filmmaker/artist
juan carlos zaldívar
CURRICULUM VITAE
•Attained BFA, MFA in Film Production at New York University's Institute of Film and Television.
•Adjunct Faculty at New York University's Institute of Film, UG Studies from 2000 to 2001
• Adjunct Faculty at the Art Institute, Miami international University 2009-present
RECENT AWARDS/GRANTS - 2009
• Optic Nerve film/video art competition, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA- NOMI)
• Creative Capital Professional Artist Development Program, sponsored by the Warhol Foundation and State of Florida Department of State, Div. of Cultural Affairs
• State of Florida individual Artist Fellowship 2009, sponsored in part by:
• the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs,
• the Florida Council on Arts and Culture,
• and the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs 2008-2009 Artist Access Grant
• New Media Institute Fellowship from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through the Black Filmmakers Consortia
• Latino Public Broadcasting Production Development Grant
• FunArte through Sleepless Miami Beach Arts Festival
• Lucius and Eva Eastman Fund
• The Flicker Point Fund at the Dade Community Foundation
PRODUCING-DIRECTING-WRITING WORK
Present
director/producer/editor Shifting Nature (a development of the Martí and I project) Is an experimental feature about the shifting nature of perception, memory and history in the context of a personal exploration about a hormone treatment I was given when I was eleven. Phonograph Films
2010
director/producer/editor Mal de Horror (Horror Sickness) A visual and aural meditation on texts from the 19th century novel "Les Chants de Maldoror" written by the Comte de Lautréamont, the pseudonym of Isidore Lucien Ducasse, which draws parallels on the power of art to move the human spirit and on the dichotomy in the repercussions of such power. Phonograph Films
2009 - present
director/producer/editor/performer Martí and I
Mostly known in the US as the writer of La Guantanamera, Martí and I presents Cuba’s greatest political and literary icon as an effeminate man. Martí and I has received several grants to begin its development into a feature film and a series of art+research performances. Phonograph Films
2008
director/producer/editor Caminos a short documentary exploring the forces of migration presently throwing foreign communities together, the debate that drives them apart and possible solutions to what may seem an insurmountable problem. Phonograph Films/ Food First
2007 director/producer/editor/actor Sexi a dramatic film with actual events which raises some important questions about self image and the challenges of a new generation living in the post-AIDS crisis in the U.S. Phonograph Films
2006 - 2007 director/producer ForEverglades a short documentary narrated by Tom Brokaw exploring viable solutions to save the Florida Everglades eco-system. Phonograph Films/ Everglades Foundation
2007 director/producer/editor Dos Rios a video which attempts to externalize the raw and overwhelming feeling of being caught in the center of a fervent ideological war (Cuba and the U.S.). One that forces one to take sides and, sadly, alienates. Phonograph Films
2004 co-director/producer Soldiers Pay (with David O. Russell (Three Kings) and Tricia Regan) a documentary distributed by Cinema Libre/IFC which follows a group of soldiers who, in the context of the morally ambiguous Operation Iraqi Freedom, came across 4million dollars in cash four days after the taking of Baghdad and suffered the consequences for taking some of the money.
2004 producer/writer/outreach coordinator Once There Was A Country: Revisiting Haiti a feature length documentary narrated by Maya Angelou that aims to dispel the myths surrounding this misunderstood country and examines the causes of the present healthcare crisis in Haiti.
2003 producer/director/writer 90 MILES a feature length documentary about how the relationships within a Cuban family are shaped by the rift between the United States and Cuba. Aired on PBS’ award-winning series "POV.” Now on DVD. www.90Miles.org and www.PBS.org/POV/90miles
2003 produced/director Salsa for Peace a documentary and HD concert DVD about Orquesta de la Luz, a Japanese salsa band that created salsa industry history by generating the fastest ever sales for a debut album--for Berko Productions in collaboration with NHK Educational, Japan and Vividworks.("Salsa for Peace" is the first DVD to be authored in Panasonic's new 30 di technology.)
SOUND DESIGN/SUPERVISING
1996-2000 Supervised and sound designed the post-production of over 20 award-winning independent films such as the Academy Award nominated "On the Ropes", "Sense and Sensibility" (also nominated for a Golden reel Award by the Academy of MP Sound Editors). Have worked with renowned directors such as Ang Lee, Steve Buscemi, Tom Noonan, Nanette Burstein and Bart Frundlich, among others. Received an Emmy nomination for excellence in a craft: Sound for HBO's America Undercover. (Adt'l sound credits available on IMDB.com and upon request)
OTHER SHORTS OF NOTE
1998 director/writer/producer-THE STORY OF THE RED ROSE (Showtime)
*Official Selection to the Sundance Film Festival Shorts Competition;
*1997 Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Semi-finalist, student film division.
*Recipient of a Grant from the Warner Bros. Production Fund
*Winner of a Silver Plate Award at the Chicago Int’l Film Festival, 1997
1990 writer/director-PALINGENESIS
*Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Nominee, student film division.
*Recipient of a Malcolm Ross film production award.
PROGRAMMING AND CURATING EXPERIENCE
2009 Founder/Cutting the Edge Coordinator for The Miami International Film Festival. Co-curated and produced a new competition of the festival that showcases video art and experimental work.
2009 Senior Education coordinator for The Miami International Film Festival. Coordinated student film screenings, wrote study guides for selected films and supervised outreach screenings.
2007 Senior outreach and education coordinator for The Miami International Film Festival. Coordinated student film screenings, wrote study guides for selected films and supervised outreach department for the festival with a staff of four.
2002 – 2006 founder/director/ programmer for The Florida Room Documentary Film Festival, (www.TheFloridaRoom.org) An outdoor documentary film festival in the heart of South Beach.
2003 Curated New Directors/New Frontiers Film Program as well as panels with Academy Award nominated filmmakers and top film critics in Brazil at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center, RJ, Brazil. Produced for Banco do Brasil and the IFP-NY chapter. Program and press kit available upon request.
OTHER RELEVANT FILM CV (chronological):
• Director/writer for ABC’s Wife Swap Reality Series
• Director/DP for WE (Women’s Entertainment Reality series “Single in the City – Miami Beach”
• DP for the pilot episode of the Perez-Hilton Show produced by World of Wonder.
1995-1999
•Produced and directed trailers for the Sundance Film Festival; and served as a Juror for mayor film festivals including the Sundance FF, the Miami Int’l FF, IFP NY and others.
•Produced segments for television (PBS, CNN, Disney Latin America, PSN, Animal Planet, VH-1 and others)
Additional Skills
• Cinematographer. Still photography. Producer. Writer. Director.
• AVID, FInal Cut, Photoshop, Quark, Microsoft Word and Excel
• HTML programming
• Pro-Tools/Sound Design (separate resume available upon request)
• Fluent Spanish, some French.
[Additional credits and references are also available upon request.]
In Development
(1) writer/director-Violenta, a feature screenplay about a Latino superhero whose powers come to full force when he is dressed like a woman.
•Sundance Film Institute Filmmaker Fellow, 1998
(2) writer/director-Jesus and Mary Jane, a feature screenplay about an unexpected romance between an older widow and a reckless young man trying to find his identity.
