Bio

 

Maria-Elena is an award winning film director, working as a freelance director/designer/digital animator.

After graduating with a degree in visual communication from the N.C.AD Dublin, Maria-Elena started her career as a motion graphics artist for Irish television.  In 2004 Maria-Elena moved to Auckland and in November 2006, Maria-Elena was inspired to make her first short film. RAIN is a mix of live action, compositing and 3d animation which draws upon New Zealand’s landscape and indigenous culture.

Rain has received the Atlantis award for best foreign animation at the Moondance International Film Festival . Rain was selected as the best of the Zebra poetry film festival in the Interfilm international Short film festival Berlin 2008.

Maria-Elena received an AFTA award(Aotearoa, Film and Television Awards), which is the equivalent to the IFTA-Awards, in 2012 for her second short film Meniscus. Meniscus has screened at festivals worldwide and has been in competition at the prestigious Annecy animation festival France, the Stockholm International film festival and the Guanajuato international film festival Mexico. In 2013 Meniscus won best International short film at the Eco-film festival Mexico 2013. In 2012 Maria-Elena completed her third short ”Inorganic” written by Nick Ward, funded by the NZ Premier shorts film fund. In 2014 Inorganic was selected for competition at the Badalona International film festival, Barcelona. Inorganic had its debut screening at the Galway Int. Film festival Ireland 2014. In February 2013 Maria-Elena participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus, Berlin.

 

Filmography

 

STOLEN CHILD

In Development - short film

 

THE BOAT

In Development - short film

 

LITTLE MISS BAYSIDE

In Development - feature

 

LTNT

2014 - documentary, short film

 

INORGANIC

2012 - short film

 

MENISCUS

2011- short film

 

RAIN

2006 - short film