Passion Paris Signs Director Juan Pablo Machado

For the release of the wonderful clip Memories, Passion Paris has welcomed Juan Pablo Machado to its roster of artists and directors. This little gem of animation, directed for artist Sandor Waïss, retraces a woman’s journey along a river and unveils her fondest memories to the beat of Waïss’ uplifting and sunny track. Made by a small team, this film showcases Juan’s ability to focus on storytelling and an artistic direction that brings out strong emotions. 

“For me, the character is the door to a conversation with the viewer. A good design reflects the character’s personality, her past and her values,” explains the artist.

Juan has always had great admiration for mangakas such as Shin'ichirō Watanabe (Samurai Champloo) and Tsutomu Nihei (Blame), their attention to detail and the powerful expressions of their characters. He is equally impressed by Satoshi Kon and his off-the-wall directing and editing.  

While drawing inspiration from these great masters of Manga, Juan combines them with his native Columbian culture to create a unique realm of expression that is extremely personal.  

“We have been admiring Juan Pablo’s subtle and poetic work for several years, now. And it is such a pleasure to support this young artist and director whose vision and desire to convey emotions never cease to surprise us,” Chamseddine Kaddouri, producer at Passion Paris.

As a student at the Émile Cohl School of Art in Lyon, Juan Pablo directed Lofi Girl, a short animation whose title character became an iconic phenomenon on YouTube, raking in tens of millions of views. He finished his studies and graduated with the strange and fantastical short film Rapunzel, and later became animation supervisor on the Primal series. 

With Memories, Juan Pablo confirms his ambition to dedicate his time to directing - and the opportunities abound! Passion and Juan Pablo have already been called on for several exciting projects, in advertising and for video game trailers.