Producer/ Director/ Writer
Read some of Hugo's writing.
Hugo Perez is a filmmaker and writer whose work often focuses on his Cuban heritage. He is the recipient of the 2009 Estela Award for Documentary Filmmaking presented by NALIP – the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. In 2008, he was the recipient of the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation/Tribeca Film Institute Emerging Artist Fellowship in support of his feature screenplay IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. In 2008, he was also spotlighted as a success story in the Chivas Regal “Spirit of Success” advertising campaign. Perez’ short film BETTY LA FLACA was the winner of the 2006 HBO/NYILFF Short Film Award and was broadcast on the HBO networks through Fall 2008. Perez previous short film “JULIETA Y RAMON” was broadcast as part of the 2005 Showtime Latino Filmmaker Showcase, which spotlights the work of emerging Latino directors, and was recently re-broadcast on the PBS series REEL NEW YORK. Perez has studied writing with Gabriel Garcia Marquez, collaborated with pulitzer prize-winning novelist William Kennedy, and served as a guest artist for acclaimed theater director and artist Robert Wilson. His writing has been featured in the New York Times Magazine and Salon, and his films have screened at venues such as MoMA and the Smithsonian.
Currently, Perez is currently working with celebrated actor Adrian Martinez to develop his feature narrative directorial debut, “PAPERS PLEASE". In addition, he is Producer and Director of “NEITHER MEMORY NOR MAGIC” a feature documentary that explores the life, work, and legacy of the Hungarian poet Miklos Radnoti who died in 1944 during the Holocaust. "NEITHER MEMORY NIR MAGIC" is the recipient of a 2010 NEH Chairman's Grant. The film is narrated by the Academy-Award Nominated® Patricia Clarkson and edited by Academy Award Nominated® filmmakers Francisco Bello and Tim Sternberg. Perez is also the Producer and Director of the ITVS funded documentary “SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON” that follows quirky composer and conductor Rob Kapilow and Blackfeet poet Darrell Kipp through the process of creating a symphony about the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803 from the point of view of American Indians today. Perez is the Executive Producer of "ADAMA" which premiered on PBS World in November 2011.
Perez was a co-producer and writer on “Dance Cuba: Dreams of Flight,” a feature documentary shot over the course of three years in Cuba on 24pHD which reflects on life in contemporary Cuba through the experiences of dancers and others involved in the Cuban dance world. In conjunction with The New York State Writer’s Institute, WMHT/Albany, and Pulitzer prize-winning novelist William Kennedy, he produced and directed “The Writer” a half hour series of video portraits of contemporary writers and poets that aired regionally on PBS stations. Since creating “The Writer” in Spring of 1997, Perez has produced forty-eight episodes, spotlighting such writers as Russell Banks, Frank McCourt, Jamaica Kincaid, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, David Sedaris, Ken Kesey, Studs Terkel, Chinua Achebe, Andrea Barrett, George Plimpton, and many others. Perez has also produced and directed two short documentaries in Cuba: “The Ecstasy” and “The Old Man and Hemingway” the latter of which has received numerous awards at film festivals in 2004 and was selected as one of nine ‘Outstanding Short Films’ for 2004-2005 by the Museum of Modern Art. Perez currently serves on the board for the New York Council for the Humanities.