About us

Our story began over a decade ago in the 20th row—“fila” in Spanish—of the Cuban Cinematheque, where our teenage selves gathered daily to indulge our passion for cinema. From those cinephile beginnings, we evolved into filmmakers and founded FILA20, one of Cuba’s first independent film collectives. After emigrating to New York City, we reestablished FILA20 in the U.S.

FILA20 is a New York City-based production company.

Our films have screened at festivals such as Venice, Sundance, Warsaw, Glasgow, New Orleans, Rooftop Films, and HollyShorts, and on platforms including Amazon Video, Short of the Week, Omeleto, ShortsTV, and kweliTV.

We have produced work for organizations such as The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Galleria Continua, Hyde Hotels, Louis Vuitton, MoMA, and People.

Whether in Cuba or NYC, on film or in commercials, long or short formats—we approach every project with the same passion. At the heart of our work is a common thread: personal stories of timeless and universal value, just like the films that inspired us as teenage cinephiles.

Juan Pablo Daranas Molina (Juampa)

Juampa is a Cuban and American filmmaker based in New York City and Rome. He is the founding director of FILA20, whose films have screened at Venice, Sundance, Warsaw, Glasgow, New Orleans, Rooftop Films, and HollyShorts. Juampa has directed films for Galleria Continua, Louis Vuitton, MoMA, and the Bronx Museum of Art. He is an adjunct faculty member at his alma mater, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where his MFA thesis film was executive-produced by Spike Lee. Juampa has been selected for the NYU Purple List, the NYU Production Lab Development Studio, Berlinale Talents, Piccolo America's La Residenza, and the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards.

Ana A. Alpizar

Ana’s short The Fisherman screened at Sundance, Miami, NALIP, Rooftop Films, and many other festivals. Hapi Berdey Yusimi in Yur Dey was an official selection at the New Orleans and Brooklyn film festivals. She is currently enrolled in the Graduate Film Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Alejandro Medina

Alejandro’s multidisciplinary work spans film, photography, video art, coding, and GIFs. His short Alejandrito and the Bogeyman premiered at the Warsaw International Film Festival, while Customer Service was featured on Short of the Week. Alejandro also leads CIFARRA, a branch dedicated to commissioned projects.