Gregory Nava

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Gregory Nava

Nava on PBS
Born:	April 10, 1949 (age 57), San Diego, California, United States.
Occupation:	Film Director, Producer, and Writer.
Spouse:	Anna Thomas, 1975-today.
Children:	Christopher and Tedy.

Gregory Nava (born April 10, 1949 in San Diego, California) is a film director, producer and screenplay writer, of Mexican and Basque heritage.

Nava met his future wife Anna Thomas while working on his master's degree at UCLA. They were married in 1975 and would collaborate on many projects.

They have two sons: Christopher (born 1984) and Tedy (born 1985).^[1]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Education 1.2 Career 1.3 Upcoming projects 2 Awards 3 Filmography 3.1 Films 4 Footnotes 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Education

Nava attended film school at UCLA where he earned an MFA in 1976. At UCLA he directed the short film The Journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva (based on the life of García Lorca), and for this work, won the Best Dramatic Film Award at the National Student Film Festival.

Nava's first feature film, The Confessions of Amans, won the Best First Feature Award at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1976.

[edit] Career

Later, he came to the attention of Hollywood producers due to the success of El Norte, which garnered Nava and his wife Anna Thomas an Academy Award nomination, among other accolades, for the screenplay. In 1995 the film was registered by the Library of Congress, National Film Registry. According to Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, "El Norte tells [the] story with astonishing visual beauty, with unashamed melodrama, with anger leavened by hope. It is a Grapes of Wrath for our time."^[2]

Further collaborations with his wife Thomas include: The Confessions of Amans, A Time of Destiny, My Family, and Frida (screenplay), and other works.

Nava had further directing success in 1997 with the film Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez, who was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

From 2003 to 2004, Nava executive produced the television series American Family: Journey of Dreams for PBS. He also directed a few episodes.

[edit] Upcoming projects

In 2006, Nava produced, wrote, and directed the film Bordertown which made its debut at the Berlin Film Festival on February 15, 2007. The film, based on true events, is a political thriller about a series of unsolved murders in Juárez, Mexico. It stars Jennifer Lopez as a Chicago-based reporter who follows the story.^[3] The film was shot in New Mexico and Mexico.

[edit] Awards

Wins

• Chicago International Film Festival: Gold Hugo Award, Best First Feature Award for The Confessions of Amans; 1976.
• Montréal World Film Festival: Grand Prix des Amériques, for: El Norte; 1983.
• Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: OCIC Award for: My Family; 1995.
• Bravo Awards: Outstanding Feature Film for: My Family; 1995.
• Taos Talking Picture Festival: Cineaste Award, Taos, New Mexico; 1995.
• ALMA Award: Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film for: Selena; 1997.
• ALMA Award: Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film for: Why Do Fools Fall in Love; 1998.
• Santa Fe Film Festival: Luminaria Award, Santa Fe, New Mexico; 2006.

Nominations

• Academy Awards: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: El Norte; 1983.
• Writers Guild of America: Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, for: El Norte; 1983.
• Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: Golden Seashell Award for: My Family; 1995.
• Emmy Awards: Outstanding Miniseries for: American Family: Journey of Dreams, for episode "Journey of Dreams"; 2002.

[edit] Filmography

• The Confessions of Amans (1977).
• The End of August (1982), screenplay only.
• El Norte (1983).
• A Time of Destiny (1988).
• My Family/Mi Familia (1995).
• Selena (1997).
• Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998).
• Frida (2002), screenplay only.
• Bordertown (2007).

[edit] Films

Cover	Information
	The Confessions of Amans Released: November 17, 1977 U.S. sales: Worldwide sales:
	El Norte Released: January 11, 1984 U.S. sales: Worldwide sales:
	A Time of Destiny Released: April 22, 1988 U.S. sales: Worldwide sales:
	My Family Released: May 3, 1995 U.S. sales: $11 million Worldwide sales:
	Selena Released: March 21, 1997 U.S. sales: $35.5 million Worldwide sales:
	Why Do Fools Fall in Love Released: August 28, 1998 U.S. sales: Worldwide sales:
	Bordertown Released: February 15, 2007 U.S. sales: Worldwide sales:

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Gregory Nava informational web site.
• Gregory Nava television schedule.
• Cineaste interview by Dennis West.
• PBS interview of Gregory Nava with Bill Moyers.
• San Diego Film Festival honors Gregory Nava.