| Alice Waddington | |
| Birth Name: | Irene Lago Clavero |
| Birth Date: | 31 July 1990 |
| Birth Place: | Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain |
| Occupation: | Filmmaker |
| Citizenship: | Spanish |
| Alma Mater: | University of the Basque Country |
| Yearsactive: | 2010–present |
Alice Waddington (born July 31, 1990) is a Spanish film director, writer, photographer and costume designer[1] [2] having developed most of her work in the field of modern cinema. Her directing style is defined by a contemporary approach to the golden era of large-scale-studio genre films (1920s1970s) in production companies such as Hammer Films or Universal's Creature Features; mixed with current surreal humor and sometimes including musical cinema.
Born as Irene on July 31, 1990, in Bilbao, Spain to a Catalan forensic psychiatrist and a Galician teacher. She grew up in the blue-collar neighborhood of San Mamés, known for its working-class pride and industrial surroundings pre-gentrification.[3] During the 1990s, Bilbao was experiencing significant changes and facing various socio-economic challenges, such as terrorism[4] and a heroin crisis,[5] an awareness Alice credits with her first contacts with the abstract ideas of horror.
Waddington adopted her stage name at sixteen, while assisting director of photography Quique López.[6] At 18, she studied advertising at UPV-EHU University where she started capturing promotion stills and directing fashion films as a photographer and assistant of photography for the Spanish editions of Harper's Bazaar, Neo2[7] and others.
At 20 and for three years, she worked as an advertising creative, a producer and an advertising video editor at the agencies Leo Burnett Iberia and Social Noise also specializing as a digital storyboard artist.In 2014, with the help of Mexican executive producer Yadira Ávalos, Waddington took a year off advertising agency work to write and direct a short movie. She found sponsors[8] to help her produce her first narrative 11-minute film,[9] Disco Inferno (2015), which received nominations in 63 international film festivals including genre fan favorites such as Palm Springs,[10] Fantasia, Sitges (Noves Visions Short award[11]) or Fantastic Fest, which first awarded her as Best Director in her category, and second best feature project of the Fantastic Market for her movie Paradise Hills. Eleven other international festival wins ensued, with a considerable comparative presence of the short picture in American and Canadian festivals.
Waddington entered pre-production of her first full-length feature, Paradise Hills in 2017[12] with Spanish production company Nostromo Pictures.[13] The film is a science-fiction thriller written by Brian DeLeeuw[14] and Nacho Vigalondo. It was released in 2019.
Waddington has pointed out in interviews that after Paradise Hills she desires to direct biopics, dark comedies, socially metaphorical fantastic horror about minorities and terror stories that have taken place.[15]
In June 2019, it was announced that Waddington is developing her second film Scarlet, from a script written by her and Kristen SaBerre. The film will be distributed by Orion/MGM.[16]
In September 2021, Waddington was tapped to direct adaptation of comic book series Dept. H for Netflix.[17]
In October 2022, [18] Waddington premiered her first episode of television, in which she personally cast Álvaro Morte and Mina El-Hammani, co-written with Spanish legacy writer Rocío Martínez Llano. An adaptation of heritage Spanish IP Historias para no Dormir based on a vampiric story. Waddington credited her [19] lifelong friend and collaborator Minhal Baig as giving her the idea that a Muslim vampire could not enter Jannah as the conflict.
Waddington is a proactive demander for progressive social change regarding causes related to female cooperation[20] and sorority within the arts.[21]
In the context of film, she has been vocal about the need for both more female-led and more diversely-cast films worldwide[22] and about motivating young women to enroll into filmmaking programs.[23] She has also often mentioned the need for film studios around the world to hire more women, with an accent on women of color.[24]
Waddington is fluent in Spanish and English and conversational in Basque, French and Catalan.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Disco Inferno | Short film | ||||
| 2019 | Paradise Hills | |||||
Waddington's short film "Disco Inferno" has been presented on 63 plus,[25] genre and conventional film festivals across the world, winning several awards:
| Year | Festival | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Austin Fantastic Fest - United States | Shorts with Legs - Best Director[26] | Disco Inferno | [27] |
| Austin Fantastic Fest - United States | Best Feature Project | Paradise Hills | (Silver)[28] | |
| Sitges Film Festival - Spain | Noves Visions - Best Short Film | Disco Inferno[29] | ||
| 2016 | Brooklyn Horror Film Festival - United States | Best Director[30] | Disco Inferno[31] | [32] |
| Slamdance Film Festival United States[33] | Best Anarchy Short Film | Disco Inferno[34] | [35] | |
| Monster Fest - Australia | Best Cinematography | Disco Inferno | [36] | |
| C-FEM - Festival de Cine Fantástico Europeo de Murcia | Grand Jury Prize | Disco Inferno | ||
| Mikrofilm Short Festival - Spain | Best Director[37] | Disco Inferno | ||
| Cinefantasy Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantástico - Brazil[38] | Best Short Film[39] | Disco Inferno | (Best Soundtrack) | |
| Festival de Cine de Horror - Mexico | Best Short Film | Disco Inferno | [40] | |
| Festival Fantosfreak - Spain | Best Short Film | Disco Inferno | [41] | |