Isaac Ezban

Isaac Ezban was born on April 15, 1986 in Mexico City, in a Jewish family established in Mexico for over 3 generations. He was educated as a storyteller from a young age by his grandmother, who instructed him to become an oral storyteller, and he used to narrate stories on big TV shows from age 6 and on. Later on his high school years he got more into writing his stories, and now he tells them in films. But across all this journey, he always knew he wanted to make films.Isaac studied Communication with major in Film in Mexico City at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Drama in London (The Method Studio) and Filmmaking in New York City (The New York Film Academy). He wrote four short novels before working on the film industry.In 2007 Isaac was one of the co-founders of Yellow Films, a production company that ran successfully for 8 years producing films and advertisement. Yellow Films created the clip of the week project, making one short film every week for 50 weeks (1 year), focused on the challenge of telling one story every week. On July 2015, as Yellow Films was divided into 2 companies, as Isaac founded with Miriam Mercado the production company Red Elephant Films.Isaac likes to tell bizarre and original science fiction and horror stories, genres he has been obsessed with ever since he can recall. He made 9 short films that won important achievements in both national and International festivals, among them Nasty Stuff (2010), that was in official selection on over 30 international film festival and has won over 10 awards in countries like Australia, Argentina, Ireland, UK, USA, South Africa, Canada, Israel and Mexico, and was seen by Guillermo del Toro, who commented on it: "An enigmatic and potent film. Extremely personal and full of ideas. I'd love to see Isaac Ezban approaching a larger format".In 2013 Isaac started working on his first feature-length film as a director, called The Incident, from a screenplay written by Isaac himself that got the national award of Best Original Screenplay for a Feature Film at the Guanajuato International Film Festival and also the Best Presentation award at the Fantastic Market of Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, USA, given to him by a jury conformed by Elijah Wood and Robert Rodriguez. With this support and money from private investors, The Incident (described by Isaac as a philosophical science fiction drama about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces) was shot on 2013 on locations in Mexico City and Pachuca, Hidalgo, with a cast filled with Mexican stars that were attracted by the original and innovative screenplay (among them Raul Mendez, Nailea Norvind, Hernan Mendoza, Humberto Busto, Fernando Alvarez and more).The Incident had its first screening at the Cannes Film Festival on the Blood Window Midnight Galas section, and its world premiere at Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas) and then Sitges (Catalunya, Spain), the two most important genre festivals on the world, and it then became a festival hit, screening in more than 50 big film festivals all over the world (including Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, Vancouver International Film Festival in Canada, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in Belgium, Los Cabos International Film Festival in Mexico, and many more), winning so far more than 16 awards. It was picked by Shoreline Entertainment for world sales (who have sold the film for theatrical release in Japan, China, USA, Canada, Rusia, Ukraine, Baltics, Eastern Europe, Latinamerica and other territories, including airlines) and by Cine Canibal for distribution on Mexican territory, with a theatrical release on September 2015. The film had a good theatrical run in Mexico, playing for over 5 weeks (more than the average Mexican film)The Incident became a big critics hit, with important press like Twitch calling it "One of the most intriguing Mexican films of the year", Fangoria calling it "an ultra-dark remake of Groundhog Day produced by Damon Lindelof and directed by the ghost of Rod Serling", Ain't it cool news calling it "The type of sci fi that would make Bradbury, Serling, and Wells stand up and cheer. A masterpiece in modern science fiction and should not be missed.", The Guarian commenting on it "It's been a while since I've witnessed the uncomfortable confusion and frustration that accompany nightmares put to film in such a way. This is Mexican director Isaac Ezban's first feature film, and I can't wait to see what he's got in store next.", Vivascene commenting on it "Ezban is a thoughtful, resourceful, and adept director. Using a budget that must have been a mere fraction of a fraction of, say, Christopher Nolan's undue Inception, Ezban takes an infinitely more imaginative and precarious approach, with a far better payoff. While it may not be of the same calibre of Tarkovsky's Solaris or Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Incident is of the same lineage, and for a first effort, Ezban shows great potential. Ezban's got a long career ahead of him, and it's a thrill to see his first flight.", and many more.The Incident got great support and reviews from other genre directors, like Joe Dante, who commented on it: "As arresting a film debut as any in recent years. Isaac Ezban's The Incident is a tantalizing mobius strip of a movie, fresh and hypnotic in its economy and style. An edifying experience in the vein of Solaris and Inception.", or