Cecilia Montiel
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Production designer of feature films, born Lima, Peru, 1955
Montiel studied architecture and moved to Los Angeles in 1978, where she was a contemporary of Lorenzo O'Brien and Alex Cox.
She worked as an art director on a variety of films including Cox's WALKER. Her first film as a designer was his film EL PATRULLERO. She has since worked with a variety of directors including Cox, Robert Rodriguez (DESPERADO, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN), Pancho Lombardi (SIN COMPASSION), Antonio Banderas (CRAZY IN ALABAMA), THE MEXICAN (Gore Verbinski) and Martin Campbell (THE MARK OF ZORRO).
Montiel's talent is enormous - raising the level of mediocre films like THE WINNER and CRAZY IN ALABAMA - but her career seems to have been restricted by a stereotypical attitude on the part of producers and directors, who use her in the main for 'south of the border' or 'Latino-themed' films. Cox calls her, "the most creative individual I have ever worked with."