BIO:

I am a director and cinematographer of Mexican-American origin, currently based in Amsterdam. While studying at The Mahindra United World College of India, I began making my own short films, earning multiple official selections and a Best Drama nomination at the All-American High School Film Festival. After graduating, I spent two years working on my first feature documentary, The Borders of Paradise, which I directed, shot, and edited.

The film was independently financed through a crowdfunding campaign and a Davis Projects for Peace Grant, and was shot over the course of two years in France, Italy, and along the Libyan coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It tells the story of thousands of people on the move left in uncertainty as they seek asylum in Italy after being rescued at sea. With little support, hundreds become trapped at the border between Italy and the French Côte d’Azur, resorting to dangerous means to cross an increasingly militarized frontier. Alongside the physical and psychological obstacles they face, the film explores the visceral and traumatic journeys they have endured. The Borders of Paradise has been screened at dozens of venues and institutions across multiple countries.

I am currently working on several documentary projects filmed in Italy, Mexico, and Sweden, and I am seeking financing for a follow up narrative short film that tells stories I encountered during the making of The Borders of Paradise that could not be represented in the documentary. Committed to creating cinema of high artistic value that engages deeply with social issues, I continue to work freelance within the Dutch film and video industries. I am in my final year at Amsterdam University College, completing a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences with a focus on philosophy and politics.
GEAR:

Blackmagic PCC4K Rig with Lumix G Vario Lensing.