Fernando Sulichin is an Argentine filmmaker and philanthropist. Sulichin has produced over 25 films and documentaries with directors such as Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Marlon Brando, Sean Penn, Jim Jarmusch and Abel Ferrara. Since 2003, Oliver Stone and Sulichin have worked on 15 documentaries together including ones about living public figures Edward Snowden, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, and Persona non Grata, a film about the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. He is a founding and life-time member of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, having met Mandela through filming Malcom X in 1992. He sits on the board of CORE, American actor Sean Penn’s foundation that was initially established to deliver humanitarian relief during the Haitian disaster in January 2010. In 2017, he received the Garry Shandling Humanitarian Award alongside Sean Penn for their Haitan relief work. He is reported to support the David Lynch Foundation, a charitable foundation set up by the film director of the same name that focuses on alleviating mental health problems and healing trauma. In 2018, Sulichin was awarded The Sheikh Abdullah Award for Intercultural Dialogue at the No2H8 Crime Awards 2018. In addition to humanitarian causes, Sulichin has been involved in raising awareness about environmental issues and climate change, for which he received the National Order of the Légion d'honneur in 2015. In June 2019, Sulichin spoke at the Peace to Prosperity workshop in Bahrain. Sulichin sat on a panel with the head of the international football federationGianni Infantino and the pair discussed the role that entertainment and sport could play in brokering peace in the Middle East. Sulichin is the founder of two production companies, Central Films and New Element Media, which have produced a number of films such as Sundance Prize Winner “Love Liza“ by Todd Louiso and Mary by Abel Ferrara, winner at Venice Film Festival. In addition to fictional films, Sulichin has produced documentaries and films about high-profile living individuals, partnering with Oliver Stone to make films on Vladimir Putin, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and Snowden.
Early life
Sulichin was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to the United States in the late 1980s to study architecture at UCLA. While studying he became interested in the film industry and ever completed his architecture studies.
Career
Sulichin's career in film started when he met Spike Lee who made him the associate producer of his 1992 film Malcolm X. Sulichin is credited with securing permission for the film crew to enter Mecca and for getting Nelson Mandela to perform a cameo role in the film. In 2016, it was reported that Sulichin accompanied actors Sean Penn and Kate del Castillo on their secret meeting with El Chapo in his hideout in the mountains of Durango prior to his arrest. The now famous meeting was purportedly to discuss the prospect of making a movie about the Sinaloa cartel leader. However, the Mexican authorities later insinuated that tracking the group’s visit aided them in arresting El Chapo arrest three months later. This led to speculation that the group may have been working with the US and Mexican authorities to locate one of the most wanted criminals and notorious drug lords. Both Penn and del Castillo have said that they have feared for their lives since the ill-fated meeting. Sulichin is reported to be currently working on Flag Day with Sean Penn, which is due for release in 2021.
