{{Short description|Bolivian film director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Violeta Ayala | image = Vayalainprague2010.jpg | image_size = | caption = Violeta Ayala. | birth_name = Violeta Michelle Ayala Grageda | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1978|2|16}} | birth_place = Cochabamba, Bolivia | occupation = Film director, producer, writer, artist | spouse = {{marriage|Dan Fallshaw|2012}} | children = 1 }} '''Violeta Ayala''' (born '''Violeta Michelle Ayala Grageda'''; 16 February 1978) is a Bolivian-Australian Quechua<ref>{{Cite web|title=Violeta Ayala|url=https://www.browngirlsdocmafia.com/members/recERAaVBwbBQ5ZpC|access-date=2021-01-16|website=Brown Girls Doc Mafia|language=en}}</ref> filmmaker, artist<ref>{{Cite web |last=London |first=King's College |title=Artists announced for major new GLow3 exhibition |url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/artists-announced-for-major-new-glow3-exhibition |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=King's College London |language=en}}</ref> and technologist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=kentbye |title=#1254: Using AI to Upskill Creative Sovereignty with XR Artist Violeta Ayala – Voices of VR Podcast |url=https://voicesofvr.com/1254-using-ai-to-upskill-creative-sovereignty-with-xr-artist-violeta-ayala/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> Her credits include ''Huk, The Jaguaress'' (2025),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Huk, The Jaguaress |url=https://cphdox.dk/film/huk-the-jaguaress/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=CPH:DOX |language=en-GB}}</ref> ''Las Awichas'' (2024),<ref>{{Cite web |last=London |first=King's College |title=Las Awichas, 2024 © Violeta Ayala |url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/las-awichas-2024-c-violeta-ayala |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=King's College London |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-06 |title=Talento. La magia de Las Awichas triunfa en Australia |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/doble-click/cultura/20250306/talento-magia-awichas-triunfa-australia |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=Los Tiempos |language=es}}</ref> ''Prison X – The Devil & The Sun'' (2021)<ref>{{Cite web|title=2021 Sundance Film Festival|url=https://fpg.festival.sundance.org/new-frontier-info/5fd1a2b863d677ddecc3aa89?fbclid=IwAR35smHO3odos8GurvCM_QV013gty_leN34HF72b64YK0P1G_0k_VWDx0qM|access-date=2020-12-21|website=fpg.festival.sundance.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=2020-12-15|title=Sundance 2021: New Frontier Program Unveils 14 Selections, Presented (Of Course) in Virtual Spaces|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/festivals/sundance-2021-new-frontier-lineup-1234853817/|access-date=2020-12-21|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> and the documentaries ''La Lucha'' (2023),<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Lucha (The Fight) |url=https://www.blackstarfest.org/festival/films/la-lucha-the-fight/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=BlackStar |language=en}}</ref> ''Cocaine Prison'' (2017),<ref>{{Citation|last=Ayala|first=Violeta|title=Cocaine Prison|date=16 September 2017|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2353887/|others=Mario Bernal, Daisy Torres, Hernan Torres|accessdate=2018-05-22}}</ref> ''The Fight'' (2017),<ref>{{Citation|last1=Ayala|first1=Violeta|title=The Fight|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6047484/|last2=Fallshaw|first2=Dan|accessdate=2018-05-22}}</ref> ''The Bolivian Case'' (2015),<ref>{{Citation|last=Ayala|first=Violeta|title=The Bolivian Case|date=29 April 2015|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2394005/|accessdate=2018-05-22}}</ref> and ''Stolen'' (2009).<ref>{{Citation|last1=Ayala|first1=Violeta|title=Stolen|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446178/|last2=Fallshaw|first2=Dan|accessdate=2018-05-22|publisher=IMDb}} {{unreliable source?|date=May 2018}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Ayala was born in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1978, the daughter of Fanny Grageda and Efrain Ayala. Ayala's maternal grandfather was the political Quechua leader Vitaliano Grageda,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Redaccion Central |title=Fallece Vitaliano Grágeda, dirigente de gran compromiso social de la Csutcb |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20190512/fallece-vitaliano-grageda-dirigente-gran-compromiso-social-csutcb |accessdate=12 May 2019 |agency=Los Tiempos |publisher=Lostiempos.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/event/bolivia-daily-life-602066039#/grageda-vitaliano-the-former-secretrary-general-of-the-confederation-picture-id506962280|title=Bolivia Daily Life|work=Getty Images|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-GB}}</ref> He was one of the founders and a former Secretary General of the Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.paginasiete.bo/especial01/2017/8/6/violeta-ayala-cine-como-arma-147316.html|title=Violeta Ayala, con el cine como arma – Diario Pagina Siete|access-date=2018-05-22|language=es}}</ref> Vitaliano Grageda was an active member of The Communist Party of Bolivia.
