Directing

José María Avilés

Known for

Directing

Credits

7 titles

Filmmaker and editor José María Avilés (1988, Ecuador) graduated from Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2012. After attending the Laboratoria de Cine of Martín Rejtman and Andrés di Tella in 2013, he made several short films and worked as an editor on Alba (2016), among other films. In 2017, he made his feature debut as a director with The Death of the Master, which premiered in IFFR. His second feature film Al Oriente will be release at the Biennale College of Venice Film Festival.

Known for

Prophecy poster
7.0

Three young friends of Moroccan origin travel on a lost island, sing, dance, and take us into the shelter of an uninhabited lighthouse. They discover this unknown land like the explorers in a tale of adventures. Following them around in this strange place, Julieta Juncadella carries us away, like a wave, in the movement of a fantasy film. – Elena López Riera

Prophecy

2020

Al Oriente poster
4.3

Atahualpa works on the construction of a road that will cross the Llanganates Mountain Range, where it is said that the treasure of Inca Atahualpa was hidden in 1533. One night, Atahualpa is the guide of an expedition that goes in search of the treasure at the beginning of the 20th century.

Al Oriente

2021

The Death of the Master poster
5.5

On 16 April 2016 a severe earthquake hit coastal Ecuador. José María Avilés’ first longer film is based on this national disaster, but at great distance from the collapsed buildings and buried loved ones. He shows how an unexpected event can suddenly modify all the rules of the game, even in the remote town of Angamarca – the location of the film – where the effects of the quake arrive as distant echoes of hostility in the natural environment.

The Death of the Master

2018

The Presence of the Dead poster
NR

After receiving his last wage and sending it off to his home country, a house painter deliberately abandons his mobile phone on a park bench. Shortly after, a girl finds it and decides to keep it. She takes it as a sign sent directly to her that reveals the presence of the dead. A contemporary ghost story.

The Presence of the Dead

2019

Behind the camera

Prophecy poster
7.0

Three young friends of Moroccan origin travel on a lost island, sing, dance, and take us into the shelter of an uninhabited lighthouse. They discover this unknown land like the explorers in a tale of adventures. Following them around in this strange place, Julieta Juncadella carries us away, like a wave, in the movement of a fantasy film. – Elena López Riera

Prophecy

2020

Al Oriente poster
4.3

Atahualpa works on the construction of a road that will cross the Llanganates Mountain Range, where it is said that the treasure of Inca Atahualpa was hidden in 1533. One night, Atahualpa is the guide of an expedition that goes in search of the treasure at the beginning of the 20th century.

Al Oriente

2021

Al Oriente poster
4.3

Atahualpa works on the construction of a road that will cross the Llanganates Mountain Range, where it is said that the treasure of Inca Atahualpa was hidden in 1533. One night, Atahualpa is the guide of an expedition that goes in search of the treasure at the beginning of the 20th century.

Al Oriente

2021

Al Oriente poster
4.3

Atahualpa works on the construction of a road that will cross the Llanganates Mountain Range, where it is said that the treasure of Inca Atahualpa was hidden in 1533. One night, Atahualpa is the guide of an expedition that goes in search of the treasure at the beginning of the 20th century.

Al Oriente

2021

The Death of the Master poster
5.5

On 16 April 2016 a severe earthquake hit coastal Ecuador. José María Avilés’ first longer film is based on this national disaster, but at great distance from the collapsed buildings and buried loved ones. He shows how an unexpected event can suddenly modify all the rules of the game, even in the remote town of Angamarca – the location of the film – where the effects of the quake arrive as distant echoes of hostility in the natural environment.

The Death of the Master

2018

The Death of the Master poster
5.5

On 16 April 2016 a severe earthquake hit coastal Ecuador. José María Avilés’ first longer film is based on this national disaster, but at great distance from the collapsed buildings and buried loved ones. He shows how an unexpected event can suddenly modify all the rules of the game, even in the remote town of Angamarca – the location of the film – where the effects of the quake arrive as distant echoes of hostility in the natural environment.

The Death of the Master

2018

The Presence of the Dead poster
NR

After receiving his last wage and sending it off to his home country, a house painter deliberately abandons his mobile phone on a park bench. Shortly after, a girl finds it and decides to keep it. She takes it as a sign sent directly to her that reveals the presence of the dead. A contemporary ghost story.

The Presence of the Dead

2019