Samuel Díaz Fernández

Colombian director, producer, and cinematographer based in Austin, Texas. National Geographic Explorer whose work spans six continents, with long-running social impact commissions for the UN — most recently documenting salmon restoration efforts with First Nations and Parks Canada.

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His Texan trilogy chronicles communities of color on the frontlines of climate change: La Cosecha (SXSW 2023), Floodplain (Silver Anthem winner, 2024), and Una Nave Frágil (National Geographic Society, World Premiere SXSW 2026). Boca Chica (2023, PBS), co-directed with Ái Vuong, examines SpaceX's impact on the wildlife refuge and local communities that surround its rocket launch facility on the border of the US and Mexico — with screenings at Jackson Wild, Wildscreen, and Big Sky. He is currently co-directing two projects: feature doc Where the Sun Sets, on border communities in Southeast Asia (Austin Film Society grantee), and a Nat Geo-financed short documentary on Nakota youth navigating identity in Canada.

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Founder of TÁPI Story and the School of Slow Media (SoSM) — a leadership program and community of practice for slower, more human storytelling, started in Southeast Asia — and co-founder of CAUCE, the first development incubator in Latin America for natural history and wildlife filmmaking. A Jackson Wild Media Lab Fellow and TEDx speaker, his commercial and impact work spans Google Arts & Culture, UNDP, NALAC, Square, Visa Innovation Labs, The National Bank of Cambodia, and Pepsi-Buffalo Bills, among others.