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Milestones overview
Blumen, my first published Book (2012)
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  • Target group: Photography & Poetry Lovers, people in general 

  • 2012-2013

This is sort of a more personal milestone. On 2013 I published my first Photobook with poems. It was a very laborious experience, as I first felt I had no idea what I was doing, until close to the end everything started taking shape and making sense. The final product was Blumen, a limited edition book consisting on 48 pictures and accompanying poems written in 11 different languages. The most special details about this project were that my mentor, the late Eduardo Rodríguez Merchán, professor of cinema at the UCM Madrid, to whom I owe the groundworks of my career, and who I deeply admire and miss very much, wrote the prologue for it and that I dedicated it to my mom, who is my number 1 fan. Aside from the skills acquired and perfected throughout the development of the book, In a more practical sense, I learned how to be able to speak in public about very deep feelings and private things that I reflected on such a personal project, without being overwhelmed with emotion. I still consider myself to be a highly emotional person, which I think is one of my best qualities, however it no longer affects my professionalism oratorial skills.

International Master in Photography + Cinematography at EFTI (2011- 2013)
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  • Field of study: Cinematography / Photography 

  • Specialization: Narrative effects of light

  • Year of graduation: 2013

  • Country: Spain

  • City: Madrid

  • Most defining educational experience Specialization in Fine Art Photography Advanced Studies in Cinematography Attended numerous workshops and courses that shaped my vision as an artist and the direction of my career

Universidad Complutense de Madrid + Juan Carlos I University (2013 - Now)
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  • My position: Lecturer 

  • Start of engagement: 2013

  • End of engagement: ongoing

  • Country: Spain

  • City: Madrid

  • It's an honor to participate as a Lecturer for several courses and workshops for the prestigious Universidad Complutense de Madrid & for the the Juan Carlos I. My teachings have focused on guidance post degree, trying to help out students of Communication Sciences and Fine Arts set directions and goals to kick off their careers upon completing their studies. One of the activities I enjoy most of these classes is helping students develop and craft their portfolios.

I also collaborated with several Universities (find all the information on my CV!)

Freie Universität Berlin (2014)
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  • My position: Lecturer 

  • Start of engagement: 2014

  • End of engagement: 2016

  • Country: Germany

  • City: Berlin

  • Participated as a guest Lecturer for specific courses for the Masters/Bachelors degree on    Art History. My courses focused on Video Art and Experimental Film.

Estampa Contemporary Art Fair  (2015)
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  • Target group: Art Collectors / Visitors in general ​

  • Even though I regularly participate in numerous Art Fairs exhibiting my work, this one in particular has a special significance as due to being featured in one of the most important newspaper in Spain as one of the highlighted artists, Alejo Moreno, film director discovered me and offered me an opportunity of a lifetime: he trusted me to be the DoP of his then upcoming feature film, DIANA, which was released in 2018. This would be my first chance to work as a cinematographer for a motion picture and I hope the first of many. One never knows where new opportunities may arise.

Deutsche Oper Berlin (2016)
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  • Your position: Video Artist 

  • Start of engagement: 2016

  • End of engagement: 2017

  • Country: Germany

  • City: Berlin

  • Deutsche Oper Creator of Video art pieces for "Tischlerei" shows in collaboration with several dancers / musicians. Always in collaboration with the choreographer and dancer Oren Lazovski. 

Teaching at UAL London (2017)
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  • Your position: Teacher 

  • Country: UK

  • City: London

  • UAL University of Arts London offers a large range of photography courses at every level. I thought a workshop sharing my experience and providing useful guidelines to help young photographers with their entrepreneurial skills.

DIANA, my first Feature Movie as DOP (2017)
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  • Your position: DOP, Camera Operator & Color Grading

  • Start of engagement: 2017

  • End of engagement: 2018

  • Country: SPAIN + UK

  • City: Madrid + London

  • One of the most rewarding experiences of my life was to be Director of Photography for a feature movie for the first time. I am so happy that my work has been recognized by several Film Festivals, and it premiered in more than 5 countries. 

