Rafa Zubiria is a filmmaker and visual artist from San Sebastián, Spain. He attended studies of Advertisement at Universidad del País Vasco, before working with ad agencies and design studios at an early stage. Later in his career, and after a short trip to South East Asia, he is profoundly inspired by it and started to make films in the region. He combines fly-on-the-wall footage with a more purposeful edit and computer-generated imagery.
In the words of Brennan McGee, director of the Paonia Film Festival, about his work: "Its tendency towards the abstract and dreamlike pull the viewer in and prop up a certain intellectual curiosity. It observes without bias or judgment: lightly calling attention to our collective humanity. It puts us on display as human, in moments of consciousness and unconsciousness, with all visible barriers between us broken down".
In the last few years, Rafa has covered social movements, such as the 2019 Hong Kong protests and the pro-democracy (III) movement in Thailand. His films have been selected as Staff Picks on Vimeo and shown in festivals, like the EXiM in Macao or Argiartean in San Sebastian, Spain. In April 2022, and over two weeks, his short film Freedom Is A Serious Crime was screened in more than 100 cinemas across France, in a program that was organized by L'instant Très Court.
Freedom Is A Serious Crime on r/Filmmakers & TitleMag / Light Wind Land on Indiepost & Urbanist Hanoi / Ambient Rain on Vimeo Best Of Staff Picks: December 2017 / A Gentle Glow on Localiiiz / Booooooom / South Horizons on Localiiz / South Horizons on Localiiz (2) / South Horizons on Localiiz FB.