January 22, 2021
This 2021 takes off with fabulous news: our brilliant actress Daniela Vega will form part of the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Dramatic Competition Jury. And because we couldn’t be prouder, we’ve prepared a special homage to honor her career as it speeds down the path of international success.
The words of the Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming, Kim Yutani, capture the distinctive essence of Daniela Vega and what she brings to the jury: “We look for jurors who have reached a high level of achievement in their individual fields, who can bring their unique perspective to the process of analyzing and evaluating films. We are admirers of Daniela Vega from her performances as an actress and for her global presence as a socially committed individual. We thought she would be an exciting member of our World Cinema Dramatic Jury this year and are so honored that she accepted our invitation!
“Three words in Daniela’s life’s philosophy are “Rebelliousness, resistance, and love”, a catchphrase that has accompanied her on the sudden rise, which has no doubt been explosive — from her starring role in A Fantastic Woman in 2017, the first Chilean film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, to her passionate activism for the trans and LGBTQ+ community. Come with us as we check out the milestones that have marked the career of one of the 25 best actresses of the 21st Century, according to Indiewire: Daniela Vega.
Daniela Vega
Daniela began her career on the big screen with a leading role in the first feature film by Mauricio López, The Guest (2014), which weaves together a deep reflection about conservatism, transphobia, and the silence of the Chilean upper class.
In an interview by CinemaChile that year, López told us about the piece along with Daniela, a role that got her nominated for Best Actress at Rencontres du Cinéma Sud-Américain de Marseille: “As soon as I saw her, I knew she was the film’s character. After getting together and having a long talk about the film, I saw that she very much identified with the role. What most struck me about Daniela was her expressive capacity.”
In 2017 came her leap to global fame with A Fantastic Woman, a powerful film that moved the entire country, managing to have deep cultural and political ramifications, and winning Chile its first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. This rang in a new era for Chilean cinema, in which Daniela came to have numerous recognitions for her powerful performance (Palm Springs, Havana, and the Fénix Awards, among many others), dozens of magazine covers, and critical acclaim.
A fantastic woman
In each opportunity and new space that Daniela has managed to open up, she has raised her voice for marginalized and silenced communities. Her activism, full of positive messages, love, and hope, have influenced not only the film industry, but also have changed the political landscape of Chile. In fact, thanks to the broad reach and impact of A Fantastic Woman, the Chilean Gender Identity Law was passed. A real and concrete change in the lives of thousands of people, thanks to the film and its great charismatic leader for gender identity equality.
After returning from the Oscars, on open television and across from the Moneda Presidential Palace, Daniela stated, “In this country today, to which I return happily with my crew, on my ID card is a name that isn’t my name … My country doesn’t give me the possibility, and the clock is ticking and time is passing and people are waiting. Today there’s a film that doesn’t intend to be a beacon, but rather it intends to ponder, where is that which we’re searching for.” A year later, the law went into effect.
The emergence and rise of Chilean series is undebatable, and Daniela has led the cinematic migration that has taken over streaming platforms and global audiences. In The Pack (Fabula, Fremantle), a series from Amazon Prime, Daniela plays Elena Murillo, an important and persistent detective with an ironclad performance that makes her stand out for its emotional resonance. Her Netflix debut took place on the American production Tales of the City, where she plays a trans woman living in the 1960s. On the poster for Disclosure, a film about trans visibility that premiered on Netflix last June, Daniela appears close-up and center. What joy!
Loaded with future projects, we’re excited to continue to grow and learn with our unstoppable global icon. Here’s a preview of what’s coming for Daniela in series and films:
-The European premiere of her Italian film Un Bel di Vedremo by Lamberto Sanfelice
–The Pack – Season 2
–The Power – Season 1
– Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Dramatic Competition Jury
