Ramiro Cantu

Ramiro Cantu is an award-winning writer/director and cinematographer based in Austin, Texas. As a young teen, Ramiro immigrated on his own from Mexico to McAllen, Texas to live with family. It was there, at McAllen ISD's Lamar Academy, that he discovered filmmaking as a way to express himself. His prodigious passion for film was recognized in 2016, when he won a scholarship and a coveted spot in Berridge Programs' five-week summer intensive film workshop in Normandy, France. There, he produced his first short film, titled "Fugazi." Upon his return to the U.S., Ramiro registered for a media technology course in high school called KMAC. The class allowed him to shoot dozens of projects, including #RefugeesWelcome, a powerful PSA illustrating the plight of Syrian refugees seeking shelter in the U.S. The short film caught fire when it started winning small contests at the local level, quickly gaining attention on the national and then international stages. The film won Best PSA at the AAHSFF 2017 in New York City, with a nomination for Best Visual Effects, and was selected for the ICAPFF in Istanbul in 2017 and the SXSW film festival in 2018. From 2016 to 2018, Ramiro also worked part-time as an associate producer at Good Ground Community Today in McAllen, where he revised and edited scripts, selected clip segments in post-production, and worked the teleprompter. In the spring of 2018, he was accepted into the Radio-Television-Film program at The University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communications. As a college student, he continues to take on freelance cinematography, editing, and production work. Most recently, he worked as a production assistant at CBS on a docuseries directed by Richard Linklater. He also worked on TV documentaries including Trump's War in the Border, Roadtrip Nation, and Rubberneckers (in post-production) in addition to working on commercials, music videos, and short films for local clients. In the summer of 2018, Ramiro was invited to join the staff of Berridge Programs to help teach the fundamentals of film to the summer program's students. He continues to teach and help the students with various aspects of filmmaking. Ramiro believes filmmakers should focus on telling stories that matter. His intent with his directorial work is to shine a light on social issues faced by people around the world who must endure poverty, addiction, abuse, bullying, suicide, school shootings, immigration, and the refugee experience. His aim is to make viewers around the world feel intimately the often dark experiences taking place in the world's shadows, taking comfort in the good that also exists. His hope is that his films will create empathy and spark action. In the fall of 2017, the City of McAllen officially proclaimed October 23rd as Ramiro Cantu Day to honor the young local hero.