JuanMa Calderon (Lima, 1967) began his audiovisual career in the 1990s, documenting Lima's underground art scene. His training incorporated an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating rock, dance, and poetry, resulting in an extensive body of experimental videos. In 2001, he went into self-imposed exile in New York, where he produced a series of programs for Brooklyn's public television station about Latin American artists living in the Big Apple. He also founded the Latin American art movement Spanic Attack. In 2004, he made his first feature film, the dark comedy Reasons for Exile, an autobiographical account of his experience as a Latin American immigrant in New York City. In 2006, he traveled to Madrid to make his second feature film, Motives for Exile, a surreal story based on the myth of Inkarri. This time, he collaborated with Peruvian technicians and actors living in Spain. He survived for a few years as a video teacher for children in Manhattan public schools and as a cook in Austin, Texas, and New York. In 2012, he settled in Boston, where he made his latest film, Amores Gatos, another experimental comedy that offers a particular portrayal of Latino immigrants in New York. Currently, he combines his film career with gastronomy at his restaurant, Celeste—considered by critics to be one of the best in the Boston area. He is preparing his next feature films, Muerte en el Festival (Death at the Festival), a crime comedy, and El Secreto de Victoria (Victoria's Secret), a spy comedy.
