Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz is an award winning writer and director. His short film WHEN BIG PEOPLE LIE had its World Premiere at the 51st Telluride Film Festival and its International Premiere at PÖFF Shorts and is currently in competition at the American Pavilion at Cannes.

In 2024, Gianfranco won Best New Filmmaker of the Year at NewFilmmakers LA for their 12th Annual Awards, recipient of the Anthony Rhulen grant, and recognized by the State of California for “his commitment to the independent arts and culture scene in Los Angeles.”

Other awards include the Latino Film Institute x Netflix’s Inclusion Fellowship, qualifiying for the 96th Academy Awards and being a finalist for both the HBO Short Film Award. and the Sony Future Filmmaking Award.

Gianfranco’s first feature “Summer of Mercedes” was a Finalist of the Nicholl Fellowship and is currently being produced by Lynette Coll and Sergio Lira.

Gianfranco earned a Master’s in Fine Arts from the AFI Conservatory in Directing. His shorts have played at over 100 film festivals globally, and placed at a dozen other notable festivals & competitions including AFI Fest, BOGOSHORTS, Austin Film Festival, Urbanworld, ABFF, Screencraft, NALIP, Shore Scripts and more.

Gianfranco’s short film SABORRRR! is reported to be the most diverse crew in Utah film history. His seventh short ANEMOIA, SCENES FROM THE FUTURE is currently in post-production and will be released in 2026.

Representation: Trey Witter treywitter@gmail.com

  • I saw [Gianfranco's] short film 'Jerome' a while ago and I was very impressed that it moved me so much. Every character in the film was believable; the casting was flawless. The main character was a  tragic figure with a sense of loneliness that built amazingly toward that final emotional discovery.

    Charles Burnett

  • Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz is a talented and passionate filmmaker. I selected his AFI student film, "When Big People Lie," for the Telluride Film Festival. It has a unique and powerful perspective on immigration in the United States today and the moral dilemmas children are often forced to deal with. A true untold story.

    Gregory Nava

  • Gianfranco' s artistic voice is authentic with unique sensibilities born out of kindness, compassion and humanity. His work has a naturalistic and gritty poeticism while paying close attention to the simple details of life and relationship dynamics. His tastes and sensibilities are sophisticated and mature and his films are well observed. He is guided by a genuine artistic calling and driven by a personal need to share his stories and specific point of view.

    Rob Spera

  • Gianfranco is an unusual director in particular ways. He clearly has a strong creative vision and imagination, but also is able to access a camaraderie and kindness with his crew that is not always common in our industry. He has an openness and excitement that leans very well to working with agencies and communicating with clients.

    Columbine Goldsmith

  • "I’m a son to people I’ll never know, I’m what they fought for, what they suffered for, what they dreamed. I often imagine my stories as theirs. But they belong to us all. Stories don’t have race or tongue, they’re portals to all our peoples, in all of space and time. Cinema seems to have this unique force to forever collapse and expand consciousness.”

    GFR