Her mother was a biochemist and had a pharmacy, her father immigrated to Sydney, Australia when Ayala was a child.<ref>{{cite news |title=Violeta Ayala, la cineasta boliviana que ayuda a las personas con discapacidad |url=https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/sociedad/violeta-ayala-la-cineasta-boliviana-que-ayuda-a-las-personas-con-discapacidad-364216-364135 |accessdate=29 March 2016 |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |publisher=ANF}}</ref> She has two half-brothers from her mother's subsequent relationship with doctor [https://www.eldiario.net/movil/index.php?n=37&a=2020&m=08&d=11 Roly Elias]. She grew up in the south part of Cochabamba, one of the city's poorest areas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=MACFARLANE |title=Meet Violeta Ayala, the Indigenous Director Who Gave Cameras to Bolivian Inmates for 'Cocaine Prison' |url=https://remezcla.com/features/film/violeta-ayala-interview-cocaine-prison-documentary-toronto-film-festival/ |website=Remezcla |date=17 October 2017 |accessdate=2017-10-17}}</ref> Following her mother's death in 1995, Ayala immigrated to Australia.
Ayala is a graduate of Charles Sturt University where she majored in Broadcast Journalism.
== Film career == In 2006 Ayala began her collaboration with Dan Fallshaw on ''Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea'', a documentary set in Mauritania, about corruption in the oil industry, that follows the investigations of mathematician Yahyia Ould Hamidoune against Woodside Petroleum. On the same subject Ayala co-wrote ''Slick Operator''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/business/slick-operator/2006/06/02/1148956541283.html?page=fullpage|author=Kate Askew and Violeta Ayala|title=Slick Operator|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |accessdate=2010-12-19}}</ref> an article published in the front page of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''.
Ayala's feature directorial debut, the highly controversial documentary ''Stolen'' (2009),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940528?refcatid=31|author=Richard Kuipers|title=Stolen|publisher=Variety|accessdate=2009-06-21|date=11 June 2009}}</ref> premiered internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tifftalk.blogspot.com/2009/08/additional-documentaries-announced.html|title=TIFF Talk: Additional Documentaries Announced|last=Richard|date=18 August 2009|website=TIFF Talk|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref>
In 2015 Ayala made ''The Bolivian Case'', a feature about a high profile case concerning three Norwegian teenage girls caught with 22 kg of cocaine in an airport in Bolivia. The film was shot in Cochabamba and Oslo, premiered in the Special Presentation Program<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/02/hot-docs-announces-17-special-presentation-screenings-64701/|title=Hot Docs Announces 17 Special Presentation Screenings|last=Gupta|first=Shipra Harbola|date=26 February 2015|work=IndieWire|access-date=2018-05-15|language=en-US}}</ref> at Toronto's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in May 2015,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hotdocs.ca/archive/films/bolivian-case|title=Bolivian Case – Hot Docs|website=www.hotdocs.ca|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref> has won an audience award at the Sydney Film Festival<ref>{{Citation|title=The Bolivian Case|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2394005/awards|accessdate=2018-05-15}}</ref> and was shortlisted for Platino Awards<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/cultura/20170314/eligen-7-filmes-bolivia-premios-platino|title=Eligen 7 filmes de Bolivia para Premios Platino|date=14 March 2017|work=Los Tiempos|access-date=2018-05-16|language=es}}</ref> and Premios Fénix.<ref>{{Citation|title=El caso boliviano|url=http://premiosfenix.com/pt/film/?id=1724|language=es|accessdate=2018-05-16}}</ref>
