Kristian Mercado Figueroa, BA Media Study ‘06
Kristian Mercado
Film Director/Writer
Kristian Mercado Figueroa is an award winning Puerto Rican filmmaker living in Spanish Harlem. Mercado’s distinct voice addresses issues of identity, family, and systemic oppression across race and class. His work is celebrated for its portrayal of working class struggles, highlighting love and loss. Mercado has directed content for Billie Eilish, Awkwafina, Bad Bunny, and Adult Swim, among others. He’s also directed comedy specials for Hannibal Buress, SNL's Sam Jay and London Hughes for Netflix. Kris’s music driven short film Pa’lante won the 2019 SXSW Film Festival Jury Award. His latest work was part of the Official Selection at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival with the Grammy-nominated music video ‘Colors’ by Black Pumas and Hannibal Buress’s comedy special ‘Miami Nights’. His short film Mariposa toured the 2020 film festivals with high acclaim. In 2019 Kris’s screenplay for his narrative feature film HawkBells received a screenwriting award from Slamdance. Recently his screenplay MELA was the recipient of a Cinereach grant and is currently in development.