Alice Waddington

Last updated
Alice Waddington
Born
Irene Lago Clavero

(1990-07-31) July 31, 1990 (age 35)
Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
CitizenshipSpanish
Alma mater University of the Basque Country
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2010–present

Alice Waddington (born July 31, 1990) is a Spanish film director, writer, photographer and costume designer. [1] [2] Her directing style is rooted in heightened genre cinema, combining visceral action, psychological horror, and dark humor within stylized, character-driven worlds. Her work emphasizes physical storytelling, choreographed movement, and tonal control, allowing moments of surrealism to coexist with large-scale spectacle. [3]

Contents

Early life

Waddington was born Irene Lago Clavero [4] on July 31, 1990, in Bilbao, Spain. Her father is a Catalan forensic psychiatrist and her mother a Galician teacher. She grew up in the then blue-collar San Mamés neighborhood of Bilbao. [5]

Waddington adopted her stage name [6] at sixteen, while assisting director of photography Quique López. [7] At 18, she studied advertising at UPV-EHU University where she started capturing promotion stills and directing fashion films as a photographer for the Spanish editions of Harper's Bazaar , Neo2 [8] and others.

Waddington currently lives and is based in Los Angeles. [9]

Career

After studying advertising at the public University of the Basque Country (UPV), Waddington worked for three years as an advertising creative, producer, and advertising video editor at agencies including Leo Burnett Iberia and Social Noise, also specializing as a digital storyboard artist.[ citation needed ]

Alice Waddington on the set of Paradise Hills with Milla Jovovich. Photo by Manolo Pavon Alice on the set of "Paradise Hills" with Milla Jovovich.tif
Alice Waddington on the set of Paradise Hills with Milla Jovovich. Photo by Manolo Pavón

In 2014, Waddington took a hiatus from advertising agency work to write and direct her first narrative short film, Disco Inferno (2015), with executive producer Yadira Ávalos. [10] The 11-minute film received nominations at more than 60 international film festivals, including Palm Springs International ShortFest, [11] Fantasia, Sitges (Noves Visions Short award), [12] and Fantastic Fest. The film won Best Director at Fantastic Fest and the Silver Feature Film Project Award at the festival’s film market,[ citation needed ] leading to the development of Waddington’s debut feature Paradise Hills. [13] [ failed verification ]

Waddington entered pre-production on her debut feature film, Paradise Hills , in 2017 with Spanish production company Nostromo Pictures. [14] Written by Brian DeLeeuw [15] and Nacho Vigalondo, the science-fiction thriller starred Emma Roberts, Awkwafina, Eiza González, Danielle Macdonald, Milla Jovovich, and Jeremy Irvine. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019, becoming the second Spanish debut feature ever selected by the festival, and went on to screen at more than twenty international genre festivals, including Fantasia, Sitges, and Mórbido.[ citation needed ]

In June 2019, it was announced that Waddington was developing her second feature film, Scarlet, from a script co-written with Kristen SaBerre, with Waddington also serving as executive producer. The project was developed at MGM/Orion and produced by Aggregate Entertainment. [16]

In September 2021, Waddington was announced as director of the Netflix adaptation of the Dark Horse Entertainment comic series Dept. H , with a script by screenwriter T. S. Nowlin, known for The Maze Runner film series and Pacific Rim: Uprising. [17]

In October 2022, Waddington premiered her first television episode at the Sitges Film Festival as part of Amazon Prime Video Spain’s revival of Historias para no Dormir. Her episode, La Pesadilla, was written with established Spanish showrunner Rocío Martínez Llano and is a remake of a 1967 story by legendary horror pioneer Chicho Ibáñez Serrador. [18]

In 2023, Waddington and the Benson sisters sold an adaptation of the fantasy novel series The Witchlands to a major U.S. studio, with Waddington attached to direct the project. [19]

Waddington is also a co-writer and director on the segment Red Shoes for the 2026 feature-length horror anthology film Tales from the Woods, produced by Wayward Entertainment. The anthology includes segments directed by multiple filmmakers, including Benson & Moorhead. [20]

In 2026, Waddington is attached to adapt a novel for Addictive Pictures under its genre imprint Neotext.[ citation needed ]

Social activism

Waddington is a proactive demander for sorority within the arts. [6]

In the context of film, she has been vocal about the need for both more female-led and more diversely-cast films worldwide [21] and about motivating young women to enroll into filmmaking programs. [22] She has also often mentioned the need for film studios around the world to hire more women, with an accent on women of color. [23]

Personal life

Waddington is fluent in Spanish and English and conversational in Basque, French and Catalan.[ citation needed ]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotesRef(s)
2015Disco InfernoYesYesYadira ÁvalosShort film Link
2019 Paradise Hills YesYesNostromo Pictures, Netflix OriginalsFeature Link
2022Historias Para no Dormir (TV episode)YesYesAmazon EUTV Anthology Link
2025-2026Red ShoesYesYesWayward EntertainmentTV episode [24]

Awards

Disco Inferno (2015)