Ayala's short film ''The Fight'' (2017) focused on a protest by a group of people with disabilities that march across the Andes in wheelchairs and on foot for 35 days to the seat of the government in La Paz, asking to speak to President Evo Morales about a disability pension and were repressed by the police.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nofilmschool.com/2017/12/ten-most-politically-explosive-docs-year|title=The 10 Most Politically Explosive Docs of the Year|date=27 December 2017|work=No Film School|access-date=2018-05-16|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2017/may/05/fighting-for-a-pension-disability-rights-protesters-in-bolivia-face-barricades|title=Fighting for a pension: disability rights protesters in Bolivia face police barricades – video|last1=Ayala|first1=Violeta|last2=Fallshaw|first2=Dan|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-05-16|last3=Phillips|first3=Charlie|last4=Poulton|first4=Lindsay |date=5 May 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Why are these protesters hanging from a bridge? – CNN Video|date=3 November 2017 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2017/11/03/bolivia-the-fight-intv-amanpour.cnn|accessdate=2018-05-15}}</ref> The film was released worldwide by The Guardian in May 2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2017/may/05/fighting-for-a-pension-disability-rights-protesters-in-bolivia-face-barricades|title=Fighting for a pension: disability rights protesters in Bolivia face police barricades – video|last1=Ayala|first1=Violeta|last2=Fallshaw|first2=Dan|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-05-16|last3=Phillips|first3=Charlie|last4=Poulton|first4=Lindsay |date=5 May 2017 }}</ref> and has won a Walkley Award,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/nov/30/guardian-wins-walkley-for-film-on-bolivian-disability-rights-campaign|title=Guardian wins Walkley for film on Bolivian disability rights campaign|last=Meade|first=Amanda|date=29 November 2017|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref> the Deutsche Welle Doc Dispatch Award at the Sheffield Doc/Fest,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/city-of-ghosts-wins-top-prize-at-sheffield-doc/fest-2017/5119048.article|title='City of Ghosts' wins top prize at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2017|work=Screen|access-date=2018-05-15|language=en}}</ref> as well as a nomination for an IDA Documentary Award<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.documentary.org/awards2017|title=IDA Documentary Awards 2017|work=International Documentary Association|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en}}</ref> and was a finalist for the Rory Peck Sony Impact Award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/rory-peck-awards/episode-guide/series-2017|title=Rory Peck Awards – Episode Guide – All 4|website=www.channel4.com|language=en|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref>
Ayala is an alumnus of the Film Independent Documentary Lab,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/production/film-independents-second-documentary-lab-begins-in-la/5039411.article|author= Elnaz Toussi|title=Film Independent's second Documentary Lab begins in LA|publisher=Screen Daily|accessdate=2012-03-16|date=16 March 2012}}</ref> the Berlinale Talent Campus, HotDocs Forum, Britdoc Good Pitch, IFP<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/103181-im-tired-of-this-appropriation-of-stories-by-filmmakers-from-the-west-violeta-ayala-and-dan-fallshaw-on-cocaine-prison/|title="I'm Tired of this Appropriation of Stories by Filmmakers from the West:": Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw on Cocaine Prison {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine|last=Wissot|first=Lauren|work=Filmmaker Magazine|access-date=2018-05-15|language=en-US}}</ref> and a Sundance<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://edn.network/news/news-story/article/sundance-documentary-film-program-announce-grants/?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=111&cHash=cfae241874de1ad6781a503f752337ce|title=EDN: Sundance Documentary Film Program announce grants|website=edn.network|language=uk|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref> and Tribeca Film Institute fellow.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/tribeca_film_institute_announces_award_winners_and_grantees_for_tribeca_all#.UASAhWb-yYU|author=Indiewire staff|title=TFI Names Winners & Grants for Tribeca All Access & More|publisher=IndieWire|accessdate=2011-04-28|date=28 April 2011}}</ref>
