2021
Jorge Thielen-Armand
Guggenheim supports full-time filmmaking for accomplished Canadian-Venezuelan creator
2021
Guggenheim supports full-time filmmaking for accomplished Canadian-Venezuelan creator
Like many postsecondary students in Canada, Jorge Thielen-Armand changed paths while in university. For the Canadian-Venezuelan filmmaker, that move made all the difference.
Exposed to a variety of subjects in pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts degree at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, Thielen-Armand initially thought he wanted to be a journalist.
“I got exposed to various authors,” he says, “and I found that film combined a lot of my interests.” Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Thielen-Armand says he “wanted to explore what I left behind and where I was.”
“I transferred to communications studies at Concordia University and there, in Montreal I really had some amazing professors who made a big difference in me learning what I wanted to do and what independent filmmaking could be.”
Thielen-Armand now has two feature films to his credit and is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow.
A founding partner of the Venezuelan-Canadian film production company La Faena, Thielen-Armand develops films that question reality through introspection and strong perspectives, with a focus on contemporary Venezuelan identity. His work has been screened and recognized at several world-class festivals.
His first feature film La Soledad (2016) premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and screened at more than 60 festivals, receiving over a dozen awards. His second feature film La Fortaleza (2020) was presented in the Tiger Competition of the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam, followed by screenings in Busan, Guadalajara, Gijón, Cairo and other major festivals.
“I was completely floored,” when learning he won the Guggenheim Fellowship, Thielen-Armand says. “I felt very fortunate.”
At 31, Thielen-Armand says he is the youngest Guggenheim Fellow this year. “So that was certainly very encouraging.” The financial support of the award will allow Thielen-Armand to continue working full time on filmmaking over the coming year.
And that’s what he’d like to continue to do in the years ahead – that, “and other things that really speak to my heart.”
