PAST WORK

Daniel is a Salvadoran-American producer, director, writer, and cultural worker based in Los Angeles. His third short, SUPERESTAR, has been accepted at festivals including Bentonville, NewFilmmakers LA, San Diego Latino, and Philadelphia Latino where it won the LOLA Award. It was acquired for distribution on Soleil Space. His second short film MEMORAMA (2019) played in competition at festivals including Oaxaca International, Paraguay International and ICARO International, where it won 2nd place for Best Fiction Short. He won the 2022 Blackstar Doc Shorts Pitch, is a 2022 Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today Fellow, and is a 2023 Sundance Institute Latine Collab Scholarship recipient.

Daniel was previously the Coordinator for Documentary Specialty Funds and Shorts at The Sundance Institute, and also previously worked for Film Independent and The Mill LA. He has worked as an associate producer, field producer, and post supervisor for nonfiction and fiction projects for companies like Tremolo, Actual Films, and Artifact Nonfiction.

CURRENTLY

Daniel is producing and directing his first nonfiction short film, PIÑATA PRAYERS. The film won the 2022 Blackstar Film Festival Short Docs Pitch. It world premiered at the 2025 True/False Film Festival.

Daniel is writing his first fiction feature, APOCALIPSIS, which has been developed with the support of the Sundance Institute Artist Accelerator Program. He is also researching several ideas for his first nonfiction feature.

For other freelance work, click HERE.

LIFE & EDUCATION

I was born in Oakland. I grew up in California, Ohio, Texas and El Salvador, and speak both English and Spanish. I graduated from La Sierra University, earning degrees in both History and Film/TV Production. I love going to music shows, cuddling cats, buying books I don’t have time to read, improvising cocktails, and surfing at dawn. I dream of owning my own production company, with a focus on arthouse, nonfiction, and new media international co-productions across the Global South.