Daniel Maldonado

Writer Director Producer

Featured in the New York Times, Remezcla, The Face and on NBC News, Daniel is a multi award winning LatinX filmmaker rooted from New York’s downtown Avant-Garde film culture.

 Former intern & assistant 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 which toured German movie theaters as part of the “Blue Hearts Of N.Y.”. Since then, Daniel's work has earned recognition at over a hundred international film festivals, museums, galleries and micro cinemas

Committed to a personal and intuitive process, his work has earned  recognition at international and Academy Award qualifying film festivals such as 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 handcrafted analog & digital films in group shows at institutions such as The Museum Of Modern Art,  Brooklyn Museum Of Art, Mexico City’s Cineteca Nacional, Rome’s Maxxi Museum BNL and Miami’s Superblue Art Center. 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 NY’s Museum Of Moving Image followed by screenings at the American Cinematheque, Austin’s Violet Crown Cinemas and at over 25 top international festivals. Completing its  journey, the film garnered a Best U.S. Latino Film nomination from Cinema Tropical and several awards for Best Feature & Best Director.  Subsequently, it was released through multiple VOD platforms.

Currently, Daniel has just finished two experimental documentaries while producing a new narrative short for the festival circuit.  He’s also developing a fable-like feature  set in Puerto Rico which was a participant in both the Stowe Story and Cine Qua Non screenwriting labs .  Balancing work life, Daniel is as a Propmaster in NY and has worked with auteurs from Pedro Almodóvar, Michael Almereyda and Lulu Wang to actors such as Sean Penn, Julianne Moore and Ben Stiller. He has contributed to the production design on  films such as The Room Next Door, The Farewell and the 2022 Sundance Grand Jury winner, A Thousand And One.