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Matheus Mello is a filmmaker whose work centers on the intersection of identity and migration. Matheus has collaborated with renowned filmmakers such as Lucrecia Martel, Pedro Costa, Werner Herzog, and Paolo Sorrentino on hands-on projects for developing new talents.
Their portfolio includes short films, documentaries, and video installations that have been showcased and awarded at numerous film festivals, including Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Tirana International Film Festival, Morelia International Film Festival, Zinebi, Guanajuato International Film Festival, Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, and Rotterdam International Film Festival.
With a track record of participation in prestigious labs and markets, they are an alumnus of acclaimed institutions such as the Sundance Institute, LIM-Less is More Development Angels, Realness Institute Creative Producer Indaba–EAVE, Emerging Producer Ji.hlava, EGEDA NEXT GEN Film FinLab, and Viral Interventions at York University.
Matheus holds a BA degree in International Relations, and a specialization in Creative Production from the International Film and Television School of San Antonio de los Baños, EICTV (2018), and completed a postgraduate program in Audiovisual Financing and Budget Management with Movie Magic at the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya - ESCAC (2024). Over the years, Matheus has produced films and industry-related activities in Brazil, the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mozambique, Angola, Algeria, and Spain.
I work at the intersection of migration, memory, and dissent.
As a Brazilian non-binary filmmaker and producer living between continents, I am interested in cinema as a territory of displacement, a space where archives breathe, bodies resist, and marginalized narratives refuse erasure. My practice moves between documentary, fiction, and Virtual Reality, often blurring the line between manifesto and confession.
I am drawn to stories shaped by colonial aftermaths, queer survival, climate rupture, and the fragile architectures of care that emerge in hostile systems. My work engages with voices historically silenced not as subjects to be observed, but as agents of authorship.
For me, cinema is not representation. It is encounter. It is a negotiation with absence. It is an attempt to hold time still long enough for the invisible to become undeniable.
EDUCATION
2024. Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), Terrassa, Spain.
FastForward Course: Film Finance & Movie Magic Scheduling and Movie Magic Budgeting.
2018. International Film and Television School (EICTV), San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
Three-year Regular Program - Specialization in Film and Production – Telecinematographer.
2015. Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.
Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations.
2013. University of Coimbra, Faculty of Economics (FEUC), Coimbra, Portugal.
Academic Exchange / Master’s program “Roads to Democracy” with Boaventura de Souza Santos.
LANGUAGES
Native Portuguese; Proficiency
English (C2); Proficiency Spanish (C2); Proficiency Catalan (C2)
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
2023. Emerging Producer Ji.hlava Alumni. Jihlava, Czech Republic. Selected for the career development workshop for emerging European producers.
2024. Viral Interventions Alumni – York University, Toronto, Canada. Selected for a three-year program with groups of six artists/teams to create new films on living with HIV today and to collectively document creative research processes. A project by researchers John Greyson and Sarah Flicker, pioneers of queer cinema in North America during the 90s, with mentorship from Alison Duke, Richard Fung, and Darien Taylor.
2022. Realness Institute Creative Producer Indaba EAVE Alumni. Cape Town, South Africa / Atlas Ateliers of International Film Festival Marrakesh, Morocco / International Film Festival of Rotterdam, Netherlands. Selected for the workshop on development for international producers working on the African continent.
2021. Sundance Institute DFI Alumni, Park City, United States. Selected by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund.
2021. LIM-Less is More Development Angels Alumni, workshop offered by Catalan Films, Barcelona, Spain / Plounéour-Brignogan-Plages, France. Selected for the pocket workshop on narrative development.
2021. EGEDA Platino Next Gen Alumni. EGEDA Madrid / Santander Film Festival / San Sebastián Film Festival / Iberseries & Platino Industry Co-Production Forum, Madrid, Spain. Selected for the Production and Financing workshop in the Spanish Industry.
2018. IDFAcademy Alumni, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Selected for the workshop on international documentary production skills development.
