Short biography

Director/writer Salvador Carrasco was born in Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

 and now resides in Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

. He graduated in 1991 with a degree in Film and Television from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts

Tisch School of the Arts

Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....

, receiving the Founders Day Honors Award. At NYU he wrote and directed three award-winning short films: Alone with His Void, Marblood, and To Fall in Exile. In 1992 Carrasco and producer Alvaro Domingo co-founded Carrasco & Domingo Films, a film production company based in Mexico City and now also in Los Angeles. They also created the Spanish-language cultural magazine, Litoral, which published a wide range of international writers and artists.

Carrasco’s first feature, The Other Conquest (La Otra Conquista), was distributed by Twentieth Century Fox and became the highest-grossing Mexican film ever at the time of its release. (The New York Times) During its run in Los Angeles, The Other Conquest had great box-office success and wide critical acclaim, becoming one of The Los Angeles Times’ Top 10 Films of 2000. (Film Critics' Top 10 Lists for 2000) LA Times' critic Kevin Thomas wrote: "Dazzling, Stupendous, Daring! In his bravura feature debut, Carrasco has created nothing less than a superb cinematic vision." http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/52757232.html?dids=52757232:52757232&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+19%2C+2000&author=KEVIN+THOMAS&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Movie+Review Variety called The Other Conquest “the first 3 million dollar movie that looks like 30!” http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117863607.html?categoryid=2&cs=1 and in the words of Oscar-Watch's Sasha Stone: "Carrasco ought to emerge as one of the world's best directors, taking his place alongside such uncompromising giants as Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

 and Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

." http://www.cinescene.com/reviews/laotraconquista.html The Other Conquest was re-released in US theaters in 2007, accumulating more than 40 rave reviews http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175996/externalreviews, and is now available on DVD http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UVV24M.

Carrasco is currently developing Hollywood studio projects, among which he will direct Robert Rivard’s acclaimed nonfiction book, Trail of Feathers

Trail of Feathers

Trail of Feathers is a travel book by Anglo-Afghan author, Tahir Shah.Enthralled by a line from the chronicle of a sixteenth-century monk, which said that the Incas ‘flew like birds’ over the jungle, and by the recurring theme of flying in Peruvian folklore, Tahir Shah set out to discover whether...

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/158648222X. He has also directed episodic television, including Nickelodeon's hit series comedy, Brothers Garcia. As a writer, Carrasco's essays and poems in both English and Spanish have been published in books, magazines, and newspapers that include The Los Angeles Times' Calendar section http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/114127337.html?dids=114127337:114127337&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+16%2C+2002&author=SALVADOR+CARRASCO&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=F.1&desc=An+Appreciation and Book Review http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/224238981.html?dids=224238981:224238981&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+27%2C+2002&author=Salvador+Carrasco&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=R.2&desc=The+mestiza+Scheherazade. His song-cycle Solamente Sola has appeared twice on CDs (Island Records and Urtext http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FWHVIM) and was described by Fanfare magazine as being “…of a Spanish intensity reminiscent of [Spanish poet] García Lorca” and by The New York Times' Allan Kozinn as "four songs couched in effusive and seductive folk styles... a hauntingly evocative cycle on poems by Salvador Carrasco". http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=SAMUELZYMAN#Reviews

Carrasco is the 2002-2003 recipient of the Moseley Fellowship in Creative Writing at Pomona College

Pomona College

Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...

 http://www.pomona.edu/events/news/NewsItems200203/71202moseley.shtml. Deeply committed to education, he has taught directing at the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

; screenwriting at Pomona College

Pomona College

Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...

; film theory and history at Santa Monica College

Santa Monica College

Santa Monica College is a two-year, public, junior college located in Santa Monica, California.Santa Monica College was first opened in 1929 as Santa Monica Junior College. Current enrollment is over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study...

; and he was the Advanced Directing Course Director at The Los Angeles Film School from 2003-2010. In July 2010 Carrasco was appointed as the new full-time film professor at Santa Monica College, where he is now teaching both filmmaking and critical studies courses. He lives in Santa Monica with his wife, Andrea Sanderson, and their three children.

