Andrés Useche

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Andrés Useche is a Colombian-American writer, filmmaker, graphic artist, singer-songwriter, and activist. He was born in Manizales, Colombia, and published his first political cartoon, Soy Libre, at age 11. In high school, he won the Colombian Ministry of Culture prize for graphic arts with his graphic novel Vana Espuma (Idle Mist).

After high school, he scored documentaries and studied visual design with a film emphasis at Universidad de Caldas. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking and later became a dual citizen.

With a tiny budget of $100, he wrote, directed, edited, scored, and starred in a short film adaptation of Idle Mist. It won César Awards for Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress, and was nominated for Best Actor and Best Music.

In 2008, he supported Barack Obama’s campaign by volunteering at rallies and releasing the Spanish-language video Si Se Puede Cambiar, which he co-directed with Eric Byler and Warren Fu. The video debuted on YouTube on February 22 with United For Obama and was later chosen by YouTube for its first Trendsetter Tuesday on April 8, 2008. Useche has continued to push for immigration reform and wrote the song Dream to Belong in support of the DREAM Act.