Ayala's documentary ''Cocaine Prison'' was filmed inside San Sebastian prison in Cochabamba, by the inmates themselves,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://povmagazine.com/articles/view/everything-in-this-conflict-is-about-control-violeta-ayala-talks-cocaine-pr|title='Everything in this conflict is about control': Violeta Ayala Talks 'Cocaine Prison' – Point of View Magazine|website=povmagazine.com|date=14 September 2017 |language=en|access-date=2018-05-22}}</ref> giving a unique perspective on the foot soldiers of the drug trade.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://remezcla.com/features/film/violeta-ayala-interview-cocaine-prison-documentary-toronto-film-festival/|title=Meet Violeta Ayala, the Indigenous Director Who Gave Cameras to Bolivian Inmates for 'Cocaine Prison'|work=Remezcla|access-date=2018-05-15|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cinematropical.com/cinema-tropical/bolivian-director-violeta-ayala-on-cocaine-prison-and-demystifying-the-narco-representation|title=Bolivian Director Violeta Ayala on COCAINE PRISON and Demystifying the Narco Representation|work=Cinema Tropical|access-date=2018-05-16|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://video.vice.com/en_ca/video/cocaine-prison-aims-to-humanize-the-drug-trade-by-giving-inmates-video-cameras/59b9af5ddb1395dc6e05afcc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914192111/https://video.vice.com/en_ca/video/cocaine-prison-aims-to-humanize-the-drug-trade-by-giving-inmates-video-cameras/59b9af5ddb1395dc6e05afcc|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 September 2017|title='Cocaine Prison' Aims to Humanize the Drug Trade by Giving Inmates Video Cameras|website=Video|language=en-ca|access-date=2018-05-22}}</ref> ''Cocaine Prison'' premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tiff.net/tiff/cocaine-prison/|title=Cocaine Prison|website=www.tiff.net|language=en|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref> and has won the audience award at the Rencontres Cinémas d'Amérique Latine de Toulouse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinelatino.fr/contenu/palmares-2018|title=Palmarès (2018) {{!}} Cinelatino|website=www.cinelatino.fr|language=fr|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref>
In 2018, Ayala received a Jaime Escalante Medal in a ceremony organized by the Embassy of Bolivia in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eldeber.com.bo/bolivia/Violeta-Ayala-recibe-medalla-Jaime-Escalante-y-pide-respeto-al-21F-20180401-9391.html|title=Violeta Ayala recibe medalla Jaime Escalante y pide respeto al 21F|newspaper=El Deber|access-date=2018-05-22}}</ref>
In 2020, Ayala was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-30|title=ACADEMY INVITES 819 TO MEMBERSHIP|url=https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-invites-819-membership|access-date=2020-07-10|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|language=en}}</ref>
In 2021, Ayala's ''Prison X'' a virtual reality animated experience premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maddox |first=Garry |date=2021-01-26 |title=Virtual reality film takes you inside infamous South American jail |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/virtual-reality-film-takes-you-inside-infamous-south-american-jail-20210125-p56wkq.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=kentbye |title=#975: Critic's Roundtable for Sundance New Frontier 2021 – Voices of VR Podcast |url=https://voicesofvr.com/975-critics-roundtable-for-sundance-new-frontier-2021/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-16 |title=Rumbo al "cholaverso": Prison X, el videojuego carcelario boliviano desarrollado por quechuas y aymaras |url=https://es-us.finanzas.yahoo.com/noticias/rumbo-cholaverso-prison-x-videojuego-153432289.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=es-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lucca |first=Violet |date=2021-02-04 |title=Prison, Mall, Web Ring |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/sundance-new-frontier-digital-physical-1234582969/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2023, ''La Lucha'', premiered at the Blackstar Film Festival<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Lucha (The Fight) |url=https://www.blackstarfest.org/festival/films/la-lucha-the-fight/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=BlackStar |language=en}}</ref> and SXSW Sydney.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Lucha |url=https://sxswsydney.com/screen/la-lucha/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=SXSW Sydney |language=en}}</ref> The documentary follows La Caravana, a significant disability rights protest in Bolivia, and its role in establishing a monthly pension for people with disabilities<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-18 |title='La Lucha', un documental sobre la resistencia y dignidad de las personas discapacitadas en Bolivia |url=https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/la-lucha-un-documental-boliviano-sobre-resistencia-y-dignidad/7273046.