Patricia Cardoso is a Colombian and American filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her 2002 film Real Women Have Curves, which centers around the experiences of a young Mexican-American woman navigating the challenges of family, culture, and body image. The film's lasting impact was recognized in 2019, when it was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry "as a cinematic treasure and worthy of preservation as part of America's patrimony". This honor made Cardoso the first Latin woman director to have a film included in the registry.
Cardoso has also achieved several other notable firsts in her career. She was the first Latin woman director to receive a Sundance Audience Award, which she won for Real Women Have Curves. Additionally, she was the first Latin woman director to receive a Student Academy Award, an achievement she earned for her short film The Water Carrier.
In 2017, Cardoso was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in the Directors Branch, and in 2021 she was invited to join the British Film Academy.
Cardoso's directing credits extend beyond the big screen, and include work on several American television shows. In 2018, she was handpicked by Ava DuVernay to direct an episode of her television series Queen Sugar. Additionally, Cardoso has directed episodes for a variety of other television shows, including Will Trent, The Society and Tales of the City on Netflix, All Rise, Emergence, Party of Five, and Diary of a Future President. Her directing credits also include the pilot for Harlan Coben's Shelter on Amazon Prime.
Cardoso is a graduate of UCLA's film school and a Fulbright scholar; her anthropological approach to directing guides her film and television work.
Early life Cardoso was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. As a child, she wrote and illustrated home-made picture-books. Only after she became a film student at UCLA did she realize that these books were story boards. Cardoso's first film was a humorous documentary titled Vacas Flacas y Vacas Gordas (Skinny Cows and Fat Cows) about the famine and feast periods her family endured. Due to the lack of technology in her household, the film was made with toothpicks, paper, and cardboard.
She studied anthropology at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and earned a M.F.A in Film and Television Production from UCLA.
Career At UCLA film school, she was at the top of her class, earning all major directing awards at the school: the Colin Higgins Foundation Award in Film, the Lynn Weston Fellowship in Film, and the Verna Fields Award.
Cardoso's directing credits include episodes of The Society, All Rise, and Tales of the City and the feature Teresa — the largest box office for a woman director in Colombia.
Cardoso was the first Latin woman to win a Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Audience Award and to receive a Student Academy Award for Real Women Have Curves.Oscar a Película Colombiana, El Espectador, Colombia, 29 de mayo de 1996, 1. Retrieved August 2, 2017Juan Guillermo Ramirez, Hollywood premia a una colombiana, El Tiempo, 8 de junio de 1996. Retrieved August 2, 2017Patricia Cardoso Semana, Colombia, 4 de junio de 1996. Retrieved August 2, 2017.Reina del Oscar La Prensa, Colombia, 30 de mayo de 1996. Retrieved August 2, 2017 She was also the first Latin woman to have a film in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.
On the creation of Real Women Have Curves, Cardoso described struggling to find funding for the film with writers Josefina Lopez and George LaVoo—many industry heads citing it as "having no market" despite its compelling script. After the script was picked up, Cardoso was officially hired to direct. She completed the casting process as well as crew assembly herself, conducting one-on-one interviews with potential crew members.
Cardoso attributes her anthropological background to the respect she has for every character in her films, the depth and dimension of her character development, and for the rigorous research she does during pre-production to create reality and truthfulness in her movies.
Cardoso's Real Women Have Curves broke many conventions of traditional Hollywood filmmaking and became a landmark in American independent film. According to Entertainment Weekly, it is "one of the most influential movies of the 2000s", and cast "a wide shadow over the new generation of filmmakers to come". The movie is cited for showing "the impact a movie could have in the culture", and it is acclaimed for its nuanced portrayal of its characters and of Los Angeles.
According to an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Cardoso struggled to find work after the success of Real Women Have Curves. After her work on TV movies throughout the 2000s and 2010s, she caught the attention of filmmaker Ava DuVernay, with whom she directed an episode of DuVernay's television series Queen Sugar in 2016.
In September 2021, Cardoso's Real Women earned the main spot at the Significant Movies and Movie Makers Gallery, held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Clips and stills from Real Women were the only ones depicted in color. According to Sophia Serrano, assistant curator of the gallery, the museum wanted Real Women to "stand out as the hero of the gallery".
