Alum Natalia Almada Wins a MacArthur!

With this morning’s announcement of the 2012 MacArthur awards, filmmaker Natalia Almada MFA 01 PH has become the latest RISD alum to earn a coveted “genius” grant. She’s one of 23 extraordinary people – in the arts, sciences, humanities and related fields – to win a no-strings-attached award of $100,000 a year for the next five years to further his or her work. 

Natalia, who majored in Photography at RISD but also had “a fantastic video teacher,” is best known for her latest film El Velador – an eloquent documentary about the night watchman at a Mexican graveyard full of fallen drug lords. The New York Times calls it “a lyrical film about a world made and unmade by violence.” You can watch it for yourself on PBS’ POV.