presentará nuevamente en Santiago. La Tercera. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.