Experiencing Interruptions?
Password

A Beautiful Presence

A Beautiful Presence is an environmental portrait series by Los Angeles native and photographer, Lester Guijarro. The series explores how places impact people and influence who they are today. Every subject in the series ponders on a different topic, topics such as gun violence, gentrification, gender identity, mental health and overall cultural identity. Our goal is to shed light on how the personal is political, while discussing the process of resilience for each individual.

  • Luisa Betancur
    Director
    Demons - Oliver Tree, Chillhood, Alphii, My mom liked flowers
  • Lester Guijarro
    Writer
  • Lester Guijarro
    Producer
  • Luke
    Producer
  • Luisa Betancur
    Producer
  • Lester Guijarro
    Key Cast
  • Porter
    Key Cast
  • Jakie
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Student, Web / New Media, Other
  • Completion Date:
    August 4, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    700 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Luisa Betancur

Luisa is a Colombo-Americana from Medellín who has zigzagged between the US and Colombia since age 9. Currently based in Los Angeles, Luisa graduated from ArtCenter College of Design with a BFA in Film Production and a minor in Cinematography. She’s self taught in manual film photography since age 14, danced intensively for 5 years while in high school in Colombia, and grew up around her father and brother's work in construction and architecture sites there. Because of her background, Luisa's visual sensitivity comes from movement, feeling, light/framing and the time/space or choreography of things in real time (such a construction sites or a film set).

Since graduating, Luisa has worked full-time for the CA Democratic Party as their cinematographer, has shot 5 short films which feature strong female voices and stories of marginalized people, 3 dance films, an episodic documentary series, and a few commercials in LA and Colombia. Recently Luisa interned at Warner Bros and wrapped working in the camera department of Cherish the Day, a new show by Ava DuVernay, and the 5th Season of Netflix's show Lucifer.

Add Director Biography