Nicolás López

Nicolás Javier López Fernández (born 16 March 1983) is a Chilean film director screenwriter and producer. He is known for comedies such as Promedio Rojo, the Qué pena trilogy (2010–2012), and the Paz Bascuñán vehicles Sin filtro (2016) and No estoy loca (2018).

Life and work

López became interested in filmmaking at a young age. After reading Rebel Without a Crew (1995) by Robert Rodriguez and watching Clerks (1994) by Kevin Smith, he began experimenting with his family's video camera. By the age of 12, he was already writing a column for El Mercurio. His column, Memorias de un Pingüino ("Memories of a Penguin"), ran from 1997 to 1999. Following his expulsion from school, he began writing a new column titled López. He later co-wrote and produced The Green Inferno (2013), which screened at festivals including Toronto and Sitges, and Knock Knock (2015), starring Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

López also served as executive producer on The Stranger (2014) and The Inhabitant (2018), both directed by Guillermo Amoedo, and co-produced the Chilean films Fuerzas Especiales (2014) and Fuerzas Especiales 2 (2015), which together surpassed 400,000 admissions in Chile. The film was later included in a 2025 national survey by Cadem as the third most popular Chilean film of the previous decade.

He followed with Hazlo como hombre (2017), which grossed approximately $13.6 million worldwide and surpassed 4.2 million admissions in Mexico, becoming the highest-grossing Mexican film of its year.

As co-producer, he participated in Ya veremos (2018), which grossed approximately $14.1 million worldwide and became the most-watched Mexican film of that year.

That same year, he directed No estoy loca (2018), which reached around 600,000 admissions in Chile and was later ranked fifth in the same Cadem survey.

In 2019, he directed Dulce Familia, which grossed approximately $5.7 million worldwide.

His body of work, combining original productions and international remakes, has generated approximately $85 million at the worldwide box office and reached more than 20 million theatrical admissions globally. His films have screened at major international festivals including SXSW, Tokyo, Sundance, Toronto, Sitges and Mar del Plata.

The López case On 30 June 2018, eight Chilean actresses and models accused Nicolás López of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. The following day, Netflix announced it was putting its deal with Sobras "under review", and López posted a video online stating he was resigning from Sobras and would defend himself against the allegations: "I don't understand what is happening nor the break in my years-long relationships of trust and affection. If I sometimes have been misunderstood, I apologize. But I'm not a stalker nor an abuser."

The accusations, published in the Chilean magazine Revista Sábado, prompted the Fiscalía de Chile, under then regional prosecutor Manuel Guerra, to open an ex officio investigation. During the proceedings, López was held in custody for 14 days before the Corte Suprema de Chile granted a habeas corpus appeal and ordered his release, ruling that the deprivation of liberty was unlawful.

The prosecution was carried out by a team that included prosecutor Lorena Parra, and the judicial proceedings involved judge Alonso Arancibia, with investigative support from the Policía de Investigaciones de Chile (PDI). The accusations were publicly supported by the Fundación para la Confianza and legally represented by Juan Pablo Hermosilla, who acted as counsel for some of the complainants and participated in the public discussion surrounding the case.

On 26 April 2022, López was found guilty of two cases of sexual assault. On 16 May 2022 López was found guilty of two instances of sexual assault and was released under a sentence that required him to undergo psychological treatment.

Awards Sitges – Catalan International Film Festival Nominated, Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver, Official Fantàstic Panorama Selection, Mis peores amigos: Promedio Rojo, El regreso (2013) Nominated, Maria, Best Motion Picture, Aftershock (2012)

Tokyo International Film Festival Nominated, Tokyo Grand Prix, Promedio Rojo (2004)

Viña del Mar International Film Festival Won, Special Jury Award, Promedio Rojo (2004)

Filmography

Film Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2003 Cesante 2004 Promedio Rojo 2008 Santos Also executive producer 2010Qué pena tu vida 2011 Qué pena tu boda 2012 Aftershock Qué pena tu familia 2013 Mis peores amigos: Promedio Rojo, el regreso 2014 Fuerzas Especiales 2015 Knock Knock 2016 Sin filtro 2017 Hazlo como hombre 2018 No estoy loca 2019 Dulce familia Producer only

Short film Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1999 Pajero Also cinematographer and editor Superheroes Dédalos Documentary short film 2000 Florofilia 2019 Cineminuto Cinemex: Dulce Familia Advertisement short

Television Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2003 TV special 2007 Súper Niño Bully TV Short 2011 El Crack TV movie;

Co-directed with Guillermo Amoedo 2015 Qué pena tu serie TV series La leyenda de el Carack TV movie

Webseries Year Title Director Producer Notes 2011 El Crack Co-Director with Guillermo Amoedo 2013 Se venden

Music videos Mujer robusta – Sinergia, with Eduardo Bertrán (2002) Concurso – Sinergia, with Eduardo Bertrán (2002) Chilerobot – Sinergia, with Eduardo Bertrán (2003) Te quiero ver muerta – Tiro Al Aire, with Eduardo Bertrán Traigo el aguante – Santo Barrio, with Eduardo Bertrán (2002) Toma lo que quieras – Claudio Quiñones, with Eduardo Bertrán