Joant Úbeda

Joant Úbeda is an award-winning film director. He is the son of Nicaraguan refugees who fled from the country's Sandinista-Contra War of the 1980s. His mother arrived in San Francisco, California, a sanctuary city, a few weeks before his birth. This granted him dual citizenship for both nations. At age 10, his parents bought him a small camcorder with which he made short action films with and edited them in camera. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in multimedia with Hawai'i Pacific University, and later his Master of Fine Arts degree in film directing with New York University. He is based in Singapore and works around the region as well. His short film, Spirit from the Meadow, a dark comedy dealing with the supernatural, has played at festivals in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In 2015, he directed a one-shot music video for the band Spacedays. And in 2016, a crime drama music video for the musician Intriguant. In 2018, he joined PwC's newest consulting arm, the Experience Centre, as an in-house film director to focus on creative technology projects that solve important issues within major industries and society at large. In 2020, he released his feature film debut, Sementara ("transient"). Filmed during Singapore's 50th anniversary, it is a documentary that encapsulates the philosophies, daydreams, and crucial moments strangers share-which all lead back to certain universal truths. Its world premiere was accepted at the prestigious 31st Singapore International Film Festival where it won the coveted Audience Choice Award.