Filmmakers

Mark Eisner, Producer/Co-Director/Writer

After graduating from the University of Michigan with High Honors in English/Creative Writing, Mark spent many years backpacking through Latin America, focused on experiential learning, especially in Chile, where he translated Neruda on a rustic ranch near the coast. He became friends with Chilean poets, scholars, and members of the Neruda Foundation. Upon his return, he was awarded a fellowship to earn a Masters in Latin American Studies from Stanford University. They subsequently named him a “Visiting Scholar” to continue his scholarly and creative work on Neruda.

On July 12, 2004, which would have been Neruda’s 100th birthday, Eisner was interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition, reading Neruda’s poetry to millions. That evening at an overflowing Theater Artaud in San Francisco, he helped host what the San Francisco Chronicle called “a perfect birthday party.” The celebration included the screening of a cinematic exploration of the poet that Eisner had produced. It won the Latin American Studies Association’s Award of Merit in Film. This original film serves as the seed for the more ambitious Pablo Neruda: The People’s Poet, currently in post-production. 

In March 2018 Ecco published Neruda: The Poet's Calling, which Library Journal called "a definitive biography, an instant classic.” Previously he conceived, edited, and was one of the principal translators of City Lights' The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems (City Lights, 2004). He also wrote the introduction to City Lights' first ever English translation of Neruda’s venture of the infinite man, a project he developed.

Carlos Bolado

Carlos co-directed our 2008 shoot in Chile. His 1998 directorial feature debut, Bajo California, won two Ariels, Mexico’s highest cinematic award, including Best First Work and Best Editing; he was also nominated for Best Director. Carlos directed and edited Promises, a documentary about Israeli and Palestinian children, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature of 2002. He edited Como Agua Para Chocolate and was an advising editor on Amores Perros. He is set to direct the highly anticipated feature, Tlatelolco68, surrounding the Mexican student movement in the 1960s.

Composer/Performer: Claudio Durán (aka Quique Cruz)

Quique will never forget when he was a child and Neruda visited his school, down the coast from the poet's home at Isla Negra. He has performed, taught, and recorded Latin American music for over thirty years, specializing in stringed instruments and Andean flutes. He has joined Jackson Browne, Mimi Baez Fariña, Pete Seeger, and Sting on stage.

Quique scored a gripping soundtrack for the film, performed by his band Quijeremá, who infuse Latin American folk with jazz, bringing a deep sense of ancient musical traditions to contemporary compositions.

He has won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, and other prestigious organizations. Quique’s documentary based on his multimedia memoir Villa Grimaldi: Archeology of Memory was shown on PBS.

Roddy Blelloch, Director of Photography

Roddy is a Chilean-British-American director and cinematographer. He wrote and directed his first film, American Vagabond in Cuba, in 1994 in Chile. Since then, he has worked on dozens of documentaries and TV series covering everything from US immigration to the San Francisco Symphony. Blelloch was the DP for the Emmy-nominated PBS series “New Americans.” His first feature documentary, Tell It Like It Is, relates the story of Oakland blues artist Lady Margaret, and premiered at the Film Arts Festival in 2004. His work regularly appears on dozens of major networks, including PBS, BBC, ABC, CBS, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic.

Hélène Cardona, Associate Producer

Hélène is a poet, actor, translator, and producer, the recipient of numerous awards and honors including a Hemingway Grant and the USA Best Book Award. Acting credits include Chocolat, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Hundred-Foot Journey, Serendipity, and Mumford. Hélène has helped produce eight films, notably the award-winning documentary Femme. Her books include three poetry collections, including the most recent Life in Suspension and Dreaming My Animal Selves, and three translations.

Born in Paris to a Greek mother and Spanish father, she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, holds a Masters in American Literature from the Sorbonne, and speaks six languages.

Tina Escaja, Ph.D., Scholarly/Creative Advisor

Tina is helping the filmmakers probe for further insight and checking the veracity of their research and conclusions. The project counts on a handful of such experts, but Tina’s activist-creative background beyond the academic makes her such vibrant asset. She’s a Professor of Spanish at the University of Vermont, focusing on Latin American Literature, and is a member of the Film Studies Faculty. An award-winning poet, she also creates experimental and multimedia works and has displayed her art internationally.

Lily Gálvez, Consulting Producer

Lily fled her native Chile after the 1973 coup, beginning her film career in exile in the famous East German state studios. Among the work she has produced since her 1987 return to Chile is a biography on Neruda’s second wife, the artist and activist Delia del Carril. She currently heads the Film Department at Universidad ARCIS in Santiago. Lily has been indispensable in facilitating our production work in Chile.

Gail Silva, Consulting Producer

Gail was the primary force behind the Film Arts Foundation for over 25 years, first as Co-director, then as Executive Director, and finally as President. In 2002, she received the California Arts Council’s Directors Award for her years of dedication to artistic excellence and advocacy. A sought after curator, she’s a principal screener for entrants to Sundance, among other festivals. Gail has been working with Mark Eisner since 2007 on various creative projects, and she has been a key asset in the development of this film, especially helping him be awarded a grant from Latino Public Broadcasting towards the production of Pablo Neruda: The People's Poet.