Alonso Mayo (born December 30, 1978) is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

best known for his independent film ''

The Story of Luke ''The Story of Luke'' is a 2012 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Alonso Mayo. It is Mayo's first feature-length film and tells the story of Luke, a young man with autism who embarks on a quest for a job and a girlfriend. It sta ...

'' (2012). He has won a

Student Academy Award The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first ...

(for ''Wednesday Afternoon'').

Early life

Mayo was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, and grew up traveling back and forth between Peru and

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

, while his mother, special education teacher

Liliana Mayo Liliana Mayo (born March 30, 1952) is a Peruvian psychologist and special education teacher. Biography Liliana Mayo is the founder and general director of Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú, an organization that serves people with developmental disa ...

, did her post-graduate studies at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. Mayo graduated from Lawrence High School. Mayo received a B.A. from

University of Lima The University of Lima ( es, Universidad de Lima) is a private nonprofit university in Lima, Peru. It was founded in 1962 and it is considered one of the most prestigious and remembered universities in Peru. The decision to create the Universi ...

, where he majored in film and journalism. He received a M.F.A. in film directing from the

American Film Institute Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private not-for-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on st ...

. His thesis film ''Wednesday Afternoon'', starring Jose Yenque and

Jeffrey Licon Jeffrey Licon (born August 29, 1985) is an American actor most notable for his role as Carlos Garcia on the Nickelodeon show, ''The Brothers García''. He portrayed Eric Preston, a supporting character in the 2004 movie ''Mysterious Skin''. He ...

, was official selection of the

Deauville American Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Cho ...

, Camerimage Film Festival and won a

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

Student Award as well as the Gold Medal in the Narrative category of the 2005

Student Academy Awards The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first ...

Career

Mayo co-directed the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...

's ''

Teaching Tolerance The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white sup ...

'' documentary ''Viva La Causa'', about the life of

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

, which was shortlisted for the 2008

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. In 2010, Mayo directed the dramatic

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

''Untitled Fiction Project'' about the aftermath of an affair. The 13 episode series was shot using structured

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. The storyline was later continued in 2013's ''Untitled Murder Project 2.0'', a 36 episode experiment in

nonlinear storytelling Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative, or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique, sometimes used in literature, film, video games, and other narratives, where events are portrayed, for example, out of chronological order or in other ways ...

. Mayo directed his first feature film in 2011, the comedy-drama ''

'' about a young man with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

on a quest for a job and a girlfriend, starring

Lou Taylor Pucci Lou Taylor Pucci (born July 27, 1985) is an American actor who first appeared on film in Rebecca Miller's '' Personal Velocity: Three Portraits'' in 2002. Pucci had his breakthrough leading role in '' Thumbsucker'' (2005), for which he won a Speci ...

Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and writer. Green's film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting ...

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

and

Kristin Bauer Kristin Bauer van Straten ( Neubauer) is an American film and television actress, notable for her roles as vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO television series ''True Blood'', Jerry's girlfriend Gillian ("man hands") on ''Seinfeld'', ...

. The film was inspired by Mayo's experiences with young men and women on the autism spectrum at Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú as seen in his research documentary ''Just Like Anyone''. ''The Story of Luke'' premiered at the 2012

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

, where it won Best Film. It went on to win over 20 film festival awards and was released theatrically and on demand in 2013 by

Gravitas Ventures Gravitas Ventures is an independent film distribution company owned by Anthem Sports and Entertainment. The company was founded by Nolan Gallagher in Los Angeles, California in 2006 and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio in 2019, where it f ...

. Mayo teaches film directing and screenwriting at

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, t ...

's Los Angeles campus.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Alonso Peruvian film directors AFI Conservatory alumni Peruvian screenwriters Male screenwriters People from Lawrence, Kansas Living people 1978 births