Eliseo Subiela (Buenos Aires, December 27, 1944 – San Isidro, December 25, 2016) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter. He is recognized for his films Man Looking Southeast; Last Images of the Shipwreck; The Dark Side of the Heart and Don't Die Without Telling Me Where You're Going, among others.
His childhood was marked by darkness and sadness, since his father suffered from a heart condition and avoided showing any emotion at all costs; while her mother was attacked by constant and intense headaches, which forced them to keep the house in darkness so as not to disturb the tranquility of both. Furthermore, his authorized biography of him mentions that ―as a way of opposing Peronist impositions― his parents made him withdraw from primary education religion classes, taking advantage of the withdrawal of his Jewish classmates.
Impressed by aviation, which he studied for years, and after conscription for two years in the Navy, Subiela was influenced by the cinema of several authors, and mainly by the films Chronicle of a Lonely Child by Leonardo Favio, The Woman from Armando Bó's shoemaker, Esquiú, a light on the path by Ralph Pappier and Los mouses, by Francisco Vasallo. He began filming at the age of 17, when he made his first short film, titled A Long Silence (1963). He also worked as a creative for the Lowe company. Already in 1968 he joined the advertising agency Radiux Publicidad as creative director, where he made his first advertising films.
During his youth he was a member of the JP, the Peronist Youth, and a Montonero. In 1969 he met Mora Moglia, with whom he had three children: Guadalupe, Eliseo Ignacio and Santiago. His definitive arrival in cinema occurred in 1980 with the film The Conquest of Paradise, although he had previously filmed Argentina, May 1969, The Paths of Liberation, which was never released.
In 1985 he premiered Man Looking Southeast, with which he obtained his greatest popular and artistic recognition to that date. The film became a classic of Argentine cinematography and is considered a Subiela masterpiece. Starting in the 21st century, the film began to receive renewed attention after the release of the American film K-Pax (2001), which was a matter of controversy since its plot was pointed out by critics around the world as an almost exact copy of Man Looking Southeast. In February 1995 he underwent open heart surgery, and a triple bypass was implanted. Subiela then received, in another institution, a coronary angioplasty with stent at the hands of Dr. Luis de la Fuente, the same surname as his on his mother's side. In Man Looking Southeast, Subiela cites a psychiatrist in the fictional film named Dr. De la Fuente in Spain.
He was awarded by the Konex Foundation with the Konex Award / Diploma of Merit in 1991, as one of the "Five Best Film Directors of the Decade 1981–1990" in Argentina and again in 1994 as one of the five best screenwriters. He was also named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic ("Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la Republique Française", 1990) and an honourary member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences Spanish Cinematographic Films (1995). In 2005 he obtained a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation.
In 1994 he founded the "Eliseo Subiela Professional School of Cinema and Audiovisual Art" in Buenos Aires, with the aim of training young people interested in cinema and audiovisual with special attention to research and practice in the field.
He died on December 25, 2016 in the early morning hours, as confirmed by his friend and director of the Argentine Film Directors Association Gabriel Arbós. He had suffered an acute myocardial infarction three months earlier. At his death he was working on Final Cut, a film project that would be a tribute to the big screen; as well as in a play he authored titled Real Life. He was buried in the Jardín de Paz de Pilar cemetery.
