Elena
Vasquez

A decade of telling quiet, urgent stories — from the Amazon basin to the alleyways of Oaxaca. Guided by patience, shaped in the edit.

01 Profile

Award-winning documentary filmmaker with ten years of field experience across four continents. I build trust slowly, shoot lean, and look for the frames where people forget the camera. My work sits at the intersection of environmental justice, migration, and craft traditions — and has been supported by broadcasters, foundations, and streaming platforms alike.

02 Selected Experience
2021Present
Director & Principal Cinematographer
Vasquez Films • Brooklyn
  • Directed "River of Glass," a feature doc on Amazonian gold mining — official selection, Sundance 2024.
  • Led three-person field units across Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador over an 18-month production window.
  • Secured $1.2M in production financing through Ford Foundation, ITVS, and Field of Vision.
20192021
Series Director
National Geographic Partners • Washington D.C.
  • Directed four episodes of "Uncharted Americas," a limited series on vanishing coastal communities.
  • Collaborated with a National Geographic Explorer team on deep-sea and archival integration.
  • Series nominated for a Primetime Emmy — Outstanding Cinematography, Nonfiction Program (2021).
20162019
Cinematographer & Associate Producer
Meridian Documentary Group • New York
  • Shot principal photography for eight feature-length documentaries distributed by HBO, Netflix, and PBS.
  • Supervised post-production workflows, including color and mix sessions on Dolby-certified stages.
20142016
Assistant Director
Zeitgeist Films • New York
  • Supported three festival-distributed features from development through final delivery.
03 Recognition
2024
Sundance Official Selection
U.S. Documentary Competition — "River of Glass"
2021
Primetime Emmy Nomination
Outstanding Cinematography, Nonfiction Program
2022
IDA Courage Under Fire
International Documentary Association Award
2020
Nat Geo Storytelling Grant
Partnership recipient, environmental reporting
04 Education
2014
Master of Fine Arts, Film & Television
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
2011
B.A., Visual Anthropology, magna cum laude
Wesleyan University