Adrian Goycoolea was born in Brazil to Chilean and British parents, and has lived in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, New York City and the Midwest. Perhaps because of this diverse background, his films often address issues of location and identity, exploring the intersections of personal memory with social and political histories.

His work ranges from short, experimental, single channel pieces to multi-channel art installations, as well as short and feature-length documentaries. Adrian has worked as a programmer and publicist at Anthology Film Archives in New York City, and his films and installations have been screened widely.

Over the years, his work has been shown at film festivals such as the Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Moscow International Film Festival, BFI Flare: The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Frameline: The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, Document: International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival (Glasgow), FIDOCS: International Documentary Film Festival (Santiago) and at art galleries including The Artists' Space (NYC), Taller Boriqua (NYC), La Panaderia (Mexico City), and in locations as disparate as Anthology Film Archives and MTV.