Daniel Maldonado

Daniel is a writer/director and a prop master by trade. Starting with the music video boom of the late 90's, he has since moved onto Independent feature films working on Sundance winners: Crown Heights, The Forty Year Old Version, Grand Jury winner: A Thousand And One and the Oscar nominated, The Farewell. Recently (2023), the film Black Flies premiered in Official Competition in at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival. He's also worked closely with such talents as Ben Stiller, Cynthia Nixon, Academy Award winner Sean Penn and many more. Please see additional bio for writing/directing. Writer /Director/ Producer : Featured in the New York Times and on NBC News, Daniel is a multi award winning Ecuadorian-American screenwriter, director and experimental film artist, who found success with a personal practice in the several genres he's explored. Former assistant/intern for legendary NY producer Ben Barenholtz, Daniel's formative years earned him several Kodak grants and invitations into the renowned Actor's Studio observation program. Under the mentorship of acclaimed film poet Manfred Kirchheimer, he wrote and directed several inclusive shorts, his first of which toured German theaters as part of the "Blue Hearts Of N.Y." traveling festival of short films. Since then, Daniel's work has earned recognition at over 80 film festivals, gallery exhibitions and micro cinemas both in the U.S. & internationally. This includes LALO, featuring Billy Magnussen which was awarded Best Short Film at the HBO/NY Latino International Film Festival. As a Creative Capital- On The Radar Co-Artist, Daniel has also showcased his handmade experimental works at places such as Rome's Maxxi Museum BNL and Mexico's Cineteca Nacional. He completed his debut feature, H.O.M.E. in 2016 starring Mexican Ariel winner, Jesús Ochoa. Produced by Darren Dean (Tangerine, The Florida Project), the film premiered at the Museum Of Moving Image followed by screenings at the American Cinematheque , Bentonville Film Festival and at over 25 premiere international festivals. Completing its journey, the film received a nomination for Best U.S. Latino Film from the 2017 Cinema Tropical Awards along with several other awards for Best Feature & Best Director. Currently, Daniel has just finished a new documentary and experimental shorts, one commissioned and the other supported by the Queens Council Of The Arts. He's also developing a 2nd feature script set in Puerto Rico. It was recently selected as a 2023 Cine Qua Non Lab and Stowe Story Lab Retreat participating project. It was a Sidewalk Film Fellowship Finalist and advanced to the 2nd round of the 2021 Sundance Development Labs . He also produced the short Stolen Dreams which has won the 2023 Platinum Remi Award at the 56th annual Houston Worldfest and is currently on the festival circuit.