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Voz de América |language=es}}</ref> —earned Ayala the NYWIFT ''Award for Excellence in Documentary Directing.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=NYWIFT Presents 11 Film Festival Awards throughout 2024 |url=https://www.nywift.org/nywift-presents-11-film-festival-awards-throughout-2024/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=New York Women in Film & Television |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2025, Ayala was invited to participate in ''Surreality'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surreality HKUST(GZ), HKUST |url=https://cinemagicar.com/ |access-date=2025-07-22 |website=cinemagicar.com}}</ref> the world’s first large‑scale XR + AI art exhibition, organized by HKUST’s Center for Metaverse and Computational Creativity at its Guangzhou campus. The exhibition opened on June 26, 2025, and featured more than 50 artists.<ref>{{Cite web |title="SURREALITY·幻实之境"科技艺术展盛大开幕 – 香港科技大学（广州） |url=https://www.hkust-gz.edu.cn/zh/2025/07/04/surreality%c2%b7%e5%b9%bb%e5%ae%9e%e4%b9%8b%e5%a2%83%e7%a7%91%e6%8a%80%e8%89%ba%e6%9c%af%e5%b1%95%e7%9b%9b%e5%a4%a7%e5%bc%80%e5%b9%95/?variant=zh-cn |access-date=2025-07-22 |language=zh-CN}}</ref> Ayala presented an expanded version of ''Las Awichas'', alongside works that explore computational creativity rooted in Global South perspectives. She shared insights into recreating Indigenous mythological visuals via AI models and maintaining ethical awareness between cultural memory and technological mediation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surreality HKUST(GZ), HKUST |url=https://cinemagicar.com/news |access-date=2025-07-22 |website=cinemagicar.com}}</ref>
== Art and technology projects ==
Ayala created ''Las Awichas'' (Aymara for “grandmothers”), a series of AI‑generated digital portraits honouring her female ancestors. The exhibition opened on 21 September 2022 at the [https://martadero.org/ Martadero] cultural centre in Cochabamba.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Machicado |first=Giannina |date=2022-09-22 |title=Un festival de arte digital expone obras creadas con inteligencia artificial |work=La Razón |language=es |url=https://www.la-razon.com/la-revista/2022/09/22/festival-expone-obras-creadas-inteligencia-artificial/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Prensa |date=2022-09-19 |title="BIDA FAIR", el festival de arte digital que presentará una serie de piezas artísticas desarrolladas desde una perspectiva virtual » mARTadero |url=https://martadero.org/2022/09/19/bida-fair-el-festival-de-arte-digital-que-presentara-una-serie-de-piezas-artisticas-desarrolladas-desde-una-perspectiva-virtual/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=mARTadero |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bolivia |first=Opinión |date=2022-09-21 |title=Usan técnicas digitales para hacer piezas de arte |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/cultura/usan-tecnicas-digitales-hacer-piezas-arte/20220920230510881053.html |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Opinión Bolivia |language=es}}</ref>
In July 2023 it was announced that ''Las Awichas'' had been selected for the new [https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/glow GLOW] exhibition in London.<ref>{{Cite web |last=London |first=King's College |title=Artists announced for major new GLow3 exhibition |url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/artists-announced-for-major-new-glow3-exhibition |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=King's College London |language=en}}</ref> The project was later presented, from March to April 2024, as a new commission on the Strand and inside King’s College London’s Bush House Arcade; the installation combined the digital portraits with augmented‑reality experiences, 3D‑printed Amazonian animals and hand‑woven textiles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=London |first=King's College |title=Las Awichas, 2024 © Violeta Ayala |url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/las-awichas-2024-c-violeta-ayala |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=King's College London |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=London |first=King's College |title=Groundbreaking digital art by women in tech showcased at King's |url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/groundbreaking-digital-art-by-women-in-tech-showcased-at-kings |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=King's College London |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=GLOW: Spotlight on VR |url=https://xrmust.com/all-events_/glow-spotlight-on-vr/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=XRMust |language=en-US}}</ref> ''Las Awichas'' won ''Best Interactive Experience'' at AIDC 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-06 |title=AIDC 2025 Award Winners Announced |url=https://www.aidc.com.au/aidc-2025-award-winners-announced/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=AIDC |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AIDC Reveal 2025 Awards Nominees and $5,000 AIDC Southern Light Award Winner |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/aidc-reveal-2025-awards-nominees-and-5000-aidc-southern-light-award-winner/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=FilmInk |language=en-AU}}</ref>
In 2024 Ayala was selected for the inaugural Mila Quebec AI Art Residency,<ref name="MILA2025">{{Cite web |title=Co‑Creating Art – MILA AI Art Residency Projects |url=https://cocreating.art/projects/ |website=cocreating.art |date=16 October 2024 |access-date=2025-05-02}}</ref> where she developed ''Huk, The Jaguaress'', an interactive installation that combines robotic vision, real‑time generative video and a multilingual synthetic voice to personify an Indigenous AI guardian of the Amazon. The work premiered on 5 March 2025 in the INTER:ACTIVE programme of CPH:DOX at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen,<ref name="CPH2025">{{Cite web |title=CPH:DOX unveils INTER:ACTIVE 2025 exhibition line‑up under the theme "Untamed: Humanity Rewilded" |url=https://cphdox.dk/cphdox-unveils-interactive-2025-exhibition-line-up-under-the-theme-untamed-humanity-rewilded/ |website=cphdox.dk |date=2025-03-04 |access-date=2025-05-02}}</ref><ref name="CPHFilm2025">{{Cite web |title=Huk, The Jaguaress |url=https://cphdox.dk/film/huk-the-jaguaress/ |website=cphdox.dk |access-date=2025-05-02}}</ref> and was shown out of competition from 9 to 13 April 2025 at the 8th NewImages Festival<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raynault |first=Maxime |date=2025-04-01 |title=Out-of-competition 2025: Immersive exploration of otherness |url=https://newimages-hub.com/en/hors-competition-2025-alterite/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=NewImages Festival |language=en-US}}</ref> at the [https://www.forumdesimages.fr/ Forum Des Images] in Paris.<ref name="NewImages2025">{{Cite web |title=NewImages Festival 2025 – Out‑of‑Competition press kit |url=https://www.forumdesimages.fr/sites/default/files/2025-04/NewImages%20Festival%202025%20ENG.pdf |website=forumdesimages.fr |publisher=Forum des images |date=2025-04-01 |access-date=2025-05-02}}</ref><ref name="XRMust2025">{{Cite web |title=Violeta Ayala – Huk, The Jaguaress |url=https://xrmust.com/xrmagazine/violeta-ayala-huk-the-jaguaress/ |website=XRMust |date=2025-03-06 |access-date=2025-05-02}}</ref>
==Personal life== Ayala has lived in Australia and the United States and has dual Bolivian-Australian nationality.
She is married to filmmaker Dan Fallshaw, with whom she has a child, born in June 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wissot |title="I'm Tired of this Appropriation of Stories by Filmmakers from the West:": Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw on Cocaine Prison |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/103181-im-tired-of-this-appropriation-of-stories-by-filmmakers-from-the-west-violeta-ayala-and-dan-fallshaw-on-cocaine-prison/ |accessdate=11 September 2017 |agency=Filmmaker Magazine |publisher=Filmmaker Magazine}}</ref>
==Controversy == In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, Ayala publicly supported the rent strike movement. Ayala's statement "People are losing their lives and livelihoods, we can’t see our loved ones, our five-year-old doesn’t go to school and the real estate agent says it’s business as usual?"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australia's coronavirus lockdown has renters and landlords in a bind |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australias-coronavirus-lockdown-has-renters-and-landlords-in-a-bind/lj9njrl2o |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=SBS News |date=10 April 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
