Mario Alejandro Arias

Quito, Ecuador

Mario Alejandro Arias is an Ecuadorian writer and director based in Madrid. After receiving a scholarship from the ECAM film school, he migrated to Spain in 2019. At the school, he specialized in non-fiction filmmaking, slowly crafting a style that blurs the lines between fiction and documentary. His second-year project, “It’s just a burning memory...” was selected for over a dozen international festivals. His third and final film school project, a feature-length film called “Tener Tiempo” was the first feature from his school to premiere at the Festival de Málaga. Shot with less than $3,000 on two handy-cams, the film enjoyed a very successful festival circuit in Spain.

After graduating first in his class, he wrote and directed “Qué calor hará sin vos en verano,” a story of two foreigners who meet in Madrid, fall in love, but have little time to enjoy it. The short film premiered in June 2024. His next short film, “Ya están viniendo” is about four friends who escape the city and the troubles of early adulthood to camp in the mountains for a weekend and try psychedelic mushrooms. This short is set to premiere in autumn 2024.

Arias navigates between fiction and non-fiction filmmaking, writing for friends, family members, and non-professional actors. His films explore themes such as the passage of time, migration, love, existentialism, and the struggle to find oneself in the modern world.