PROFESSIONAL / BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
2014-present. Migranta Films, Balneário Camboriú, Brazil. Founder / Producer.
2023-present. Migranta Films, Barcelona, Spain. Founder / Producer
Specializes in independent film production and distribution, reflecting a personal artistic vision and deep understanding of social and cultural realities, focused on telling authentic and relevant stories that reflect the world’s diversity.
2025. Isolda Films. Badalona, Spain. Production Coordinator
Project-based contract for the film “No todas las Niñas” by Carolina Astudillo.
2024. Uma Filmes, São Paulo, Brazil. Audience Design Strategist.
To identify and engage target audiences through research, tailored strategies, and community-building. To optimize distribution, develop marketing campaigns, and integrate audience feedback to enhance reach and impact. To align creative vision with audience insights, ensuring the project resonates with viewers and achieves its engagement goals.
2024. Diagonal TV, Barcelona, Spain. Production Assistant.
Project-based contract for the film “the Silence of the Earth” by Eulogio Romero.
2018-2023. La Selva. Ecosistema Creatiu, Barcelona, Spain. Co-Founder / Producer.
A film cooperative in Barcelona dedicated to creating auteur films with authentic and daring narratives that represent a plural and fairer world. Processes are based on experimentation and collaborative, horizontal creation.
2023. Shaktimetta Produccions, Barcelona, Spain. Production Coordinator and Assistant Director.
Project-based contract for the film “Los Cantos de Ekai” by Afra Rigamontti.
2019. La Bendita Produce, Huesca, Spain. Production Coordinator and Assistant Director.
Project-based contract for the film “Armugan” by Jo Sol.
2019. Mayo Produccions, Barcelona, Spain. Production Coordinator.
Project-based contract for the “Pullmantur” campaign shot in the Canary Islands, Spain, and Madeira Island, Portugal.
2013-2015. Filmes Que Voam, Florianópolis, Brazil. Executive Production Assistant.
Responsible for managing, implementing, and supervising audiovisual productions, accessibility projects, and creating a streaming platform with Sign Language and Audiodescription content.
2014. Mostra de Cinema Infantil, Florianópolis, Brazil. PA.
Responsible for daily operations at the festival.
2013. CineramaBC – International Film Festival of Balneário Camboriú, Brazil. PA
Responsible for daily operations at the festival.
EVENTS, FESTIVALS, WORKSHOPS, AND LABS PRODUCTION
2025. Filming in Patagonia – Paolo Sorrentino LAB. Production Assistant. Audiovisual workshop for 50 emerging directors from diverse nationalities, each filming a short film in the Patagonia, Argentina, supervised by Paolo Sorrentino.
2024. DiaLAB Film Festival. Workshop for documentaries. Production Consultant. Production and distribution tutor of 4 projects in development. Brazil.
2024. Filming in Mexico – Pedro Costa LAB. Production Assistant. Audiovisual workshop for 50 emerging directors from diverse nationalities, each filming a short film in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, supervised by Pedro Costa.
2023. Porn Film Festival Barcelona. Guest Office Coordinator at the Barcelona Post-Porn Festival – Gender Dissidences. Spain.
2021. Film Accelerator with Werner Herzog: Filming a Strange Planet. Audiovisual workshop for 50 emerging directors from 26 countries to each film a short film in the Canary Islands, supervised by Werner Herzog. Spain.
2019. Film Accelerator with Lucrecia Martel: Sounds of Summer. Audiovisual workshop for 50 emerging directors from 26 countries to film a collective feature in Barcelona under the supervision of Lucrecia Martel. Spain.
2017. 1st Novos Olhares. Film Project Development Workshop, Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.
2016. 4th Super OFF - Workshops, Films, and International Super 8 Film Festival, Coordinator for Santa Catarina stage in Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.
