Alba Sotorra (born 22 May 1980, Reus, Spain) is an independent film-director and producer of several documentaries. She has her own production company based in Barcelona.
Education
Alba Sotorra grew up in Reus, Tarragona. She studied film at the Complutense University of Madrid, from where she graduated in 2004. Her last year she studied in Puerto Rico. She obtained a European Masters in Cultural Education from the University of Rovira i Virgili in 2007.
Professional career
Unveiled Views of 2008 is a documentary which portrays five women Alba Sotorra met while hitchhiking from Spain to Pakistan.
Game Over was released in 2015, and treats the life of a man who is trapped in his internet world and in attempts to come free of it. It won the Gaudì Award of Catalonia for best documentary in 2016.
Comandante Arian was released in 2018 and is about a Kurdish female commander of the Women's Protection Units, who leads her troops towards Kobanî aiming for a defeat of the Islamic State. She is also a member of the Dones Visuales.
The Return: Life after ISIS of 2021 portrays Shamima Begum, Hoda Muthana or Kimberly Polman who had joined ISIS. It contains news coverage of the defeat of ISIS at Baghuz and has a focus on the de-radicalization of the ISIS adherents. It was nominated to the Goya Awards in 2022.
Personal life
She has resided in Tarragona, Madrid, Berlin and Barcelona where she is currently based. Following her graduation in 2004, she hitchhiked to Pakistan. From Reus in Spain, the journey took her about a year and inspired her for her documentary Unveiled Views.
Awards
- 2016 Best new filmdirector by the Colegio de Directores de Cataluña.
- 2016 Best Documentary for Game Over at the Gaudi Awards
- 2022 Best Documentary at the 50th International Emmy Awards for The Return: Life after ISIS
References
- ^ "Biografía de Alba Sotorra - Departamento de Bibliotecas y Documentación del Instituto Cervantes". www.cervantes.es. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
- ^ "Interview Alba Sotorra | Barcelona Metròpolis | Barcelona City Council". Barcelona Metropolis. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- "Unveiled Views | Watch Documentaries Online | Promote Documentary Film". www.cultureunplugged.com. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
- "Game Over | DocumentaMadrid 15". DocumentaMadrid. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- "Commander Arian". Ethnicine-a. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- ^ Kiang, Jessica (2021-03-27). "'The Return: Life After ISIS' Review: Compassionate, Essential Glimpse Into the Aftermath of Radicalization". Variety. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- ^ "El Retorno: la vida después del ISIS » Premios Goya 2023". www.premiosgoya.com. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- Simon, Xesco (2022-01-17). "Entrevista a Alba Sotorra: "No hay voz más poderosa en contra del extremismo violento que la de las arrepentidas" - Las Furias Magazine - Revista Cultural y Feminista". Las Furias Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- Maas, Jennifer (2022-11-22). "International Emmys 2022: The Complete Winners List". Variety. Retrieved 2022-12-19.