Isabel Muñoz Assistant (Recipient of the National Spanish Photography awards (2018)
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  • My position: Camera operator and Assistant 

  • Start of engagement: 2018

  • End of engagement: 2019

  • Country: Japan

  • Last November I had the outstanding opportunity to work side by side with renowned Spanish Photographer Isabel Muñoz, (Recipient of the National Spanish Photography award and two times winner of the World Press Photo), embarking on a journey through Japan to record her debut documentary film BUTOH, about the contemporary Japanese dance discipline. I was both a personal assistant and camera operator to Miss Muñoz. It was also truly a learning experience to work with an almost fully Japanese crew.

Selected for Malaga Talents (2018)
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  • Target group: Young Filmmakers under 30 during Malaga Film Festival 

  • Project start: 2018

  • Project end: 2018

  • Málaga Talents is a special program to help young filmmakers boost their careers in the cinema industry, that is part of the Málaga Film Festival. It includes various workshops, talks and a final project that had to be developed in teams composed of the selected participants of different specialities. Also, my debut feature film as a DoP, DIANA, was premiered during that edition of the Festival. TV 

CIMA active Participant - Women Filmmakers Association (2018)
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  • Target group: Female Filmmakers 

  • Project start: 2018

  • Project end: ongoing

  • Established on 2006, CIMA is an association for Spanish Women Filmmakers. Their goals are to promote gender equality among filmmakers and professionals of the movie industry, contributing to a realistic and balanced representation of women within the contents our medium offers. I have been an active member from 2018. Example: https://cimamujerescineastas.es/v-cima-en-corto-las-directoras-de-fotografia-hablan/

Reno Films (2019)
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  • My position: Filmmaker / DoP 

  • Start of engagement: 2019

  • End of engagement: ongoing

  • International

  • On April 2019 I was signed by Reno Films, an international production company. They have been my agents in the audiovisual world ever since, thus beginning a new stage that brought me the opportunity of working in more ambitious and challenging commercial projects.

Premiere of "Diana" at Babylon Kino Berlin (2019)
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  • Target group: Cinema Lovers in general 

  • From 3rd to 9th May 2019

  • Even that the movie premiered before in other cities and festivals as Poland, France, Canada, Bahamas, Portugal and Spain, this presentation was very special for me because it was on my city of residence. 
    The discussion after the screening was also really interesting. It was truly a joy to get such an overwhelming positive response.

TV documentary about my work as an artist (2019)
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  • Target group: Anyone (Spanish TV viewers) 

  • Project start: 2019

  • Project end: 24 October 2019. 20h RTVE. "Atención Obras" program. 

  • Last July filming for an upcoming documentary/ feature about my work as an artist for RTVE (Spanish Public Broadcasting system) started. The shooting wrapped up in August in Berlin on headquarters of the Photography Collective I belong to (FotoKlub Kollektiv). The Documentary will air for the first time on October in TVE1.

  • watch here

Hahnemühle Professional Photo Paper Tester (2019)
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  • Your position: Photo Paper Tester / Fine Art Printer in collaboration with Zack Helwa (FKK)

  • Project start: 2019

  • Hahnemühle has selected us to test and review with my photography their new 100% ECO papers made of Hemp and Agave which haven’t been yet released. Soon we will publish a video-review. 

Part of the AEC - Spanish Society of cinematographers  (2019)
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  • Your position: DOP

  • From December 2019 - Now

  • I was admitted unanimously to this association of directors of photography in Spain. It was founded in 1993 and its objectives are focused on elevating, developing and protecting the sector of Directors of Photography as authors of cinematographic and audiovisual photography.

My first major global advertising campaign for Levi's (2020)
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  • Your position: Director, Filmmaker, DOP

  • Campaign released in March, 2020

  • In early 2020 I was hired to direct a full campaign for the Levi's brand, specifically for the "Levi's sculpt" model. This campaign showed a great diversity of women and different bodies. They wanted my signature shade of blue, and my sensitivity to portrait women's bodies. 

  • The models were: Alex Saint / Mariana Vila / Camino Villa / Gazpacho Bittersweet / Ana la Pizarro / Absolutely Khaoula

Launch of my online courses platform (2020)
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  • Your position: Teacher

  • From August 2020 - Now

  • During the early days of the pandemic, I thought it might be a good idea to share my knowledge with the world through the patreon.com/irenecruz platform. 