Guillermo del Toro, who commented on it: "A potent and ingenious riddle and a promising debut for Isaac Ezban... A complicated idea but very well structured.. A great debut! Very, very ambitious and still it achieves everything it wants. Ezban is a necessary director in genre films in Mexico"The Similars, Isaac's second feature film, a science fiction thriller that takes place in Mexico in 1968 and that has been described by Isaac as "a love letter to the sci-fi of the 60s", was shot on July and August 2014 with a cast filled with Mexican stars, among them Gustavo Sanchez Parra, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Fernando Becerril, Humberto Busto, Carmen Beato and more.The Similars had again its world premiere in Fantastic Fest 2015, going then to play at Sitges 2015, making Isaac the first director in the history of Mexico to have 2 films in 2 years in a row in both Fantastic Fest and Sitges.On October 2015, The Similars got the award of Best Latinamerican Feature Film (Blood Window Award) at Sitges, the most important genre film festival on the world. "Being selected in this festival is already an award" - Isaac commented - "But of course I'm happy to get an award as well". The film then went to make its Mexican premiere at Morbido Film Festival (the most important genre festival in Latinamerica), where it got the Press Award, and other more than 30 festivals have screened it or will screen it in 2016, including the most important genre ones of each territory: Vancouver International Film Festival in Canada, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in Belgium, Fantaspoa in Brazil, Bifan in Korea, Frightfest in the UK and many more, winning so far more than 9 awards. The film got picked by Stray Dogs for world rights (excluding Mexico and North America), who started selling to distributors in the European Film Market at Berlin 2016, having releases in many countries in Europe and Asia, while Paradigm, representing the North American rights, sold the film to XLrator Media, who did a limited theatrical release in the US at the end of 2016. In Mexico, the film was released in theaters in October 2016 by Morbido Films (the distribution branch of Morbido, the biggest genre festival and most important genre institution in Latinamerica). On January 2017, the film became available on Netflix Northamerica, and on May 2017 on Netflix Worldwide.The Similars also became a big critics hits, with important press like Aint It Cool News commenting on it: "Simply amazing! An absolutely riveting descent into oddity and madness! I absolutely loved every tension-filled minute of this odd masterpiece of paranoia and horror", Taste of Cinema mentioning that: "The Similars is unique, its ambience inimitable, and its revelation a perverse pleasure... Ezban's high concept thriller and visceral, fast-pace and breathless storytelling mark him as one of the most exciting filmmakers in some time", Pop-Optik saying that the film is "Constantly lively, brought to life by a great cast, a simple premise and a taut direction", Straight adding that "Its weird and weirder, and then it gets REALLY weird, with Ezban drumming up to a high visual style that matches his outlandish concept", The One review commenting that: "Its brilliant storytelling, and I can't wait to watch it again", Twitch saying the film is "A great homage to an era of fear and paranoia", and Variety mentioning that "Ezban could be considered a hipper Mexican cousin to M. Night Shyamalan". It was also on Fangoria and taste of Cinema top 10 horror movies of 2016.The Similars has also gotten great support from other genre directors, like Joe Dante, who commented on it: "Isaac Ezban's remarkably entertaining Los Parecidos had me smiling ear to ear as his Twilight Zone-inspired story twists and turns and confounds and ultimately satisfies. It's a terrific movie!"In 2016, Isaac was hired by Bron Studios (the biggest studio in Canada, producers of films like Birth of a Nation, Fences and Tully) to direct his third movie (and first English spoken film) Parallel, for which he traveled to Vancouver. Parallel, a sci-fi thriller/drama about group of friends that stumble upon a portal to a "multiverse", soon discovering that importing knowledge from the other side brings dangerous consequences, a project first developed by producers Garrick Dion (Drive, Whiplash, Nightcrawler), Aaron Gilbert, Matthias Mellinghaus, John Zaozirny and David O'Leary and written by Scott Blaszak, was shot on November and December 2016 around Vancouver, with a cast full of up and coming talent, among them Martin Wallstrom (Mr. Robot), Aml Ameen (Sense 8, The Butler), Georgia King (Vice Principals), Mark O'Brien (Arrival), and other veterans like Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13, Event Horizon, Breakdown). After a great shoot, the film is in post-production during 2017, for a release on the second half of the year.Isaac is also involved in the business of film exhibition, as he's one of the founders of the Autocinema Coyote (Drive-in Coyote), the first Drive-In Theater to open in Mexico City for over 30 years, that opened in November 2011 and then opened its second location in the city on November 2012 and third location on July 2014, its forth and fifth location on 2015, and its sixth on 2016, and has been visited by more than 1,000,000 people.Represented by Paradigm Talent Agency as his agents and Good Fear Management at his manager, Isaac is now writing his fourth feature film. Show less «