Fernando Saldivia Yáñez

Fernando Saldivia Yáñez is a film director, producer, and educator based between Puerto Williams, Chile, and Chicago, USA. He obtained his BA from Carleton College, MN and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

His practice uses intimate observations to explore the politics and poetics of the quotidian. His film work has been shown in multiple festivals and spaces including the Chicago International Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, L’Alternativa, Beijing International Short Film Festival, Prismatic Ground, SANFIC, the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, and the Gene Siskel Film Center.

His latest feature film, Brief Space of a Time, received the Vox Populi award at the 62 Ann Arbor Film Festival. Other awards include the Artistic Vision Special Jury Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival for The Roots Weaver, and the Blickfang Award at Filmfest Schleswig-Holstein for Winter portrait.

Fernando is a recipient of a 2025 IAP Grant from the Chicago Department of Culture Affairs and Special Events.