In 2022, Ayala criticized the Sundance Festival for hosting the movie ''Jihad Rehab'', which interviewed former Guantánamo Bay prisoners. Ayala wrote on twitter that "an entirely white team" was "behind a film about Yemeni and South Arabian men." However, the film had a Yemeni-American executive producer and a Saudi co-producer.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Powell |first=Michael |date=2022-09-25 |title=Sundance Liked Her Documentary on Terrorism, Until Muslim Critics Didn't |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/25/us/sundance-jihad-rehab-meg-smaker.html |access-date=2022-09-25 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== Filmography == *''Proyecto Vila-Vila'' (2005, Documentary) *''Between The Oil and The Deep Blue Sea'' (2005, Documentary) *''Stolen'' (2009, Documentary) *''The Bolivian Case'' (2015, Documentary) *''The Fight'' (2017, Short Documentary) *''Cocaine Prison'' (2017, Documentary) *''Prison X'' (2021, VR Animation) *''La Lucha'' (2023, Documentary) *Las Awichas (2024, AR Animation) *Huk, The Jaguaress (2025, AI Animation)
== Awards == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Award |Category !Work !Result |- | rowspan="3" |2018 |Toulouse Latin America Film Festival
(France) |Audience Award |Cocaine Prison |Winner |- |Artículo 31 Film Festival (Spain) |Desalambre Award |The Fight |Winner |- |Tempo Documentary Festival (Sweden) |Stefan Jarl International Documentary Award |Cocaine Prison |Nominated |- | rowspan="8" |2017 |Ida Awards (United States) |Best Short |The Fight |Nominated |- |Walkley Award (Australia) |Best Cinematography |The Fight |Winner |- |Rory Peck Awards (United Kingdom) |Sony Impact Award |The Fight |Finalist |- |Camden International Film Festival (United States) |Best Documentary Feature |Cocaine Prison |Nominated |- |Festival Internacional De Cine De Oruro Diablo De Oro |Best Documentary |The Fight |Winner |- |Festival Internacional De Cine De Oruro Diablo De Oro (Bolivia) |Best Documentary |The Bolivian Case |Nominated |- |Sheffield Doc/Fest (United Kingdom) |Doc Dispatch Award |The Fight |Winner |- |Festival Internacional De Cine De Los Derechos Humanos De Bolivia – El Séptimo Ojo Es Tuyo (Bolivia) |Best Documentary |The Fight |Winner |- | rowspan="3" |2016 |Ibermedia (Spain) |Distribution Award |The Bolivian Case |Winner |- |Premios Platino (Uruguay) |Best Documentary |The Bolivian Case |Shortlisted |- |Premios Fenix (Mexico) |Best Documentary |The Bolivian Case |Shortlisted |- |2015 |Sydney Film Festival (Australia) |Audience Award |The Bolivian Case |3rd Runner-up |- | rowspan="14" |2010 |Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles (United States) |Best Documentary |Stolen |Winner |- |Art of the Document Film Festival in Warsaw (Poland) |Best Documentary |Stolen |Winner |- |Anchorage International Film Festival (United States) |Golden Oosikar Best Documentary |Stolen |Winner |- |African Film Festival (Nigeria) |Best Documentary |Stolen |Winner |- |Amnesty International Film Festival (Canada) |Audience Award |Stolen |Winner |- |Festival Internacional De Cine De Cuenca (Ecuador) |Best Film |Stolen |Winner |- |Rincon International Film Festival (Puerto Rico) |Best International Feature |Stolen |Winner |- |Rivers Edge International Film Festival (United States) |Best Film |Stolen |Winner |- |Documentary Edge Film Festival (New Zealand) |Best Documentary |Stolen |Special Jury Mention |- |Documentary Edge Film Festival (New Zealand) |Best Editing |Stolen |Winner |- |Xv International Tv Festival Bar (Montenegro) |Silver Olive |Stolen |Winner |- |Ojai Film Festival (United States) |Best Documentary |Stolen |Special Jury Mention |- |One World Human Rights Film Festival (Bratislava) |Audience Award |Stolen |Winner |- |It's All True Film Festival (Brazil) |Best International Documentary |Stolen |Nominated |- |2009 |Sydney Film Festival |Best Documentary |Stolen |Nominated |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=3460179|name=Violeta Ayala}} *[https://www.violetaayala.com Official website]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Violeta}} Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Australian film directors Category:Australian women film directors Category:Bolivian film directors Category:Bolivian women film directors Category:Charles Sturt University alumni Category:People from Cochabamba