About Jacobo Penzo
Lived 1948 – 2020 (aged 72). Jacobo Penzo was a Venezuelan filmmaker, painter, film director, director and film critic.
Jacobo Penzo (born 1948 in Carora; died 2020 in Caracas), was a Venezuelan filmmaker, best known for his drama piece The House of Water, shown in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 1984. The film also represented Venezuela in the Best Foreign Language Film competition at the 57th Academy Awards. Penzo is also a painter and a writer.
Biography Jacobo Penzo was born in Carora Lara, Venezuela on September 22, 1948. He moved to Caracas with his family in 1957. After high school he studied journalism at the Central University of Venezuela.
Awards
Venezuelan National Cinema Award (Premio Nacional de Cine de Venezuela) in 2002. Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2007 in recognition to Penzo´s artistic talents
Films
The House of Water ("La Casa de Agua"), 1984 Música Nocturna ("Night Music"), 1987 En territorio Extranjero ("On A Foreign Land") 1993 Borrador ( "Draft" ) co-production, 2006 Cabimas donde todo comenzó ("Cabimas, the burst") 2012
Documentaries
Some of Penzo´s documentaries are:
Falso Retrato de Luis Alberto Crespo (" Fake Portrait of LAC ") 2014 El Profeta Olvidado ( "The Forgotten Prophet" ), co-production with Carlos Azpúrua 2003 Maracaibo Blues 2001 Algunas Preguntas a la Mujeres (Questions to Women) 1984 El Silencio de la Memoria ("The Silence of the Past") 1986 La Pastora Resiste ("The Old Town Battle") 1982 El Afinque de Marín ("The Barrio Beat") 1980 Tecnología para el hombre essay, 2000 Que Habrá sido de Herbert Marcuse, short stories, 2014 Rumores, poems, 2015
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Important facts
People in Jacobo Penzo's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jacobo Penzo's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jacobo Penzo?
Venezuelan film director
When was Jacobo Penzo born?
Jacobo Penzo was born on 22 September 1948 in Carora.
When did Jacobo Penzo die?
Jacobo Penzo died on 22 September 2020 in Caracas.
What was Jacobo Penzo's occupation?
Jacobo Penzo was a filmmaker, painter, film director, director and film critic.
What nationality was Jacobo Penzo?
Jacobo Penzo was Venezuelan.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jacobo Penzo. https://biography.guide/jacobo-penzo/
MLA: "Jacobo Penzo." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jacobo-penzo/.
Chicago: "Jacobo Penzo." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jacobo-penzo/.
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