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Kanbar Institute of Film & Television

Courses

Writing the Thesis

Education

Princeton University- B.A. in Comparative Literature
New York University- M.F.A. in Film and TV

Biography

Eva Aridjis grew up in Mexico City and then attended Princeton University, where she received a B.A. in Comparative Literature. Upon graduation from Princeton she went into New York University’s M.F.A. program in Film and TV and made four short films, including the documentary “Taxidermy: The Art of Imitating Life” (official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, etc.), the fiction film “Billy Twist” (official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, Los Angeles Independent Short Film Festival, etc.), and “The Passenger” (winner of a Warner Brothers Pictures Film Production Award and a Screen Gems Award). She received her M.F.A. in 2001. After NYU she made a feature documentary entitled “Children of the Street” (“Niños de la Calle”), about four street kids living in Mexico City. “Children of the Street” was nominated for 2 Mexican Academy Awards (Arieles) in the categories of Best Feature Documentary and Best First Feature and won the Best Documentary Feature prize at the Morelia International Film Festival in 2003.

Eva completed her first narrative feature, “The Favor”, in 2006. It is a drama starring Frank Wood and Ryan Donowho and tells the story of a troubled, orphaned teenager and the man who adopts him. “The Favor” had its World Premiere at the CineVegas Film Festival in June 2006 (where it received a prize), and Ryan Donowho also received the “Best Actor” prize at the San Diego Film Festival for his role in the film. “The Favor” was released theatrically in Mexico in 2007 and in the U.S. in 2008. Eva recently finished a second feature documentary, “La Santa Muerte” (“Saint Death”), about a religious cult in Mexico. The film is narrated by Gael García Bernal and premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2007. The film is being distributed by Seventh Art Releasing. Eva is currently working on two screenplays and teaching Screenwriting at NYU.