2016. 10th Nuevas Miradas. Guest Office Coordinator for EICTV’s Network and Development Platform, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
2015. 3rd Super OFF - Workshops, Films, and International Super 8 Film Festival, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
2015. 9th Nuevas Miradas. Guest Office Coordinator for EICTV’s Network and Development Platform, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
2014. 15th Children’s Film Festival of Florianópolis. Production Team Member, Florianópolis, Brazil.
2013. 2nd CineramaBC - International Film Festival of Balneário Camboriú. Production Team Member, Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.
2012. 1st CineramaBC - International Film Festival of Balneário Camboriú, Production Team Member, Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
2006-2017. Various academic exchanges and summer work programs. Venice, USA (2006); Fort Lauderdale, USA (2008); Vancouver, Canada (2010); Coimbra, Portugal (2012); New York, USA (2017).
2012. International Trader. ZThomas Import LTDA, Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.
Trade Representative at the Canton Fair, Guangzhou, China.
2011. Gap Year. Year-long overland journey in a VW Bus from Canada to Brazil, traveling through the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
2010. Skipper / Manager. Pelican Bay Marina at Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada.
In the first half of 2010, served as Skipper responsible for the 72-foot trawler yatch “North” on a journey from Vancouver (Canada) to Ketchikan, Alaska (USA).
In the second half of 2010, was the Manager responsible for marina operations, managing 40 boats and overseeing structural, electrical, and hydraulic renovations at the marina.
2007-2008. Socio-Educational Director. Casa de Semiliberdade, Itajaí, Brazil.
Director of the Socio-Educational Center for Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, under the guidance of the Brazilian Child and Adolescent Statute and supervised by the Public Prosecutor Office in Itajaí.
ASSOCIATIONS
2025-present. Member of DAE – Documentary Association of Europe
2024-present. Member of APAN – Association of Black Audiovisual Professionals. Brazil.
2018-2023. Member of the Catalan Federation of Audiovisual Producers–PROA. Spain.
2015-2017. Student Representative for the Regular Course at the International Film and Television School of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
2013-2014. Advisory Member of the Audiovisual Sector Chamber, Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.
2009-2010. Student
Member of the Academic Center Sérgio Vieira de Mello, International Relations. Universidade do
Vale do Itajaí, Brazil.
RECENT FILMOGRAPHY
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The Flight of the Stork (2025) 60/70 min DOC. Dir. Soumaya Djahdou & Berta Vicente Salas. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/Qatar (trailer: https://vimeo.com/1132755950) Synopsis: At 29, Spanish-Algerian filmmaker Soumaya Hidalgo Djahdou feels a compelling need to reconnect with her Algerian roots and understand the world her mother, Malika, left behind. With her childhood friend Berta Vicente Salas behind the camera, Soumaya confronts her fragmented identity and the complex legacy of the women in her family. Through family archives, intimate conversations with her grandmother in Algeria, and calls with her mother during Ramadan, what begins as a personal quest evolves into a profound exploration of intergenerational bonds shaped by exile, tradition, and the search for a shared future. Festivals: -2026 Festival D’A. A Collective Impulse. Spain -2026 Festival de Cine Global Santo Domingo. Opera Prima Documentary Fernando Báez. Dominican Republic -2025 ZINEBI, Beautiful Docs. Spain -2025 Tallin Black Nights – PÖFF, Best of Docs. Estonia -2025 IDFA, Luminous. Netherlands |
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Where were you when you were there? (2025) 74 min DOC. Dir. Jana Montllor. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain Synopsis: Jana Montllor Blanes, daughter of the renowned artist Ovidi, has lost the only photograph she took of her father on a trip they made to Mallorca. Navigating through the Mediterranean among family images, objects, smells, songs, press clippings and television programs, Jana begins another journey through memory to try to find the memory of her father, a person known to the public yet distant to her. Awards: -Un Impulso Colectivo x Antaviana – D’A Film Festival. Spain Festivals: -2025 Festival de Málaga. Spain -2025 D’A Film Festival Barcelona. Spain |
