Gabriela Samper
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Gabriela Samper was the first woman in Colombia to make documentary films and is also recognized for her contribution in recording the ethnography and folklore of her country.She was born to a middle class Bogota household in 1918 (her father was a lawyer) and she spent almost a decade, from 1928 to 1937 in the school system there before having the good fortune to study abroad, at New York City's Columbia University (English and short story writing) and in modern dance with Martha Graham also New York.Back home she continued studies, now in philosophy, and became involved with live theater beginning in 1958, including puppet plays.Her later film and TV work would feature programming for children.During one of the periods of repression in Colombia she was detained in 1972 for five months on the grounds of subversive activities (she had participated in protest movements from 1948 to 1958) and was tortured, leading her to leave her native country again for a while after her release.She died soon after in 1974.