OAO

Rocio Mesa is a filmmaker who combines film directing with production and programming. Her first fiction feature film, Tobacco Barns (2022), had its world premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, where it won the Dunia Ayaso Award. It made its international debut at the prestigious SXSW festival (Austin, Texas), where it won the Visions Audience Award. Her first feature film was the creative documentary Orensanz (2013), which premiered at the Seville European Film Festival (SEFF) and was selected for international festivals such as BAFICI, among others. Mesa creates experimental analogue films, and her work has been shown in museums, galleries and specialist festivals around the world. As a producer, she is the co-founder of NAINO, and she has led the production of numerous projects, including Álvaro Gurrea’s feature film Mbah Jhiwo / Ancient Soul (2021), which premiered at the Berlinale Forum (2021), and Elena Duque’s Portals, which premiered at the Berlinale Forum Expanded (2025). Rocio Mesa is the director of LA OLA - Independent Films from Spain, an organisation engaged in showcasing contemporary Spanish independent cinema in North America. She has also worked as a film programmer for festivals such as LA Film Festival and for international film events such as Art House Theater Day in the US.