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The Inherited Silence (2025) 81 min DOC. Dir. Lucía Dapena. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain (trailer: https://vimeo.com/1006143764) Synopsis: How can we talk about what is not told? Lucía approaches her grandmother Edilia looking for answers, but she finds just silence. A long silence, deep-rooted; it’s dark and painful, impossible to break. When Lucía accepts that Edilia will never give her the answers she seeks, she decides to look into that silence, to listen closely into it, trying to understand it. Together, they explore the limits of words and images, making that silence a place where they meet. Awards: -2026 Best Documentary Nominee, XXIV Premios Mateo (Academia Gallega) -2025 Best Screenplay Award, Panorama Galicia, Ourense Film Festival. Spain Festivals: -2025 CinEuropa Festival, Santiago de Compostela. Spain -2025 CINEMED, 47º Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen Montpellier. France -2025 Ourense Film Festival. Spain -2025 DocsBarcelona, Secció Docs&Cat. Spain -2025 PLAY DOC Film Festival. Spain |
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Scorpionikas—Countermanifesto (2025) 13 min Doc. Dir. Bruna Kury, Nisha Platzer, Matheus Mello. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/Netherlands (trailer: https://vimeo.com/1132755913) Synopsis: In a fusion of manifesto and performance, “Scorpionikas” crosses three continents to follow an insurgent collective-trans women, sex workers, and racialized and gender non-conforming voices as they confront to dismantle the colonial and patriarchal systems that oppress them. Through radical acts of resistance, captivating performances, and intimate interviews, the film intertwines their stories with haunting archival footage: from the brothels of the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s to the heart of 1990s Brazil, and a convent turned art center of 2024s Barcelona. Festivals: -2025 QueerCineMad. Spain -2025 FestCurtas BH. Brazil -2025 Vancouver Queer Film Festival – VQFF. Canada -2025 Kinoforum Sao Paulo Short Film Fest. Brazil -2025 Zinegoak. Spain |
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Fin. Finite. Infinite (2022) 8 min Fantastic Fiction. Dir. Laurence Henriquez. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/Netherlands (trailer: https://vimeo.com/650604635) Synopsis: Spanning the liminality between documentary, satire and science fiction, Fin. Finite. Infinito. It is a testimony to the last day of light on an “alien” planet whose civilization has known for 1000 years that its star would die. Ironic detachment and poetic license are used to “lift the veil” on the daily banalities of an island resort town, transforming it into a landscape of whimsy and myth that walks happily towards the apocalypse. Festivals: -2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Netherlands -Vision Du Réel Film Market. Switzerland -Antimatter Media Art Festival. Canada |
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Notes from a dromedary (2022) 9 min DOC. Dir. Lucia Lalor. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/Argentina (trailer: https://vimeo.com/685942010) Synopsis: A teenager in a remote place narrates his story marked by a past in the Sahara as a camel, Pringles chips, desire for fat women's bodies, strange drawings, colonizers and reggaeton. Festivals: -2022 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). Estonia -2023 FIDBA / Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival |
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Tegoyo (2022) Fantastic Fiction 8 min. Dir. Guillermo de Oliveira. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain (Trailer: https://vimeo.com/743191110) Synopsis: In 1968, legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog filmed “Even Dwarfs Started Small” on the island of Lanzarote. More than half a century later, a peculiar scientist will try to recover sounds from the past. Festivals: -XX Festival de Cans – Sección Furacáns 2023. Spain -2023 Cortogijón – official section. Spain -2023 Muestra de cortometrajes de Granada. Spain -2023 Ibiza Cine Fest. Spain -2022 Raindance Film Festival. United Kingdom -2022 Sitges Film Festival. Spain -2022 Sydney Underground Film Festival. Australia |
