Hugo Santa cruz
About
Hugo Santa Cruz is a writer/director/producer from London.
He is part of a brand new social stratum in the UK, that of the Europeans who got British passports after the Brexit vote.
A former touring musician with Mute & Universal Records, some of the bands he played in had songs featured in "Breaking Bad", "The L Word" and "The Sopranos"; when the music dried up he swerved into screenwriting.
In 2021 he wrote/directed/produced his no-budget debut feature MY LONDON LULLABY. A film about Europeans in a not so dystopian post-Brexit Britain, which went on to win the Special Jury Prize at the 43rd Edition of the prestigious Efebo D'Oro Film Festival in Italy (November '21). Other official selections in
well established film festivals worldwide included the Hofer Filmtage (Germany) and Bogocine (Colombia).
In July 2022, Hugo declined an invitation to screen MY LONDON LULLABY at the 44th Moscow International Film Festival.
Not one to rest on his laurels, 2023 sees the launch of his second feature THE FiFTH GENERATiON, a semi-experimental surrealist dark comedy about radicalised environmental activists, winner at the Brighton Rocks Film Festival (UK).
Also in 2023 Hugo is hitting the festival circuit as an Associate Producer for A CLOSET-FREE HOME; a documentary about the first public funded care home for elderly LGBTQ+ folks in Madrid (Spain).
Hugo's brand of punk rock filmmaking ANTi KiNO is home to a production co-op that develops unapologetic feature films and documentaries.
Awards
2023
Winner of the SPIRIT OF BRIGHTON award and BEST FEATURE runner-up at the 7th edition of the Brighton Rocks International Film Festival (UK).
2022
Special Commendation of the Jury at the 7th edition of the Romford International Film Festival (UK)
2021
Winner of the Jury prize at the 43rd edition of the Efebo D'Oro Film Festival (Palermo, Italy)