Cardoso also donated the film's script notes, casting calls, storyboards, production stills, location scouting photos and design drawings to the academy's Margaret Herrick Library as part of the Patricia Cardoso Papers, making her work a public resource and allow the curators to resurface various parts of it in future exhibits.
Personal life Since 2018, Cardoso has been a distinguished professor at UC Riverside, teaching classes in the departments of Theater and Film and Digital Production.
Filmography Film Feature film Year Title Notes2002Real Women Have Curves2010Lies in Plain SightTV movie2012Meddling MomTV movie2017El Paseo De Teresa Short film Year Title Notes1989Isle of Dreams1990The Air Globes1991Cartas al niño Dios1994The Water Carrier of Cucunuba1994El reino de los cielos1996The Water Carrier2011Deep Blue Breath2016La Clave
Television Year Title Notes2012RoDirector, 6 episodes2018, 2022Queen SugarDirector, 3 episodes2019All RiseDirector, 1 episodeEmergenceIn the DarkTales of the CityThe Society2020Party of FiveDirector, 2 episodes2021Secrets of Sulphur SpringsDiary of a Future PresidentDirector, 1 episodeJust Beyond2023The Watchful EyeDirector, 1 episodeHarlan Coben's ShelterDirector, 1 episode2023-2024Will TrentDirector, 2 episodes
Awards and honors
Year Award Festival Nominated work Result1990Premio Mesquite Best First WorkSan Antonio CineFestivalThe Air Globes (Cartas al Niño Dios)Premio Mesquite Best Short FilmPrimer PremioConcurso Nacional de Cortometrajes Premio Especial del Jurado Hernando Salcedo SilvaConcurso Nacional de Cortometrajes "Cartas al Niño Dios," cortometraje ganador, El Espectador, Colombia, 25 de abril de 1991, 15. 1996Festival PrizeBlack Maria Film and Video FestivalThe Water Carrier (El Reino de los Cielos)Crystal Heart AwardHeartland Film FestivalDGA Student Film AwardStudent Academy AwardsAndrew Hindes, "Ex-archaeologist mines Oscar gold," Daily Variety, June 11, 1996.Gold MedalGrand PrizeAngelus Student Film FestivalGolden Eagle AwardCINEPremio Mesquite Best NarrativeSan Antonio CineFestivalUNESCO Igualada Institut Català AwardUNESCOMacArthur Foundation Subtitling GrantToronto International Film FestivalIda Lupino Student AwardDirectors Guild of AmericaHarry Kurnitz Creative Writing CompetitionDashew Center - UCLAGolden Reel AwardMotion Picture Sound Editors2002Audience AwardSundance Film FestivalReal Women Have CurvesGrand Jury PrizePremio Eroski de la Juventud (Youth Award)Festival de Cine de San SebastiánHumanitas Prize Sundance Feature FilmHumanitas PrizeExcellence in FilmmakingNational Board of ReviewSilver Plate Audience Choice AwardChicago International Film FestivalExcellence in Film Latino Spirit AwardCalifornia State LegislaturePlanned Parenthood AwardPlanned ParenthoodCalifornia Governor's CommendationGovernor of California2011Best Creative Media FilmPoppy Jasper Film FestivalDeep Blue BreathBest Young Actor for Clay BeaboutAction on Film International Film FestivalBest Short FilmTampa Independent's Film Festival2011NAMIC Vision AwardNAMIC Vision AwardLies in Plain SightBest Actor for Martha HigaderaImagen AwardsMovie of the YearLifetime (TV Network)Best Actor for Rosie PerezNAACP Image Awards2013Best Actor for Sonia BragaImagen AwardsMeddling Mom2015First Place Drama ShortUnited Latino Film FestivalLa ClaveGold CINDY AwardCINDY AwardsCINDY Social Issues AwardAward of Merit Special MentionThe Best Shorts Competition
Cardoso also received:
Smithsonian Institution Latino Recognition Award Reconocimiento Fulbright a la Excelencia UCLA Filmmaker Of The Year Honor Hubert Bals Fund for Film Production - International Film Festival Rotterdam Visionary Award LA Femme Film Festival California Governor's Commendation
References
External links
Biography in the HBO web site Patricia Cardoso's Aha Moment in Oprah Magazine 15 Latino Directors Challenging Hollywood's Huge Diversity Problem 15 years later Real Women Have Curves remains one of the most important films for brown girls New Academy Members Speak Una colombiana en el cine americano Patricia Cardoso at the Strasberg Institute