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Ixtlahuacán (2022) Fantastic Fiction 12 min. Dir. Augusto de Alba. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/Mexico (trailer: https://vimeo.com/681834936) Synopsis: Under the wheel of time on a distant planet, In Lak'ech wishes to return home. The search for the way back will bring you an unexpected revelation and an unusual encounter with the deepest secrets of creation. Festivals: -50th Athens International Film and Video Festival. Greece -Santiago del Estero Film Fest. Argentina -Sentiero Film Factory. Italy |
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El Aljibe (2022) Fantastic Fiction 10 min. Dir. Alejandro Ferlini. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/Costa Rica (trailer: https://vimeo.com/681977892) Synopsis: Antonio and Alberto live in a world without water. Faced with his brother's illness, Antonio will have to climb to the top of the volcano in search of the sacred water contained in El Aljibe. Festivals: -Ecozine International Film Festival. Spain -KIMFF Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival. Nepal -41ème Édition des Rencontres du Cinéma Latino-Américain. France -2023 Manlleu Film Festival – Official Selecció. Spain -10 Costa Rica International Film Festival (CRFIC), Costa Rica -16 International Wildlife Film Festival, Germany -15 Villa de Orotava Cortos Festival, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain-11. Muestra internacional de cortometrajes “La Mida no importa”, Spain -XIV. Mittelamerikanisches Filmfestival Wien 2022. Germany -Festival of Cortos – Villa de la Orotava. Spain |
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Sans Sommeil Loin de Chez Soi (2022) EXP 7 min. Dir. Axel de Chaunac-Lanzac Cuevas. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/France/Mexico (trailer: https://vimeo.com/681979553) Synopsis: Unable to sleep, Mamadou begins to walk non-stop to get tired and be able to dream one last time about the place where he was born. Awards: -Best Experimental Film Award 20th Tirana International Film Festival Festivals: -2022 20th Tirana International Film Festival -2022 Silhouette Festival. France -2022 Decolonial Films Section at the 24th FestcurtasBH. Brazil -2022 Morelia International Film Festival. Mexico -Lake Film Fest. Italy |
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Xiao Qiang had a daydream (2020) 17 min DOC. Dir. Xisi Sofia Ye Chen. Prod. Matheus Mello. Spain/China (trailer: https://vimeo.com/830259637) Synopsis: Xiao Qiang is a mischievous boy who lives in a village in southeastern China. His desire for freedom leads him to live an adventure that will change his life. Awards: -Lotus International Film Festival Appreciation Award LIFFA 2022. India Festivals: - Official selection of the Skiptown IFF 2022. USA; - Ljubljana International Short Film Festival. Slovenia; -2022 RURÉFILOS Film Festival and Rural World. Spain; -Zinebi 2020; -Curta Cinema - Rio de Janeiro Festival 2020; -Catalog of Best Shorts Shortcat 2020. |
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Tekoayhu (2019) 79 min TELEDOC. Dir. Chico Faganello. Prod. Matheus Mello. Brazil/Paraguay/Argentina (trailer: Synopsis: The story of the people who inhabit one of the most diverse and complex commercial centers in the world, the triple border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Broadcaster and Platforms: -CineBrasilTV -ClaroTV+ -VivoPlay |
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Kalunga (2019) 22 min DOC. Dir. Lara Sousa. Prod. Matheus Mello. Brazil/Cuba/Mozambique (trailer: https://vimeo.com/277561824) From a place far from home, Lara is driven by enigmatic dreams to fulfill a spiritual birth ritual that will take her along with her dead aunt back to Africa. Awards: -Best Latin American Short Film Award – 30th Kinoforum – São Paulo International Short Film Festival Festivals: -30a Kinoforum – São Paulo International Short Film Festival |
