Pacho Velez

Pacho Velez is a nonfiction filmmaker and assistant professor of screen studies at The New School in New York City. Born and raised in New York, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University and an MFA in Film/Video from the California Institute of the Arts. Velez’s work spans ethnography, contemporary art, and political documentary, with feature films presented at major festivals worldwide. His credits include : They’re Here (2024), co-directed with Dan Claridge, premiering at Tribeca, Searchers (2021) at Sundance, The American Sector (2020), co-directed with Courtney Stephens, at Berlinale, The Reagan Show (2017), co-directed with Sierra Pettengill at Tribeca and broadcast on CNN, and Manakamana (2013), co-directed with Stephanie Spray, which won the Cineasti del Presente Golden Leopard at Locarno. In addition to his filmmaking, Velez has held teaching roles at Princeton University, Harvard University, Bard College, Parsons/The New School, and MassArt, and was awarded a Princeton Arts Fellowship in 2015. His films are recognized for their formal inventiveness and engagement with cultural and political themes.