BIO-FILMOGRAPHY
Ishtar Yasin Gutiérrez is a filmmaker, writer, and actress of multicultural background, with Costa Rican, Chilean, and Iraqi nationality.
After the 1973 military coup in Chile, Ishtar, as a child, sought refuge with her family in Costa Rica and studied at the Conservatorio Castella art school. She has worked as a writer, playwright, theater and film director, screenwriter, producer, actress, and teacher in Costa Rica, France, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Chile, Argentina, Nicaragua, Panama, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
She graduated with a Master of Arts degree from the VGIK Moscow Film Institute and completed a writing residency at CECI, the Center for Cinematographic Writing, Moulin d'Andé, in France. In 1998, she founded Astarté Films in Costa Rica and has written, produced, and directed 15 films, including three feature films: “El Camino,” “Dos Fridas,” and “Baladi Aldaia.” In these works, she explores multiple genres, media, and formats, addressing the realities of women, migration, domestic violence, the Arab and Latin American diaspora and the fall of utopias. Her debut feature, “El Camino,” marked a milestone as the first Central American film to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, bringing Central American film production to the world stage.
Her films have also been at the selection and competition at other festivals, such as Locarno (Open Doors), Cannes (Pavillon du Cinémas du Sud), Mar del Plata (Official Competition), Tallinn Black Nights (Official Competition), and the Shanghai International Film Festival (Official Selection), among others. In 2022, she received the “Outstanding Artistic Contribution” award for her feature film “Baladi Aldaia” at the IDFA International Film Festival in Amsterdam. She also received the Armando Céspedes Marín National Audiovisual Arts Award in Costa Rica and was nominated by Arab critics for Best Documentary Feature at the Cannes Film Festival. Her films have garnered over 30 international awards and are part of the film archives of universities and museums.
As an actress, Ishtar starred in the feature film “Full Moon” in Kazakhstan, directed by Naana Tchankova; acted in the feature film “What’s Happening” by Jocelyne Saab in Lebanon; and and plays Frida Kahlo in the film “Two Fridas,” which she also directed, in Mexico.
FILMOGRAPHY:
Ishtar Yasin Gutiérrez- Astarté Films
Writer, director and producer
1999 “Florencia of the Deep Rivers and the Big Sharks” Short film, Fiction
2004 “The yellow tree” Short film, documentary “I remember you as you were”, documentary
2005 “The Happy Table” Medium-Length film, documentary
2008 “The Path” Feature film, fiction
2010 “The Invisibles” Medium- length film, documentary
2012 “Exquisite Corpse” Short film, documentary
2013 “The wounded table” Short film, fiction
2014 “Apocalypse of Our Time” Medium-Length film, docu- fiction
2014 “Underworld” Short film, fiction
2018 “Two Fridas” Feature film, fiction
2020 “Grandma's songs” Short Film, documentary
2022 “Baladi Aldaia” Feature Film, documentary
2023 “What did the sea say to the waves?” Short Film, documentary
2025 ”Bestiary” Short film, Fiction
AWARDS:
First award in the National Acting Contest, “Pushkin”, 1986, Moscow, 1986.
National Theater Award, for the production “Agonice con elegancia” (Dying with elegance), Costa Rica, 1994.
National Dramatic Art Award by the National Theater Company of Costa Rica for the production “Los que pintan el cielo”, 1997.
Award to the best cinematographic script “Florencia de los ríos hondos y los tiburones grandes” by the Center of Cinema Production in Costa Rica and the Women Institute, 1998.
EL CAMINO
Special Jury Award
Fribourg International Film Festival
Switzerland, 2008.
Ecumenic Jury Award
Fribourg Film Festival
Switzerland, 2008.
FIPRESCI Award
International Federation of Film Critics
Guadalajara International Film Festival
Mexico 2008
Special Jury Mention
Best Iberoamerican Film
Guadalajara International Film Festival
Mexico, 2008
Rail D'Oc Award
Rencontres Cinéma d'Amérique Latine
Toulouse, France, 2008
Best Latin American Film Award
Santiago International Film Festival
SANFIC
Chile, 2008
Roberto "Tato" Miller S.I.C.A. Award
Best Latin-American Film
Mar del Plata International Film Festival
Argentina, 2008
Jury Special Award
Central American Film Festival ICARO
Guatemala,2008
Best Director Award
Central American Film Festival ICARO
Guatemala, 2008
Best Actress Award
Central American Film Festival ICARO
Guatemala,2008
Best Actress Award
Punta del Este International Film Festival
Uruguay, 2008
Best Iberoamerican Film Award
Casa America of Catalonia
International Gibara Film Festival
Cuba, 2008
Best Latin American Film Award
International Gibara Film Festival
Cuba, 2008
Signis Award
Guadalajara International Film Festival
(Film in progress)
México, 2007
Ruben Gámez Award
Guadalajara International Film Festival,
Mexico, 2007
DOS FRIDAS
Lucía Award
Best Director
Gibara International Film Festival
Cuba, 2019
Lucía Award
Best Cinematography
Gibara International Film Festival
Cuba, 2019
Ícaro Award
Best Film
International Film Festival in Central America
Guatemala 2019
Ícaro Award
Best Director
International Film Festival of Central America
Guatemala, 2019
Ícaro Award
Best Cinematography
International Film Festival in Central America Guatemala, 2019
Ícaro Award
Best Art Direction
International Film Festival in Central America
Guatemala, 2019
Best Art Direction Award
Gramado International Film Festival
Brasil, 2019
Special Mention
St. Petersburg Independent Film Festival
Rusia, 2019
Rachmaninov Space Art Award
St. Petersburg Independent Film Festival
Rusia, 2019
Special Mention
International Film Festival El ojo cojo
Madrid, España, 2020
Remi Golden Award
Best Experimental Film
53rd Annual World Fest-Houston
Texas, USA, 2020
Audience Award
Best Film
Central American Film Festival
Viena, Austria, 2020
MY LOST COUNTRY
“Outstanding Artistic Contribution” Award -
IDFA, 2022.
Fipresci and the Special Jury Prize-Ismailia
Internacional Film Festival, Egypt, 2023
Nominated by Arab critics for Best Documentary Feature
at the Cannes Film Festival, 2023
Nominated by Network for Best Human Rights Film at the
Karama International Film Festival in Jordan, 2023
Armando Céspedes Marín National Audiovisual Arts Award
in the Directing Category, awarded by the Ministry of
Culture in Costa Rica, 2024