Anna Margarita Albelo aka la chocha Director/writer
Born in Los angeles, CA, June 26, 1969
email: anna.albelo@gmail.com
Biography of Anna Margarita Albelo, FILMMAKER:
Cuban-American “Globe-Trotter,” Anna Margarita Albelo has been living and working in Paris, France since 1993 as an independent director, journalist, video artist, and sometimes surrealist performer.
Her work, behind and in front of the camera ranges from narrative and documentary to experimental fiction and comedy sketches, has aired on Canal Plus, ARTE, Pink TV, MCM, Paris Premier, and Q-TV; as well as, participated in over 25 renowned international film festivals.
Anna has just completed an original, half hour documentary, “A Lez in Wonderland” on the Dinah Shore Weekend in Palm Springs for French Television, Canal Plus (France), with whom she has already directed a 10-minute documentary on Los Angeles. She is also a regular contributor to Pink TV (France), directing cultural news pieces and interviews on the Berlinale Film Festival, Barbara Hammer, Peaches, Amanda Lepore, Nelson Sullivan, the Saxenhausen Concentration Camp, Larry Tee, Patty LaBelle, and the Mathew Shepard Play, among others.
The past two years have indeed, been an exciting and busy time for Anna. In 2006, Anna was on the Documentary Jury at the Turin Film Festival, a semi-finalist for the AFI’s Women’s Directing Workshop and last year, a Spring 2005 Narrative Honoree at the IFP New York's Project Involve. While in New York, Anna co-directed with famed performance artist Penny Arcade and Steve Zehentner the feature documentary, "Queer Realities and Cultural Amnesia" (72 minutes), which won the prestigious Audience Award for Best (Original) Soundtrack at OUTFEST, Los Angeles. In January 2005, she happily attended the Sundance Film Festival to speak on the panel on Gay Television organized by the Queer Lounge.
An internationally recognized “Do-it-yourself” filmmaker, Anna has been honored by four prestigious European Retrospectives of her shorts in some of the world's most important gay and lesbian film festivals: Paris GLFF (2003), Madrid Reina Sofia Museum (2004), Turin GLFF (2005) Amsterdam GLFF (2005) and featured at LADYFEST, Berlin (2006). A special collection of her shorts is actually touring Latin America for a second, consecutive year in major cities of Argentina, Columbia, and Paraguay. Her Super-16 short film, "Koko" is featured in the compilation, "Short Shorts” distributed by Picture This! Entertainment and remains one of the highest selling lesbian compilations to date.
Anna has recently moved back to the United States and is currently writing her feature film script, The Papaya Factory, a musical comedy about a fourteen year old Cuban-American girl in 1984 Miami.
A native of Miami, Anna Margarita Albelo is a graduate from Florida State University and attended film school in London as a Bernard Sliger Presidential Scholarship winner, studying with Derek Jarman's cinematographer Christopher Hughes.
She is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and French and is a fanatical supporter of film festivals (having attended Cannes 10 years in a row!), women’s interest, French wines, and her “education through comedy” principle.
__________________ Biography of Anna La Chocha, STAR Journalist, Host, and Performer:
Social cameleon made for home and travel. Great side-kick and partner in crime, said to be an innovative lover and friend to all animals. My dream is to see Napoleon's tomb in Paris where his imperial coffin floats on a sea of gold.