Other works

Solamente Sola, a cycle of four songs on poems by Salvador Carrasco Composed by Samuel Zyman Rachel Rosales, soprano; Mirian Conti, piano (CD - Island Records 7910552)

Voces de Tierra: Solamente Sola, a cycle of four songs on poems by Salvador Carrasco Composed by Samuel Zyman Irasema Terrazas, soprano; Yleana Bautista, piano (CD - Urtext JBCC068)

"Recalling María Félix: Frailty, Thy Name Is Not Woman," essay by Salvador Carrasco, published in Los Angeles Times' Calendar section (front page); April 16, 2002.

"The Mestiza Scheherazade," review by Salvador Carrasco, published in The Los Angeles Times' Book Review section; October 27, 2002.

"The Invisible Sight," essay by Salvador Carrasco, published in Tom Hayden's "The Zapatista Reader" (Nation Books; ISBN 978-1560253358)

"Coca-Cola (Coke) spec commercial," directed by Salvador Carrasco; ©Salvastian Pictures, Inc., 2009.

"The Twilight Zone: A Piano in the House," directed by Salvador Carrasco; 2010.

Articles

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1269513861.html?dids=1269513861:1269513861&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+12%2C+2007&author=Reed+Johnson&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.1&desc=WORLD+CINEMA%3B+Another+attempt+for+%60Conquest%27%3B+A+Mexican+look+at+the+Aztec-Spaniard+clash+gets+re-released+eight+years+after+its+premiere.Los Angeles Times 2007 feature story on The Other Conquest re-release]

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/53178378.html?dids=53178378:53178378&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+29%2C+2000&author=LORENZA+MUNOZ&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=2&desc=History+(and+Some+Marketing)+Conquer+Box-Office+Adversity%3B+Movies+*+High+audience+turnout+for+the+Mexican+epic+%27The+Other+Conquest%27+follows+a+careful+marketing+strategy+with+a+crossover+appeal.Los Angeles Times article on high-audience turnout for The Other Conquest]

Los Angeles Times 2000 feature story on The Other Conquest release

Los Angeles Times article: "Chasm Separates 2 Movie Views of Mexican History"

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/35332875.html?dids=35332875:35332875&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+23%2C+1998&author=GUY+GARCIA&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=2&desc=A+Story+of+Tolerance+Across+the+Ages%3B+Movies%3A+Director+Salvador+Carrasco+strives+to+tell+of+Mexico%27s+past+through+a+universal+prism+in+his+%27The+Other+Conquest%27+at+the+AFI+fest.Los Angeles Times feature story on Director Salvador Carrasco]

"The Hollywood Reporter" (USA) 11 April 2007, by: Gregg Kilday, "Indie 'Conquest" re-enters U.S."

"Indie" (USA) 12 April 2007, by: Monika Bartyzel, "Mexican Indie Flick 'The Other Conquest' Gets Second Chance"

(USA) 11 April 2007, by: Dave McNary, "'Conquest' wins re-release"

"The San Diego Union Tribune" (USA) 18 May 2007, by: Lilia O'Hara, "Mayas and Aztecs: Apocalypto vs. The Other Conquest"

"Los Angeles Times" (USA) 12 May 2007, pg. cover story (Calendar section), by: Reed Johnson, "Another chance for 'The Other Conquest'"

"Vida en el Valle" (USA) 2 May 2007, pg. cover story (front page), by: Juan Esparza Loera, "The Other Conquest"

"Variety International" (USA) 27 April 2007, by: Dave McNary, "Second coming of 'Conquest': Union Station re-releasing Mexican epic"

"La Jornada" (Mexico) 24 April 2007, by: Notimex, "Reestrenarán en Estados Unidos el filme mexicano 'La Otra Conquista'"

"DGA magazine" (USA) September 2000, Vol. 25, Iss. 3, pg. 52-54, by: Jose Martinez, "DGA Lends Support"

"Entertainment Weekly" (USA) 9 June 2000, Iss. 544, pg. 51, by: Daniel Fierman, "The Specialists"

"Screen International" (USA) 19 May 2000, pg. front page, by: Anna Marie de la Fuente, "Box office round-up: Mexico's Conquest Wins Again"

"Column of the Americas" (USA) 19 May 2000, pg. cover story, by: Patricia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez, "'The Other Conquest' Continues: Which America do we live in?"

