Juan Castillo (filmmaker)
Award-winning filmmaker from the Dominican Republic, grew up in New York City. First Dominican admitted to New York University's graduate film school, where he was Spike Lee's Teaching Assistant and his thesis film, Secuestro, won the Spike Lee Fellowship. As intern-turned story development assistant at 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks entered NYU's graduate film program and subsequently apprenticed as personal assistant to Spike Lee on productions including NBA commercial campaigns and films, such as She Hate Me and Inside Man.
His films include El Delivery, won several awards including the Audience Award in NYU's showcase of Best Films of NYU at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, licensed by HBO, becoming the first Dominican film licensed by a major network. Also licensed by PBS/Thirteen, where it lead all other films by hundreds of audience votes in the Reel NY film series.
His NYU thesis film, Secuestro, received the first Global Foundation short film prize, presented by the president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, licensed by the Showtime network. His first feature-length screenplay, Zanjas (The Great Adventure), won a Disney development/ first-look deal, his second screenplay, Batey Felicidad, a docu-drama centered on Dominican identity and life within sugarcane plantation communities in the Dominican Republic, won a development grant from the PBS Latino Public Broadcasting program.
TRIVIA
Research fellowship in the University of California, Berkeley graduate school of public policy
Joined the Kenya Wildlife Service and Forest Department in conservation efforts year of [...] bombing of US embassy in Nairobi, 1998 United States embassy bombings
Ronald E. McNair Scholar
Coro (non-profit organization) Fellows Program in Public Affairs
Was legislative aide in New York State Assembly
US Congressman Edolphus Towns and New York State Assemblyman Darryl Towns Community Service Award
New York State Assembly certificate of merit
Directing and writing professor at New York Film Academy
Bumped into Werner Herzog behind New York City Hall
NYU President's Award for service during the September 11 attack
Directed David Bennent in the Spike Lee film She Hate Me
Wrestled a .44 Magnum out of the hands of an assailant in the stairwells of East New York High School