Juan Castillo (filmmaker)

= BIOGRAPHY =

Award-winning filmmaker from the Dominican Republic, grew up in New York City. First Dominican admitted to New York University's graduate film school, where he was Spike Lee's Teaching Assistant and his thesis film, Secuestro, won the Spike Lee Fellowship. As full-time story development assistant at 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks entered NYU's graduate film program and subsequently apprenticed as personal assistant to Spike Lee on productions including NBA commercial campaigns and films, such as She Hate Me and Inside Man.

His films include El Delivery, won several awards including the Audience Award in NYU's showcase of Best Films of NYU at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, licensed by HBO, becoming the first Dominican film licensed by a major network. Also licensed by PBS/Thirteen, where it lead all other films by hundreds of audience votes in the "Reel NY" film series.

His NYU thesis film, Secuestro, received the first Global Foundation short film prize, presented by the president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, licensed by the Showtime network. His first feature-length screenplay, "Zanjas" ("The Great Adventure"), won a Disney development/ first-look deal, his second screenplay, "Batey Felicidad", a docu-drama centered on the difficulties of life within sugarcane plantation communities in the Dominican Republic, won a development grant from the PBS Latino Public Broadcasting program.

TRIVIA

Research fellowship in the University of California, Berkeley graduate school of public policy

Joined the Kenya Wildlife Service and Forest Department in conservation efforts year of terrorist bombing of US embassy in Nairobi, 1998 United States embassy bombings

Ronald E. McNair Scholar

Coro (non-profit organization) Fellows Program in Public Affairs

Was legislative aide in New York State Assembly

US Congressman Edolphus Towns and New York State Assemblyman Darryl Towns Community Service Award

Directing and writing professor at New York Film Academy

Bumped into Werner Herzog behind New York City Hall

NYU President's Award for service during the September 11 attack

Directed David Bennent in the Spike Lee film She Hate Me

Wrestled a .44 Magnum out of the hands of an assailant in the stairwells of East New York High School

REFERENCES

[http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/showtime/release?id=68 CBS]

[http://www.funglode.org/premios/premiosfunglode/2007/ Global Foundation for Democracy and Development]

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1659758/ Internet Movie Database]

[http://www.nyu.edu/public.affairs/releases/detail/1125 New York University]

[http://www.thirteen.org/reelny/films/el-delivery/13 Thirteen Reel NY]

[http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=2514 PBS]

[http://www.thirteen.org/reelny/films/?p=13 WNET Thirteen]