Waddington's short film Disco Inferno was showcased at 63 genre and conventional film festivals globally, including Sitges, Fantastic Fest, and Palm Springs International ShortFest. The film received multiple awards, such as Best Short Film at Sitges and Fantastic Fest, and was qualified for the Academy Awards. [25]

Paradise Hills (2019)

Waddington's debut feature film Paradise Hills premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was screened at over 30 international festivals, including Sitges, Fantasia Film Festival, and Toronto After Dark. Prior to its release, the project won the Silver Award for Best Feature Project at Fantastic Fest in 2015. The film received various nominations, including Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards and a nomination for Best New Director at the Goya Awards. It was also qualified for the Academy Awards. [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]

La Pesadilla (2022)

The IP-based TV episode La Pesadilla was presented at the Sitges Film Festival in 2022 as part of its Midnight Series lineup. The episode earned critical acclaim for its unique blend of horror and social commentary. [31] [32]

Tales From the Woods (2025-2026)

Waddington directed the short segment Red Shoes for the anthology series Tales from the Woods, which was selected for Sitges Film Festival, Brooklyn Horror and Fantastic Fest. [33]

References

  1. ↑ Odriozola, Amaia (2013-07-18). "La nueva brigada de It Girls españolas" [The new Spanish It girl brigade]. Glamour Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  2. ↑ Cabeza, Elisabet (April 1, 2016). "Spanish Filmmakers to follow: The magnificent Seven". Screen International.
  3. ↑ Unknown, Unknown. "Sundance 2019's Rising Star Director: Alice Waddington". Golden Globes. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
  4. ↑ Redacción. ""Todas las mujeres somos hermanas y criticarnos es una lucha dañina e inútil"". DOZE Magazine (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  5. ↑ "Bilbao: Industrial development and urban transformation". Bilbao City Council. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Confuso, Hombre (2013). "'As women we are all sisters, and criticizing each other is a fruitless and harmful fight'". Doze Mag (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-10-09.
  7. ↑ Ortega, Pablo (December 10, 2013). "Alice Waddington". Esquire Spain (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  8. ↑ Diaz, Lilu (December 19, 2016). "Making of Neo2 Enero 2012" [Making of Neo2's January 2012 issue] (in Spanish). neo2.es.
  9. ↑ "Alice Waddington habla sobre La Pesadilla". Glamour España. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  10. ↑ Durán, Mawi. "National Spanish TV Program El Hub". Non Stop People (in Spanish). Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  11. ↑ Fessier, Bruce (June 20, 2016). "ShortFest directors pick favorite packages of short films". USA Today.
  12. ↑ Mayorga, Emilio (October 17, 2015). "'Invitation' tops Sitges". Variety.
  13. ↑ Hopewell, John (August 13, 2015). "'Amateurs,' 'Paradise Hills,' 'Kiken' Set for Austin Fantastic Market". Variety.
  14. ↑ De Pablos, Emiliano (January 14, 2016). "Atresmedia, Warner's 'Palm Trees' Dislodges 'Star Wars' from Spanish B.O. No. 1 Berth". Variety.
  15. ↑ Rubinstein, Mark (May 1, 2016). "'The Dismantling': A Conversation With Brian DeLeeuw". The Huffington Post.
  16. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 26, 2019). "It's fine to cry in meetings with Alana Mayo". Deadline.
  17. ↑ "Alice Waddington To Direct Adaptation Of Dark Horse Entertainment's Graphic Novel 'Dept. H' For Netflix".
  18. ↑ Rowan-Legg, Shelagh (October 16, 2022). "Sitges 2022 Review: Stories to Keep You Awake Season 2 Delights, Terrifies, Intensifies the Fears". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Page To Screen: "The Witchlands" Are Coming". Press Pass LA. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Instagram reel by Alice Waddington referencing "Red Shoes" from Tales from the Woods". Instagram. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  21. ↑ Garcia Muñoz, Isabel (December 14, 2015). "Alice Waddington: I like to think we've created the first Gothic Horror film with twerking in it". Caras de la Información (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  22. ↑ Perez Guevara, Jose Antonio (2017-02-19). "Interview with Alice Waddington". 242 películas después (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  23. ↑ Miller, Amarna (March 3, 2017). "Alice Waddington, the director who makes fantastic genre films to denounce social issues". Atresmedia Cultura (Atresmedia culture, national Spanish Film and TV network) (in Spanish).
  24. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39296466/
  25. ↑ "Disco Inferno's festival and award list". Marvin Wayne. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  26. ↑ "Paradise Hills at Sundance". Sundance Institute. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  27. ↑ "34th Goya Awards Nominations". Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  28. ↑ "2015 Fantastic Fest Silver Award Winners". Fantastic Fest. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  29. ↑ "Paradise Hills at Fantasia Film Festival". Fantasia Festival. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  30. ↑ "Paradise Hills at Toronto After Dark". Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  31. ↑ "La Pesadilla at Sitges Film Festival". Sitges Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  32. ↑ "Sitges 2022 Review: Stories to Keep You Awake". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  33. ↑ "Tales from the Woods selected for Fantastic Fest 2025". Horror Society. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
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