Mario Alejandro Arias was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. After finishing high school, he traveled by bus from Quito to Buenos Aires. During this journey, he decided he wanted to be a film director. In 2019, he was awarded a partial scholarship at ECAM, where he specialized in non-fiction filmmaking. His second-year school project, “It’s just a burning memory,” was selected in dozens of international festivals. His final ECAM project, a feature film titled “Tener Tiempo,” became the first ECAM feature film to premiere in the Official Section of the Málaga Film Festival. He graduated first of his class. After completing school, he found a style that swims between fiction and reality, making small cinema, writing for non-professional actors, family members, and making films with friends.