"Los Angeles Times" (USA) 29 April 2000, pg. F2 (Calendar section), by: Lorenza Muñoz, "History (and Some Marketing) Conquer Box-Office Adversity"

"Los Angeles Times" (USA) 19 April 2000, pg. F1, F4, by: Lorenza Muñoz, "Preparing a Conquest"

"Cinemania magazine" (USA) April 2000, Vol. 2, Iss. 16, pg. 42-44, by: Luis Tovar, "La Otra Conquista: Una Teoría de los Opuestos"

"Venice magazine" (USA) April 2000, Vol. XII, Iss. 6, pg. 34-36, by: Jose Martinez, "The Other Conquest: Filmmaker Salvador Carrasco Presents a Bold New Look at the Spanish Conquest"

"Latin Style magazine" (USA) April 2000, Vol. VI, Iss. 6, pg. 20-24, by: Jose Martinez, "La Otra Conquista: A Bold New Look"

"Los Angeles Times" (USA) 25 March 2000, pg. F1, by: Judith Michaelson, "'Conquista' Conquering"

"Hollywood Reporter" (USA) 16–22 May 2000, pg. S3-S4, by: Cindy Mulkern, "Target Practice: Finding the right audience for a movie oftentimes means looking beyond the obvious"

"Siempre" (Mexico) 6 May 1999, Vol. 45, Iss. 2394, pg. 78, by: Mario Saavedra, "Con La otra conquista: Promisorio debut de Salvador Carrasco.(TT: The other conquest: promising debut of Salvador Carrasco.)"

"Marie Claire" (Mexico) May 1999, pg. 124, by: Sophie Desoche, "La Otra Conquista: Una nueva visión"

"Revista Cultural El Angel (Periódico Reforma)" (Mexico) 25 October 1998, pg. 3, by: Eduardo Subirats, "La Otra Conquista"

"Los Angeles Times" (USA) 23 October 1998, pg. F2, F19, by: Guy Garcia, "A Story of Tolerance Across the Ages"

"La Opinión" (USA) 23 October 1998, pg. 10E, by: Juan Rodríguez Flores, "Verdades históricas: La cinta La Otra Conquista describe la llegada de los españoles a México desde la perspectiva indígena"

"Reforma" (Mexico) 22 October 1998, pg. 3, by: Hugo Lazcano, "España filma su versión"

"Reforma" (Mexico) 22 October 1998, pg. front page, by: Nora Alicia Estrada, "A la Conquista de Hollywood"

"La Opinión" (USA) 21 October 1998, pg. 5, by: Francisco Mendoza, "La otra cara de la moneda"

"Letras Libres" (Mexico) July 1999, Vol. 1, Iss. 7, pg. 44-47, by: Hank Heifetz, "Todos los dioses: La Otra Conquista, de Salvador Carrasco"

"La Voz Nueva (Denver)" (USA) 17 October 2007, pg. 8-11, by: Don Bain, "The Other Conquest examines the consequences of empire"

Interviews

"Alibi" (New Mexico) (USA) 3 May 2007, Vol. 16, Iss. 18, pg. cover, by: Devin D. O'Leary, "The Other Conquest Conquers America: An interview with writer/director Salvador Carrasco"

"La Opinion" (USA) 15 April 2000, pg. front page, by: Juan Rodríguez Flores, "Una conquista espiritual: entrevista con Salvador Carrasco"

"Diario San Diego" (USA) 18 May 2007, by: Eleazar López, "A pantalla de nuevo"

"The Entertainer - La Prensa Newspaper" (USA) 4 May 2007, pg. 6-7, by: Kiko Martinez, "Offering a Human Experience: After seven years, filmmaker Salvador Carrasco releases 'The Other Conquest' his way"

"Contenido" (Mexico) 1 June 1999, pg. 40, by: Elsa R. de Estrada, "Salvador Carrasco.(director de cine mexicano) (TT: Salvador Carrasco.) (TA: Méxican film director)"

"Cinemania" (Mexico) July 1999, Vol. 3, Iss. 34, pg. 13, "Una conquista más: Entrevista con Salvador Carrasco, director de La Otra Conquista"

"Filmmakers" (USA) 2004, Iss. 115, pg. 113-165, by: Jack Rothman, "Hollywood in Wide Angle: How Directors View Filmmaking"

Magazine cover photos

"Estrenos" (Mexico) April 1999, Iss. 9

"La Opinión" (USA) 21 October 1998, Vol. 4, Iss. 1

External links