Directing

Israel Cárdenas

Born February 15, 1980 · Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico (age 46)

Israel Cárdenas is a Mexican film director, editor, cinematographer and producer based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Cárdenas and Laura Amelia Guzmán founded Aurora Dominicana, an independent film production company.

Known For

Tragic JungleTragic Jungle · 2020
Tragic Jungle
★ 6.12020
MovieDramaMystery
Deep in the jungle, a group of Mexican gum workers crosses their path with Agnes, a mysterious Belizean woman. Her presence enlivens the fantasies and desires of those men, without knowing that they have woken up an ancient Mayan legend.
CochochiCochochi · 2007
Cochochi
★ 5.92007
Movie
Two young indigenous brothers from the La Sierra Tarahumara region of northwest Mexico return home from Benito Juarez elementary boarding school, only to find their fates pulling them in opposite directions in director Laura Amelia Guzmán's dramatic meditation on the value of culture and the cost of progress.
BittersweetBittersweet · 2026
Bittersweet
2026
MovieDocumentaryMusic
A coming-of-age story set in the Dominican Republic, where a group of young aspiring bachata musicians seek answers to love and life through their music. Filmed at the Academia de Bachata, the world's first bachata music school. Featuring maestro Martires de Leon, guitarist and arranger for Romeo Santos.
Bantú MamaBantú Mama · 2022
Bantú Mama
★ 5.02022
MovieDrama
A French woman of African descent manages to escape after being arrested in the Dominican Republic. She finds shelter in the most dangerous district of Santo Domingo, where she is taken in by a group of children. By becoming their protégée and maternal figure, she will see her destiny change inexorably.
Drown Among the DeadDrown Among the Dead · 2018
Drown Among the Dead
★ 5.02018
MovieDrama
An elderly comedian is buried up to his neck in the Mexican desert. A bitter young woman threatens to pulp his head with a nail bat; the only thing that can stall her are his stories of a mythical threshold behind which lies the absolute truth. Is she in his dream or he in hers? Or were they once the Bonnie-and-Clyde-like couple we keep seeing, exacting their revenge on the world?
Holy BeastsHoly Beasts · 2019
Holy Beasts
★ 4.42019
MovieDrama
Remembers an artist in the form of a somnambulistic fantasy: A filmmaker faces increasing challenges as she tries, decades later, to complete Dominican filmmaker Jean-Louis Jorge’s unfinished work.
Interior Apartment DayInterior Apartment Day · 2025
Interior Apartment Day
2025
MovieDramaRomance
Omar and Nini are a young couple in bloom, sharing a small apartment in Santo Domingo where they make love and tend to their blind cat Luna. When their paths as creative freelancers begin to sour and financial uncertainty exposes deep resentments, a new job opportunity for Nini offers a potential lifeline. They chase for whatever can give a spark to their relationship, but in the harsh light of adulthood, they might realize that there’s no such thing as a fresh start.
SambáSambá · 2017
Sambá
★ 4.72017
MovieDrama
After fifteen years in an American jail, a man returns to the Dominican Republic. As he faces family problems, he turns to illegal street fighting and is discovered by an Italian ex-boxer.

Filmography

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CarmitaCarmita · 2013
Carmita
★ 5.22013
MovieDocumentary
Nearly half a century ago, Carmen Ignarra arrived to Mexico after leaving behind her Cuban homeland, in the hopes of becoming the greatest Caribbean actress in Hollywood. But the American dream tur- ned out to be more difficult than she’d thought, and her brief initial success was followed by a slow, painful decline. Today, at 80, the woman who was once Cuba’s most beautiful actress lives totally forgotten in an old mansion in Monterrey. There she survives thanks to her tenants—strange men who she is constantly blaming for mysterious thefts and disappearances. Laura, a young woman also from the Caribbean, arrives at the mansion to work as an assistant in cleaning and housekeeping. With her she brings a video camera and the secret intention of making a documentary about the diva. Together they talk about the past, about wasted talent and lost loves.

Screenplay