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Aurora (2020) 15 min DOC. Dir. Everlane Moraes. Prod. Matheus Mello. Brazil/Cuba (trailer: https://vimeo.com/278523496) Synopsis: Three women of different ages reinterpret their own conflicts on the stage of an abandoned theater. Festivals: -Contemporany Latin 2019 American Documentary Film Festival -30a Kinoforum – São Paulo International Short Film Festival -19th Doc Buenos Aires International Documentary -Olhar de Cinema - Curitiba International Film Festival 2019 -21st Belo Horizonte International Short Film Festival 2019 -Opening of the 3rd SESC Film Festival -2020 True/False Film Festival -DOC Waterfall, 2020 |
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I am (2017) 12 min DOC. Dir. Cássio Kelm. Prod. Matheus Mello. Brazil/Cuba (trailer: Synopsis: Foreign winds blow in Cuba and the island is invaded by a tidal wave of cameras that go there to record Fidel's death. A Cuban girl is thrown into the middle of what becomes a media carnival. How long can it carry the weight of the Revolution? Awards: -IDFA Special Jury Prize, 2017 Festivals: -International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA) -Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI) -V Censurados Film Festival – Muros (In)visibles, Mexico and Peru -Kuuba/Argentiina poliitiline kinokunst, EKKM - Estonian Contemporary Art Museum -Guanajuato International Film Festival, Mexico -5th Lumiar – Inter-American University Film Festival, Belo Horizonte -Filmets – Badalona Film Festival – Barcelona, Spain, 2019 |
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Machimbrao — The New Man (2016) 13 min DOC. Dir. Lara Sousa. Prod. Matheus Mello Cuba/Brazil/Mozambique Synopsis: In a barbershop in a Cuban city, male bodies sit on the couch and interact. Between eyebrow arrangements with a razor, discussions about the types of peeling, or the latest football game. These Cuban “males” will highlight the armor they have created to follow foreign fashion and referents, without affecting certain notions of masculinity and their sexual choices Awards: -Best Latin American Short Film Award – 30th Kinoforum – São Paulo International Short Film Festival Festivals: -30a Kinoforum – São Paulo International Short Film Festival -Terra di Tutti Festival 2019 -ICAIC Youth Exhibition 2017. |
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Tirisia (2016) 3 min EXP Super8. Dir. Alejandra Larrea, Violena Ampudia, Matheus Mello. Prod. Matheus Mello. Brazil/Cuba (watch: https://vimeo.com/223951737) Synopsis: The isolated, rested and defeated body is anchored in the vitality of a receptive body, from the creation of possibilities for the awakening of dreams. Does contact and listening make up the harmony between two beats, since the various individual cadences meet in a single movement? Awards: -3er SuperOFF Award – Super 8 mm Film Festival of São Paulo, Brazil |
ADDITIONAL FILMOGRAPHY AS CREW
2025. Silence of the Earth, Dir. Eulogio Romero. Production Assistant for Diagonal TV. Spain
2024. Los Cantos de Ekai. Dir. Afra Rigamonti. 72min. Production Coordinator and Assistant Director for Shaktimetta Produccions. Spain.
2022. Back Home, Dir. Nisha Platzer. Development Producer. Canada. Cannes Film Festival (Docs-in-Progress Canadian Showcase), Vancouver International Film Festival (Competition for Best Canadian Documentary), RIDM—Montreal International Documentary Festival (New Visions Competition), Chicago Underground Film Festival, Local Sightings Film Festival, Seattle, Antimatter Media Art, Victoria, Rendezvous with Madness (Opening Night Film), Toronto, Bogotá Film Festival (Winner: Best Artistic Documentary), Bogotá
2021. One Story Up. Season 1 Episode 8. Dir. Roger Ross Williams. TV series. Executive Producer for TOPIC. USA.
2020. Armugán. Dir. Jo Sol.
91min. Production Coordinator and Assistant Director for Bendita Produce /
Shaktimetta Produccions. Spain. Winner
of the Best Music Award and the Ecumenical Jury Prize for Best Film at the
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2020. Jules Verne Award at the Cinéma
Espagnol Nantes Festival 2021. Nominated for the Camel Awards of the Haifa
International Film Festival 2021. Selected at the D'A Festival 2021.