enrique a. mendoza
creative director
I’m an award-winning director and creative director from Guatemala City, now in LA. I've spent over a decade making campaigns for brands like Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu, and I direct short films, mostly about people having a very bad night.
Some of that work has won awards. Most of it taught me how to lead a team and when to shut up and listen.
I like the problem-solving. The late nights with editors. Realizing the scene you loved doesn't work and cutting it out. I've edited, produced, directed. Each role gave me a different angle on how stories actually come together.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
I once got anime fans and LA Galaxy diehards cheering in the same stands. I go looking for ideas like that, the ones nobody's done to death yet.
I map out strategy because winging it is stupid. But once the plan's solid, I'm the first person to pitch the thing that sounds risky on paper. That tension is where the good stuff lives.
FILM s
I'm always hunting for the stuff between the lines. A look that goes on half a second too long. Someone losing their train of thought. How a person breathes when they're lying.
If the images stay with you after, I did something right.
I didn't start in the director's chair. I spent years in edit bays and production meetings, cutting footage, running shoots, designing graphics and doing whatever kept the project moving. Late nights were standard. So was learning by screwing up. I killed a lot of scenes I loved because they didn't work.
This is the work that showed me how to see.