ERNESTO
SANTISTEBAN
DIRECTOR AND WRITER / CEO
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
It all started when I was a child — painting on walls, drawing comics, shaping characters out of clay and inventing dialogues between them. And, of course, there was rock and pop music in the ’80s, the soundtrack that marked the beginning of my creative life. I may not remember the exact years, but I remember art becoming the path that kept me creating.
Being largely self-taught, my journey took me through many different forms of expression. I worked as a political cartoonist, music composer, muralist, body painter and designer. I directed music videos, with some of my work making its way to MTV and HTV, and later moved into TV spots, art direction, screenwriting, costume design, on-set work and 2D animation.
Then one day, I wrote Verano No Miente (Summer Doesn’t Lie), my feature-film debut in Ecuador — a romantic comedy brought to life by actors from different nationalities. From that moment on, together with Eli, my life partner, I committed myself to creating films alongside talented people willing to give everything in front of and behind the camera.
For me, filmmaking is ultimately about the experience. The moment everyone takes their seat and we press play, something magical happens. As a director, however, that experience begins much earlier — sometimes with something as simple as shaking hands with a future producing partner.
