L.A. native Dawn Garcia exploded onto the filmmaking scene with music videos for the likes of Destroyer and When Saints Go Machine. Garcia’s video for the Destroyer track, “Kaputt,” was covered by publications across the globe including Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, with the latter declaring, “Most bands and directors can go whole careers without producing something as winningly imaginative as what these folks came up with.” The video hit shortly after Garcia graduated from UCLA’s directing program, where her PALs short film won a coveted Director’s Spotlight Award and her first-ever film produced in the program, The Castle, premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Prior to UCLA, Garcia managed—and subsequently created a cult following around—the historic Palace Theatre in downtown L.A. There, she staged variety shows, concerts and film festivals, becoming a significant player in the downtown art scene. Her experience in ‘DIY theater’ helped Garcia develop a deep respect for the actor’s process, which shines through even in some of her more effects-heavy work.
Her work is often surreal, punctuated by ‘wow’ images, but with sophisticated humor and emotion firmly grounded in reality. In addition to her commercial work, Garcia has several feature films in studio development.
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