    The community has been growing and there I have courses on Photography, Filmmaking, Photobooks, NFT's, Social Media, Art Market etc, along with my complete film rolls, BTS, uncensored photos... my creative processes.... All from 2€/month

Grant for the production of an exhibition at the CEART Museum (Hall B) (2020)
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  • Awarded Artist

  • Exhibition: Opening: 10th December 2020 until 15th Feb 2021

  • In mid 2020 I received the wonderful news that my project RGB had been selected to be exhibited in the Sala B of the CEART Museum (Madrid).

    In this exhibition 48 unique works (photography intervened with painting) and 3 video installations ("Anhelo", "RGB - ruĝa verda kaj blua" accompanied by my own music, and a third installation of three screens showing the whole creative process through instagram stories) were shown. 

Domestika course "Transform concepts into images" (2021)
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  • Teacher

  • In this course, the students learn how to direct models during a photo session and  to create conceptual photographs that showcase their inner self. By exploring the connection between who is in front of the camera and who is behind it, they can learn to take photographs that reflect their deepest emotions.
    (Have a look!)

  •  16 lessons 

  •  29 additional resources 

  •  Audio: Spanish / Subtitles:  Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, German, Polish, Dutch

Filmmaker of the Future - Canon Emea Pro Europe (2021)
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  • Awarded
    See interview

     

  • In June 2021 I was announced as one of Canon Europe's Filmmakers of the Future. It was a great recognition of my career and since then I have been actively collaborating with Canon Europe (mostly UK and Spain). 

  • As a result of this, I have done a campaign about the Canon R6, and I have also participated in educational talks (As in Casanovafoto, November 2021).

Photoespaña Photography Festival (2012-2021)
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  • Selected Artist

  • Since the beginning of my career in contemporary photography I have participated in this prestigious photography festival. Highlights: exhibition at CCBBAA, two solo shows ("Stimmung" and "RGB") at Furiosa Gallery and "Tres miradas" at BAT Gallery. 
     

  • In 2020 my work "Isolation" was selected for a group exhibition and in 2021 I collaborated with PHE and Hofmann for the travelling exhibition "Volver" which has been shown in Madrid, Barcelona, Santander and Valencia. 

My first feature documentary as a DOP: "Proven facts" (2018 - 2021)
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  • Position: DOP / Color Editor

  • After three long years of filming and research, "Hechos probados" premiered at the Valladolid Film Festival (Seminci) & Cineuropa Film Festival. 

  • Directed by Alejo Moreno. (watch it online)
     

  • Synopsis: "On 23 Dec 2015, the Ministry of Finance published its first 'List of defaulters'. At number 1 was a complete stranger: Agapito García Sánchez. This is his story... that of an entire country. The documentary reveals García Sánchez as a modern version of the protagonist of Kafka's 'The Trial'; a citizen facing the tyranny of the mechanisms of the state and its administration, thanks to which his case ends up becoming the thread of a detailed analysis of the alarming degradation of citizen guarantees."

The Future is Now: I'm a NFT artist! (2021 - Now)
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  • Artist / Teacher

  • In March 2021 the NFT world appeared in my life, thanks to mentors like Stephan van Kuyk and Santi Garcia I have learned a lot about the crypto world. 

    I currently have my NFT collections in Open Sea and Atomic Hub, and I teach classes and courses about the benefits that blockchain can bring to the art market. 

    I have given talks and courses online through the platform "How to be a photographer", on my patreon, and in person at the Palacio de Neptuno, at the Ateneo de Las Palmas, and soon at the Pompidou Museum. 

Part of the association and gallery CSF (2021) 
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  • Artist / Mentor 

  • Since spring 2021 I am part of this group of women photographers promoted by Marta Soul, which aims to give presence to female authors in the international art scene and encourage a new collecting oriented to women's photography. We offer training and personalised mentoring. We have participated in various events and festivals such as Photoespaña, ARCO (Madrid Art Week) and we have recently been selected for an exhibition in 2023 through the Red Itiner call of the community of Madrid. More information: https://www.comoserfotografa.com

Collaboration with Lomography (2021)
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  • Content Creator / Artist / Influencer

  • During the summer and autumn of 2021 I was collaborating with the well-known brand of photographic film testing their new Lomochrome reels: "Purple" and "Metropolis" in medium format. 

