PROFILE
PROFILE
Mauricio Vidal is an award winning Cinematographer, working extensively on a wide array of projects, including  Netflix NARCOS and EL CHAPO.

Mauricio started shooting Tv documentaries in exotic locations such as Eastern Island, French Polinesia, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, New Zealand, Patagonia or the Amazon Rainforest, and cities like New York, Berlin, Paris, Sidney, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong or Beijing.

 His feature highlights include UNDERTOW (Directed by Peruvian Javier Fuentes-Leon) that won the Sundance Audience Award in 2010 and was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Chlotrudis Awards in the USA, and selected for Special Screenings at CAMERIMAGE in Poland. SATANAS (Andi Baiz) got  Best Feature Film/Best Actor for Damian Alcazar at the Spoirs du Cinema in Mónaco.  HABANA INSTANT (Guillermo Ivan Dueñas) a film shot totally handheld with no lights in Eastern La Habana (Cuba) won The Innovation Award in Montreal Film Fest in 2015.

 To keep himself grounded, MAURICIO has lensed several documentaries either in the jungle, the coast, or the mountains, such as MONTE ADENTRO (Awarded a Special Mention at CAMERIMAGE 2014) or APAPORIS (IDA Docu Weeks 2010), as well as several Documentary shows for ARTE, National Geographic and Discovery.  He was Camera Operator on Jack Ryan II (Paramount/Amazon Studios) and shot 2nd Unit for DESPERADOS  a Netflix feature shot in Baja California.  He recently finished shooting Sudhir Mistra's film AFWAAH in Rajasthan, northern India.

To have a taste of his vision as Filmaker he states:

  " Every film is an adventure where you leave part of your life.  Each story has a unique way to be told, every Director has a special set of tools to work.  Right next to him, no matter the budget, a Cinematographer uses his skills as a storyteller, artist, manager, and craftsman (the craft of the camera and the light), to make every project to be possible.

Film is such a powerful tool. It can change people’s life. Each image has to be strong, every detail counts, in order to make the audience laugh or cry, to create emotion in motion.

That is something I have learned over the years working as a Cinematographer  all over the world, shooting big and small narrative projects, documentaries and commercials.  It is all about making feel comfortable the human being at the other side of the camera, and creating an amazing atmosphere for those behind it.

Each new project sets me as Cinematographer in a whole new universe, where you have to redefine yourself  as an artist, storyteller and as a human being.  New people, new places, new ways to create, new possibilities, new limitations... it is a wonderful way of life (i wouldn’t call it work). "

TRAINING
Universidad Externado de Colombia  -  BA in Social Communication
Bogota-Colombia/1986-1990
Algonquin College  -  Printing Color Photography Course 
Ottawa-Canada/1988
Okinawa International Center - Video Production Course 
Okinawa-Japan/1992-93
Metrovision Argentina - Post Production Seminar 
Buenos Aires-Argentina/1998
Asociacao Brasilera do Cinema - Walther Carvalho Cinematography Seminar
Sao Paulo-Brasil/1998
Film International Workshops - Camera Operator Workshop 
Maine-USA/2001
Cinecolor Lab. Argentina - Trainee in Laboratory Techniques 
Buenos Aires-Argentina/2005
POV Cinematography Master Class - Allen Daviau, Karl Walter Lindendaub, Gabriel Beristain.
Los Angeles 2012
Camerimage Festival - Seminars with Michael Chapman, Rodrigo Prieto, Chris Doyle, Phedon Papamichael, Stephen Goldblatt, Haris Zambarloukos, Vittorio Storaro, Harris Savides, Matthew Libatique, Michael Ballhaus, etc. and Directors  Ang Lee, Oliver Stone, Alan Parker and Mike Figgis.  
Lodz-Poland/2004, 2007/ Bydgoszcz 2010, 2011, 2014.
ADDITIONAL TRAINING
FCG National Gymnastics Judge Ottawa-Canada/1989

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver S.Andres-Colombia/1995

OPEPA First Aid for Wild Areas Chingaza-Colombia/2007