BIO
WORDS
[The Days Before DDDIII] “Thank you for your work. Your images are greating.” Robert Wilson New York
[New York Spin] “This engrossing, imagistic portrait of the city and its denizens should prove a welcome short addition to fest and arty cable lineups," wrote Ronnie Scheib in Variety. “It shows filmmaking talent." Carole Dean, director of Roy W. Dean Foundation, New York. I Press
“‘Beauty will be convulsive, or it will not be at all,’ wrote the Surrealist poet André Breton. It is also revelatory, subversive, and alive in the pulse of every new story waiting to be told.”
“As the grounds of reality falter, a thrilling urge emerges to craft stories, connect ideas, and explore the invisible. It’s a way of being in the world and building bridges for human dialogue. A fascinating journey through life.
I did an early use of video on stage in Madrid when it was still a rarity. My PhD dissertation dove into avant-garde theater, which ultimately led me to work with its very subject: Robert Wilson.
Then, I ventured into New York’s independent cinema scene, producing a film that had an incredible festival run. And I studied under the American scholar who coined the term ’transmedia’ in the arts.
Meanwhile, I’ve spent over twenty years living in several countries, developing projects in emerging fields —primarily within universities— including an international film festival. Now, I find myself looking at the ever-evolving world of interdisciplinary arts in times of cyberspace.”
“An ecosystem is a geographic area where organisms work together to form a bubble of life. 'Ecology of souls,' leitmotiv that I use since New York Spin, calls for a sense of community to build better futures.”
Photo: Digital Art
“I first entered the "theater of images" in New York, collaborating with director/artist Robert Wilson on video design. I've since worked on projects produced by Steven Soderbergh and Spike Lee. […] In Mexico City, I played a role in introducing Butoh dance inspired by Kazuo Ohno at the National Center for the Arts. In Madrid, I immersed myself in the European avant-garde scene, working on Joan Brossa’s, and making an early use of video on stage premiering works by Bernard-Marie Koltès, Sergi Belbel, and Julio Cortázar.” —PV
Award-winning filmmaker Pedro Valiente explores new narratives through visual theater, writing, and visual art. He has received two Berlinale awards and an Emmy Award nomination, along with nearly sixty honors, including screenings at over 100 film festivals (Sundance, SXSW), TV networks (PBS, BBC, TVE, Canal+), and presentations at MoMA, Whitney Biennial, and Lincoln Center. Pedro’s film career began in New York, where he studied and worked for over ten years. He has also lived in Mexico City and the UK, and has worked in twenty-two countries.
Pedro describes his work as interdisciplinary and multicultural storytelling under the idea of "ecology of souls." Recent projects include the video installation trilogy Multiple Portraits and the documentary feature film You Are Mythical, which connects daily life with classic myths.
In New York Spin, "a part experimental tone poem, part heartfelt elegy for 9/11, and part paean to the cultural richness of Gotham," Pedro focuses on six New Yorkers. "This engrossing, imagistic portrait of the city and its denizens should prove a welcome short addition to fest and arty cable lineups," wrote Ronnie Scheib in Variety. Carole Dean of the Roy W. Dean Foundation called it "filmmaking talent," while Deborah Cravey from the Digital Media Center remarked, "I'm fascinated by this project: concept, people, structure, everything intrigues me." I IMDb
Cuba 15 was a standout success, with LA Times calling it "as delightful as anything I've seen upon a television screen." Amy Taubin of The Village Voice praised its protagonist, saying, "We learn more from her in 15min than from a half-dozen feature documentaries." Pedro produced Cuba 15 by Elizabeth Schub, which won the Jury Prize and Audience Award for Best Short Film at Berlinale (Panorama), screened at over 40 festivals, and aired on POV (PBS). He also worked on films produced by Steven Soderbergh and Spike Lee, and collaborated with Saturday Night Live (NBC), Time Warner, Vivendi Universal, and The Rockefeller Foundation. He co-produced Forgetful, which won sixteen awards.
In visual theater, Pedro collaborated for three years on video design for The Days Before DDDIII, directed by Robert Wilson with text by Umberto Eco and music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, featuring Fiona Shaw and Isabella Rossellini at Lincoln Center. Pedro also authored a PhD dissertation that became a book series on Wilson's creative process. He participated in workshops with the Wooster Group, Trisha Brown Dance Company, and Atsushi Takenouchi, and presented Japanese butoh dance at Mexico City's National Center for the Arts. In Madrid, he coordinated a theater-dance company inspired by Joan Brossa and Kazuo Ohno and directed a university theater company that used video on stage in early performances of works by Bernard-Marie Koltès, Sergi Belbel, and Julio Cortázar.
Pedro’s international work includes roles as director of International Relations at the New York Film Academy, co-producer of Film MOOC for edX by MIT/Harvard University, program leader for BA (Hons) Contemporary Media Practice at Arts University Plymouth (UK), and European project media director at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He has lectured internationally for over ten years mostly at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. Pedro has a PhD in Audiovisual Creativity and Production, alongside MA degrees in Cinema Studies and Journalism. He has received training in Film, Photography, Writing, Theater/Dance (NY), and Visual Art (UK).
WORK
New narratives in filmmaking, visual theater, writing, and visual art. • FILMMAKING You Are Mythical I New York Spin (feature films) Cuba 15 I Forgetful (short films) I TV Series • VISUAL THEATER Robert Wilson’s The Days Before DDDIII I Butoh Dance I Tilmun Teatro.
WRITING for film and visual theater. Poetry. Books. PhD dissertation. Articles on the arts in Madrid and New York. • VISUAL ART Multiple Portraits installations trilogy. Digital art. Screenings in MoMA, Whitney Biennial (NY), art centers (Spain, Italy, UK).
Artwork
Project development in the arts mostly in universities. • New York Film Academy NYFA (US), International Relations director • Arts University Plymouth AUP (UK), BA (Hons) Contemporary Media Practice program leader • International Film Festival Cancun Riviera Maya (MX) director • European Project Universidad Carlos III de Madrid UC3M (Spain) media director • Film/TV Event Televisa (MX) director.
Projects
NEW YORK Work for Vivendi Universal, and collaboration for NBC (Saturday Night Live), Time Warner, and The Rockefeller Foundation. MADRID In early career, writing for El Público, performing arts magazine by the Ministry of Culture of Spain, and training in national television (RTVE) .
Work Integrated Learning (WIL) for 10yrs+ in the US, UK, Spain, Mexico, Jordan • FOCUS Hybrid Projects, Transmedia Storytelling, New York Independent Cinema, Theater of Images • PROGRAMS Filmmaking, TV Production, Directing, Writing, Performing Arts, Visual Art • BAs Film, Media, Design • MA Transmedia Documentary Film • PhD Media Arts • CENTERS NYFA edX by MIT/Harvard University (US), AUP (UK), UC3M (Spain), Tecnológico de Monterrey (MX).
University
EDUCATION PhD Audiovisual Creativity and Production cum laude, MA Cinema Studies, MA/BA Journalism, Diploma Photography (UCM, UAM), Filmmaking (NYFA, US) I TRAINING Writing, Theater/Dance (NY), Visual Art (AUP, UK) I ONLINE Transmedia Arts & Technology (metaLAB, Harvard University).
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