I'm a filmmaker based in New York City. I'm originally from Ecuador.

Everytime I read a map, my mouth waters and my eyes widen.

Graduated in August 2016 with a MFA in Film Directing from Florida State University Film School. Now I live in New York City growing as a filmmaker, and to pay rent, I work in the Film industry as Location Scout and Assistant Location Manager. In the weekends, I write and develop my own screenplays. Just finished writing my first feature film screenplay and looking forward to shoot my short film screenplay. I want to be a film director and producer.

I love films, languages, culture and sports. I studied for a Postgraduate degree in screenwriting at a Film School in Barcelona (ESCAC); that was my first time in Europe. I'm looking fwd to go back and visit more cities.

I studied Filmmaking in Quito and just want to make movies for a living, meet new people, travel around the world, and practice sports along the way.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Love to travel and meet/help people.

Years ago, a friend was really busy and asked me for a big favor: pick up his couchsurfers.
I hosted them for 2 days till my friend was free enough. After this experience I decided to be a member of this community.
I love to meet people and learn their stories.
Also, I like to help.

Interests

Films. Sports. Read. French. Documentaries. Food. Travel. Maps. World. Music. Geopolitics. Geography. Dance. Stuttering. Soccer. Laugh. Photos. Beach. Languages. Learning. Meet new people. Beer. Latin America.

• documentaries
• film making
• dancing
• salsa dancing
• bachata
• dining
• beer
• flying
• movies
• traveling
• magic
• music
• sports
• soccer
• jiu jitsu
• cartography
• geography
• geopolitics
• languages
• sign language
• beaches
• french language
• soccer/football

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies that had surprised me on the top of my head: El Bonaerense, White Ribbon, Happiness, the Idiots, Mundo Grua, Oldboy, Wasp (short film), Fridge (Short film), Soft (short film), A separation, A Hero, The Power of the Dog, Incendies, A Prophet, Pizza Birra y Faso, Young Ahmed, Red Rocket, Tangerine, Paradise:Love, The wind that shakes the barley, City Of God, Dancer in the Dark, L'enfant, Two days one night, Los Olvidados, The Salesman, Toni Erdmann, Fish Tank, La Vida es Bella, The Measure of a Man, Napoleon Dynamite, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Y tu mama también, La Promesse, White Girl, The death of Mr Lazarescu, Tori et Lokita, The Florida Project.
I always try to watch as many short films and read short stories as possible. I also like to read screenplays and enjoy social, realistic films. Love documentaries too. My favorite filmmakers so far are: Ulrich Seidl , Andrea Arnold, Pablo Trapero, Dardenne brothers, Michael Haneke, Ken Loach, Luis Buñuel, Martín Rejtman, Sean Baker, Gaspar Noé, Paul Thomas Anderson, Woody Allen, Carlos Reygadas, Dominga Sotomayor, Lucrecia Martel, David Mackenzie, Pablo Larrain, Darren Aronofsky, Andres Wood, Victor Gaviria, Asghar Farahdi, Susanne Bier, Jacques Audiard, Sebastian Cordero, Cristi Puiu.
I'm reading now La Casa de los Espiritus, The Plague. Just read: The Nickel Boys. The Righteous Mind. Harry Potter, The Underground Railroad, The Sympathizer, Franz Kafka's short stories collection, Edgar Allan Por short stories, El Mundo de Sofia. Books in my list: Moby Dick, Papillon, Slaughterhouse-five, Robinson Crusoe, Dune. I’m into: Mario Vargas Llosa, Colson Whitehead, Isabel Allende, Garcia Marquez, short stories, latinamerican narrators. Kafka, Carver, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and a lot more to discover. I have a short stories blog: ivorlando.blogspot.com
Music: Swing Original Monks, Jamiroquai, Ozzy Osbourne, Systema Solar, Vicente Garcia, Bacilos, Juan Luis Guerra, Foo Fighters, and many more.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Puenting in Baños - Ecuador.

Newborn butterfly getting out of its cocoon and then flying away. I saw that in Mindo - Pichincha, Ecuador.

Jumped from a 40-meter waterfall.

Magic Fountains in Montjuic, Barcelona.

Rafting for 6 hours in a level 4 river in Ecuador.

CPR to a guy right after he had a serious car accident. He lived.

Walking out of the subway station in Barcelona and watching for the first time its buildings. It felt like seeing Europe for the first time and getting its gist right away. Very simple and impressive moment for me.

I watched Messi play live in Barcelona, and he scored three times!!

Went to an electronic music festival deep in the woods in Suwannee, Florida. I was the only icon of diversity among white, southern, republican, hippie young adults. Being a progressive, I party very well with them. Forgot about politics in that weekend. Quite an experience!

Filming short films every once in a while.

Worked as Casting Director in an indie film in Tallahassee, FL,. That was an adventure since I had to cast the whole film with local non-actors! I found the lead actress in a Supermarket. She then was nominated for a Spirit Award for best actress!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you Spanish, filmmaking, soccer, how to write screenplays, new reasons for laughing, and medium-level salsa dancing, jajaja. I want to learn Sign Language, French, Jiu-Jitsu, rock climbing, how to craft beer, how to surf, how to play the saxophone, drums, and High-Level Salsa and bachata.

What I Can Share with Hosts

You will crack out loud with me while you learn about Ecuador/Latinoamérica and my life so far.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, Spain, United States

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