Words fall short in defining Paulina García: versatile, powerful, moving, and an infinite list of qualities that make her stand out as one of the best actresses in Chile and Latin America.
Her multifaceted talent returns to the big screen in the new edition of the Locarno Festival (August 4th to 14th) as part of the cast of Claudia Huaiquimilla's second feature film My Brothers Dream Awake, (produced by Pablo Greene and Mariana Tejos) which will be screened in the Official Competition - Cineasti del Presente.
We wanted to take advantage of this new Chilean film premiere to highlight five milestones of her expansive career, which took a leap of international magnitude thanks to her iconic role in Sebastián Lelio's Gloria.
THEATER
Like many national artists, the first stop in her career was the theater, gathering resounding success that kept her on stage for years and led her to found the Theater Directors Association in 1997.
Among her most outstanding plays are Dónde estará la Jeanette (1984) by Luis Rivano, for which she won the APES Award for Best Actress of the Year; Cariño malo (1990) by Inés Stranger; El tío Vania (1994) by Antón Chéjov; and Las analfabetas by Pablo Paredes (2010), among many others.
Her love for theater was also extended to education, teaching classes at prominent institutions such as the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the Fernando González School and Finis Terrae.
SERIES
From Chilean broadcast television to one of the most important streaming services in the world, Netflix, Pali García has oozed talent on screens for years. From roles in period pieces or series filled with realism, such as in the two seasons of the successful series Cárcel de Mujeres (2008), where she played a fearsome prison leader, or in Los Archivos del Cardenal (2011) where she was a brave journalist in the dictatorial era in Chile.
One of her latest and most memorable roles was in the multi-awarded series Narcos by José Padilha (2017, Golden Trailer Awards), where she had to play the mother of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar.
HER BEGINNINGS IN CHILEAN CINEMA
Pali has woven a significant web of national fiction, having memorable and diverse performances in cinema, performing as about 22 important characters. Her great film debut was in Three Saturday Nights (2002) by Joaquín Eyzaguirre.
She had other starring roles in Cachimba (2004) by Silvio Caiozzi, and was later directed by Eyzaguirre again in Casa de Remolienda (2007) acting alongside Alfredo Castro and Amaparo Noguera, among other great national actors. For her leading role in Illiterate (2013) by Moises Sepúlveda, she received several awards, including Best Actress at the Gramado Festival (2013), and nominations for the Fénix (2014) and Platino (2015) Awards.
THE THRESHOLD: GLORIA!
Sebastián Lelio and Pali García, an extraordinary duo that in 2013 filled us with pride and expectation after the premiere of Gloria in Berlin. There, the actress won the prestigious Silver Bear Award for her powerful performance, positioning her as an actress to watch.
In the film, Pali García explored a perfect blend of comedy and drama, delving into existential problems, loneliness, and human questions that arise when approaching old age. This role garnered hundreds of accolades worldwide and won, among other awards, the Platino Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Film, as well as Best Film at the Ariel Awards.
INTERNATIONAL RUN
After Gloria, we have seen her in several international co-productions, playing roles in English and Spanish, working with some of the most prominent directors in contemporary cinema.
We have seen her in American independent films such as Little Men (2016) by Ira Sachs, where she shares a scene with Greg Kinnear.
She has been part of two films that premiered at Cannes; La Cordillera by Santiago Mitre (Un Certain Regard, 2017) and The Desert Bride by Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato (Un Certain Regard, 2017). She also embodied one of the leading roles in Jorge Riquelme Serrano's Some Beasts (New Directors Award, San Sebastian, 2019).
We are looking forward to seeing Pali García in a new Chilean and international film and we have no doubt that she’ll continue to be an ambassador for national cinema and series around the world. Here at CinemaChile we will be telling you all about her new role in My Brothers Dream Awake, which will premiere on August 7th in Locarno.
