About us

FILA20 is a Cuban production company based in New York City.

Our story began more than a decade ago in the 20th row (“fila” in Spanish) of the Cuban Cinematheque, where we gathered daily as teenagers to indulge our passion for cinema. From those cinephile beginnings, we became filmmakers and founded FILA20, which grew into one of Cuba’s leading production companies. After emigrating to the United States, we reestablished FILA20 as a Cuban production company based in New York City.

Our work has been showcased at festivals and on platforms including Venice, Sundance, Clermont-Ferrand, Warsaw, Tampere, SXSW London, Palm Springs, Glasgow, New Orleans, Rooftop Films, HollyShorts, Prime Video, Short of the Week, Omeleto, ShortsTV, and kweliTV.

We have produced projects for organisations including the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Galleria Continua, Hyde Hotels, Louis Vuitton, MoMA, People, and Pro-Keds.

Whether in Cuba or New York City, on films or commercials, in long or short form, we approach every project with the same passion. A common thread runs through all our work: personal stories with timeless and universal resonance, just like the films that first inspired us as teenage cinephiles.

Juan Pablo Daranas Molina (Juampa)

Juan Pablo is a Cuban filmmaker, producer, and the founding director of FILA20. He has written, directed, and produced films for the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Galleria Continua, Hyde Hotels, Louis Vuitton, MoMA, People, and Pro-Keds. He holds an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where his thesis film, executive-produced by Spike Lee, was among the ten chosen for the inaugural Corto Condorello, sponsored by MUBI and overseen by Paolo Sorrentino. He has been selected for Berlinale Talents Guadalajara, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards, the Spike Lee Film Production Fund, the NYU Production Lab Development Studio, the Fondazione Piccolo America Residency, and twice for the NYU Purple List.

Ana A. Alpizar

Ana is a Cuban filmmaker based in NYC. Her short film The Fisherman premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her latest short, Norheimsund, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was subsequently selected by Sundance, Clermont-Ferrand, Tampere, SXSW London, Palm Springs, and dozens of other international festivals. Ana’s work has been recognised by the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards and the DGA Student Film Awards. She is also a recipient of the BAFTA BBC America Diversity Scholarship and the Princess Grace Award in Film and holds an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Alejandro Medina

Alejandro is a Cuban filmmaker based in NYC. His multidisciplinary work spans film, photography, video art, coding, and GIFs. His short Alejandrito and the Bogeyman premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival, and Customer Service was featured on Short of the Week. Alejandro leads CIFARRA, a branch focused on commissioned projects.