I am a father almost by surprise, a husband by unsearched love, a filmmaker by vocation, a writer by existential need, a traveler by curiosity, a reader by pleasure, and an entrepreneur by attitude.
I invite you to read my background to learn more about who are you considering hiring.
Dedicated to the field of imagery since I have a memory, I began working with videos during my childhood, where my love for movie-making blossomed and I started creating short films with my friends, fueled by the opportunity to use my dad’s camera. It quickly became evident to me that my true calling resided in this field.
From the age of thirteen, I had the immense luck of traveling extensively, igniting my interest in studying humanity as a whole. Through personal experiences, I discovered that “humans are fundamentally the same, despite diverse socio-cultural realities.” Born in Spain, I obtained a double degree in Audiovisual Communications & Liberal Arts before pursuing higher education in the USA and Central Europe. These experiences allowed me to explore new photography domains, particularly in architecture and entertainment. Following my initial studies, I made the decision to merge my professional career as a freelancer with a new area of study: Anthropology. I hold a master’s degree in Documentary Photography and an MA in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, something that I could do thanks to having been awarded the Talentia scholarship by my regional government.
I resided in Ethiopia for the past 10 years, immersing myself in the cooperation sector and gaining new insights into the people and cultures of the Horn of Africa. My projects in Ethiopia have been diverse: from teaching to co-founding the VIHVE NGO, as well as actively promoting tourism as a means of fostering the country’s economy. I have also collaborated with Al Jazeera’s (AJ+) partner, storyhunter TV, and contributed to travel magazines. I have provided news content for Spain’s ABC newspaper and television group AtresMedia. Previously, I worked as a cinematographer for Tamesol Communications on the show “Question & Answer,” and headed the Media & Communications Department at Eminence Social Entrepreneurs. Recently, I embarked on a new venture, working independently for various NGOs and companies, engaging in international audiovisual projects for entities such as France’s TV5Monde, Japan’s NHK TV (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and Spain’s Movistar 0+. Additionally, I served as a judge at the New York City Short Documentary Film Festival. In my spare time, I share my impressions through blogging, raising public awareness about the realities of Ethiopia.
I have held an itinerant individual exhibition titled “Etiopía, la Inocente Mirada” and participated in a collective performance at the Madariaga Foundation. I contributed to a collective book of photographs published by the Santander Foundation. Furthermore, I published two collective fiction books and received notable recognition, including the national TV channel prize in the TVE photo contest.
In 2019, I directed and adapted a short film called “Paper Boats,” based on the memoir written by Ethiopian American artist Abezash Tamerat. Currently, we are collaborating on developing a full-length feature film based on the same project. I also recently launched a startup called Magistri that provide online master classes in cinematic format.
Fluent in Spanish, English, and Amharic, I am conversational in Italian and have some knowledge of French.
For further insight into my experiences in Africa, you may be interested in reading some of my blogs:
Feel free to reach me on my contact page or shoot me an email: gonzalo [dot] avpro [at] gmail [dot] com
