Joel Alfonso Vargas

Joel is from The Bronx, New York. In addition to graduating from the National Film and Television School in February 2024, he is a former Fulbright Scholar and holds an MA in documentary filmmaking from the University of the Arts, London. He also studied narrative film production at the University of Southern California where his focus was in directing and cinematography. Since beginning his career, Joel has directed a breadth of films that intersect documentary and fiction cinema. His work aims to collaborate with communities at the periphery, centering on themes of social, racial and economic justice with an eye toward humanizing portrayals that honestly render the complexity and poetry of urban life. He is a Tribeca Film Institute All Access and Warner Media Our Local Is Global grantee, and a Gotham (formerly IFP) No Borders program alumnus. Principal photography on his first feature length film tentatively titled, 'Mad Bills to Pay' , was completed in 2023.