Félix Endara

Born in Ecuador, Félix Endara is a transgender New York-based independent filmmaker, programmer, and arts administrator whose films have screened at festivals including Berlin, Frameline, Outfest, NewFest, DOC NYC, and Mill Valley. From 2008 to 2012, he programmed Arts Engine’s documentary screening series DocuClub, which he toured to Mexico City and Silver Spring, Maryland. In 2010, he was a fellow at the IFP Documentary Finishing Lab (2010) as producer for WILDNESS (2012, Dir: Wu Tsang), which follows the trajectory of a gay male bar in Los Angeles as its transforms into a refuge for immigrant Latina transgender women. It premiered at MoMa’s Documentary Fortnight series in February 2012, was an official selection at SXSW, and screened at the Whitney Biennial later that year. He also produced ARTICLE OF FAITH (2011, Dir: Christina Antonakos-Wallace), which received the “Changemaker Award” at the Media That Matters film festival in 2011. The short portrays anti-bullying Sikh activist Sonny Singh and his fight to ban discrimination in New York City schools. His most recently-released documentary feature as produce NORTH BY CURRENT (2021, Dir: Angelo Madsen Minax) had its World Premiere at the Berlinale, and was broadcast as part of the POV series on PBS in late Fall 2021. The film’s soundtrack was provided by the talented queer musician Julien Baker. NORTH BY CURRENT was named one of the Best Movies of 2021 by Rolling Stone and a 2021 highlight in Non-Fiction Cinema by Filmmaker. In March 2022, the film won an IDA Documentary Award for BEST WRITING and a Spotlight Award at the Cinema Eye Honors. The film was also nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award in the Truer than Fiction category. Félix is currently producing UNSEEN (2023, Dir: Set Hernandez Rongkilyo), which follows a blind undocumented social worker on a journey of healing. The film was featured recently as a selected project for the 2022 Gotham Documentary Feature Lab.

Félix also participated in Working Films/Fledgling Fund’s first Reel Engagement workshop (July 2010), focusing on outreach and audience engagement; and in documentary trainings at Dok-Leipzig’s Co-Production Meetings (October 2011), in Germany; and Amsterdam’s IDFA Academy (November 2011). He has been a reviewer for P.O.V., Tribeca All Access, NewFest, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, and the New York Asian American International Film Festival; and an advisor for Cinereach Reach Fellows. In 2013, he served as a jury member of the New Orleans Film Festival.

Félix has a long and consistent track record of producing innovative, thought-provoking media of consequence that has screened at prestigious film festivals around the world. Topics he has covered have ranged from the preservation and celebration of LGBT historical spaces to character portraits of activists who rise up to the challenges of fighting prejudice and violence. In addition, his work as an independent programmer and arts administrator draws on his values to champion art that functions as a catalyst for social change.

His short documentary GRIT & GRIND tells the story of the Clit Club, an edgy lesbian club set in New York’s Meatpacking District in the 1990s, as the city struggled with the AIDS epidemic. The film had its debut at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.

Bilingual creative professional working in private philanthropy, with areas of expertise in independent film and multidisciplinary arts.

Born in Ecuador, Felix Endara is a queer transgender New York-based independent filmmaker, programmer, and arts administrator whose films have screened at festivals including Berlin, Frameline, Outfest, NewFest, DOC NYC, and Mill Valley. From 2008 to 2012, he programmed Arts Engine’s documentary screening series DocuClub, which he toured to Mexico City and Silver Spring, Maryland. In 2010, he was a fellow at the IFP Documentary Finishing Lab as producer for WILDNESS (2012, Dir: Wu Tsang), which premiered at MoMa’s Documentary Fortnight series in February 2012, was an official selection at SXSW, and screened at the Whitney Biennial later that year. In addition, he as participated in Working Films/Fledgling Fund’s first Reel Engagement workshop; and in documentary trainings at Dok-Leipzig’s Co-Production Meetings; and Amsterdam’s IDFA Academy. He has been a reviewer for P.O.V., Tribeca All Access, NewFest, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, and the New York Asian American International Film Festival; and an advisor for Cinereach Reach Fellows. As an artist, he recently participated the New York Foundation for the Arts’ “Artist as Entrepreneur Boot Camp for Artists of Color” and was a “Civic Seminarian” with Eric Liu and his Citizen University team.

Felix has a long and consistent track record of producing innovative, thought-provoking media of consequence that has screened at prestigious film festivals around the world. Topics he has covered have ranged from the preservation and celebration of LGBT historical spaces to character portraits of activists who rise up to the challenges of fighting prejudice and violence. In addition, his work as an independent programmer and arts administrator draws on his values to champion art that functions as a catalyst for social change.