Manuela Martelli began her acting career as
a teenager, collaborating with directors such
as Andrés Wood, Sebastián Lelio and Martín
Rejtman. She directed the short films Apnea
(2014) and Land Tides (2015), that was part
of the Factory Programme and premiered
at the Cannes FF Directors’ Fortnight.
Martelli’s debut feature film, 1976 (2021),
also premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight
and received the Sutherland Award at BFI,
among others. It achieved wide international
distribution and was recognised as one of
the best films of 2023 by The Guardian.