María Alvarez

María Alvarez is an internationally recognized Cuban-Dutch filmmaker. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a BFA in Film & Television Production. Her films have screened at dozens of festivals such as the San Francisco International Film Festival and Cleveland International Film Festival, won awards from institutions such as Google, and screened in museums like MoMA. Her short film, ‘Split Ends,’ was a 2021 Horizon Award Finalist, premiered at the NALIP Latino Media Fest, and then went on to screen at the Cannes Court Métrage and NewFilmmakers LA hosted by the Academy. Her short film, ‘did i look cuban then?,’ premiered at the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Documentary at NFFTY. María is a 2023 Rising Voices fellow (Hillman Grad / Indeed), where she directed and co-wrote her latest short film, “Last Days of the Lab.” The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and has gone on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival. María is a freelance director and photographer in the narrative, music video, and commercial space working for clients such as Nike, Netflix, and more. She is currently in the 2023 Sundance Institute Latine Collab Scholarship program where she is developing her feature film script, “Guava Tree.”

Born: in Cleveland, Ohio, USA