Aric Lopez is an award-winning filmmaker from Southern California. His documentary Palmas, now expanding into a feature-length film, was one of six projects fully funded by USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2024. The film earned the “Collegiate Filmmaker Spotlight Award” at the Burbank International Film Festival and the “Best Student Documentary Film” at the Glendale International Film Festival. His films have screened at the American Cinematheque, CAFILM Environmental Youth Forum, American Documentary and Animation Film Festival, San Diego Latino Film Festival, and the Phoenix Film Festival.

Grounded in community-based collaboration, Aric’s work bridges the cultural divides of his Mexican-American heritage with contemporary storytelling in film. He attended USC where he was a George Lucas Scholar and earned his MFA in Film Production after he studied screenwriting at CSUN where he was an Abraham L. Polonsky scholar.