BIOGRAPHY
Barbara Cigarroa is a Mexican-American filmmaker from South Texas. She holds an MFA in Screenwriting from Columbia University and a BA in English from Yale University. A storyteller, with a passion for social justice activism, and Hispanic narratives, Barbara’s work has been recognized worldwide on the festival circuit, and through individual grants and awards.
Cigarroa’s screenplay, EL OTRO LADO (The Other Side), was a featured project at IFP’s 2018 No Borders Co-Production Market, and was selected for the 2019 Sundance Institute Directors & Screenwriters Labs, the 2019 Hamptons Screenwriters Lab, is a winner of the 2019 SFFILM Westridge Grant, and was a winner of the the inaugural 2019 The Black List/Latinx List. Cigarroa was also the recipient of the Sundance Latinx Fellowship, Maja Kristin Directing Fellowship, and was celebrated by FILMMAKER MAGAZINE as one of the “Top 25 New Faces of Independant Film” in 2019.
EL OTRO LADO is to be Cigarroa’s first feature.
Cigarroa’s short film DIOS NUNCA MUERE had its world premiere at the 2018 New York Film Festival, where she was invited to be a member of the 2018 NYFF Artist Academy. DIOS NUNCA MUERE went on to screen at dozens of film festivals, including Palm Springs, Winterthur, Cartageña, Aspen, and IFF Boston where it won the Grand Jury Prize. Previous work, MARTA ROSA, was an official selection at dozens of international film festivals, including Austin, New Orleans, and Palm Springs, where it won Panavision’s “Best North American” short and IndieWire named it “Best of the Fest.”
Prior to her narrative work, Barbara volunteered as a documentary filmmaker in South Texas for non-profit companies focused on fighting for underprivileged community’s rights. Before this, Barbara mentored under renowned documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (SALESMAN, GREY GARDENS, GIMME SHELTER).