  • You can see the photo report here

Documentary Werner Hilsing (2021)
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  • DOP 

  • In spring 2021 I started sending letters to Werner, a wonderful painter with whom I had a magical connection. Hector Salgado (director) hired me as director of photography for a documentary project about his life and work and I had the pleasure to meet him. Unfortunately this project remained unfinished (for the time being) because Werner died of cancer in December of the same year. Read the full story here

DOP for Eilhardt productions - "Janine zieht aufs land" / "Bad Luck" / "The Floating Body" (2021 - Now) 
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  • I am very lucky to have met Jan Eilhart and to be his favourite cinematographer, because in addition to immersing myself in his wonderful auteur cinema, I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the German film scene. Thanks to Jan, I have had great actors like Kathi Angerer, Daniel Zillmann or Max Brauer in front of my camera. We have received subsidies, grants and support from Nordmedia, Tanja Liedtke Stiftung and Kultur Bremen among others.

Santa Lucía (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) Photo Biennial (2021)
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  • DOP 

  • My first big international opportunity with Hulu and the BBC. I was discovered thanks to Canon Europe's "Filmmaker of the Future" recognition. I had the pleasure of shooting for the documentary series "Sex Planet" starring Cara Delevigne and directed by Vicky Cooper. The direction of photography was shared with the great Alice Millar. One of the people I most enjoyed working with on this project was Erika Lust.

Working for the BBC with Cara Delevigne's last series (2021-22)
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  • DOP 

  • My first big international opportunity with Hulu and the BBC. I was discovered thanks to Canon Europe's "Filmmaker of the Future" recognition. I had the pleasure of shooting for the documentary series "Sex Planet" starring Cara Delevigne and directed by Vicky Cooper. The direction of photography was shared with the great Alice Millar. One of the people I most enjoyed working with on this project was Erika Lust.

First prize in the Photolari winter photography competition (2022)
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  • Photographer

  • With this picture I won this competition, I took it with real fire in Plänterwald, the forest next to my house. The prize was a Canon RP camera, which I use to make the making of my photo shoots. 

Berlinale – Forum Arsenal (2022)
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  • Organisational help / technical support

  • Since the 2022 edition of the Berlinale I am part of Arsenal, the company that organises the "Forum" section of the Berlinale. I am delighted to be part of this great film festival every February in my host city. 

La aventura del saber, reportage on Spanish TV (2022)
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  • Artist 

  • In March 2021 a short reportage about my work was broadcasted on "La aventura del saber" on RTVE's La2. Directed by Edu Barbero. With script by Nati Grund. 

Got your Back ICAA – Danidog Films (2022)
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  • Director

  • The documentary about my scoliosis had the opportunity to be submitted to the ICAA grants in May 2022 to try to get funds for its production.

Experimentation with art and artificial intelligence (AI) (2022)
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  • From April 2022 onwards, artificial intelligence appeared in my life when I started shooting a short documentary about the Lunar Ring collective based in Tübingen (Germany). From that first collaboration others were born ("Magic Barcelona" at the ISE 2022, and the "Lange Nacht der Museen" in Tübingen). 

To be the DOP of the great Tirso Calero (2022)
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  • Ever since I started my career in film, one of the directors I most wanted to collaborate with was Tirso Calero. In June 2022 the shooting of "Mago" began with actors such as Juanjo Artero, Daniela Saludes, Ferrán Gadea and Celia Morán.

Cruise23. Artistic campaign for Christian Dior (2022)
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  • I think this is one of my greatest achievements in life: that a brand as big as Christian Dior has chosen my photography to shoot part of the campaign for the Cruise23 collection, inspired by Andalusian culture. It was shot in Seville at the end of June 2022. 

Content Creator for Canon Spain (2021 - Now)
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  • On the Creators HUB page https://www.canon.es/content-creators/ you can see the video tutorials I have created for filmmakers and photographers. Tips and tricks on everything I wish I had known when I started my career. 

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