Bogotá, Colombia (1980)
Son of an architect and a translator, Luis Carlos Alvarez was born on March 7, 1980 in Bogotá, Colombia. At a young age his parents took him to see his first film The Never Ending Story directed by Wolfgang Petersen and from that moment he developed a strong fascination for filmmaking. He took his first workshop in Cinema History at the age of 15 in Universidad Nacional.

In 1997 he graduated from high school and moved to Bucaramanga with his mother and two younger brothers. He enrolled in the School of Journalism and Social Communication in Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, where he met his first big influence when he signed up for a workshop in Documentary with the famous Colombian director Victor Gaviria.

In 2001 his family was threatened by the guerrilla and filed for political asylum in the United States. Relocated in Annapolis, Maryland, he worked as an interpreter and did many different jobs until he had the chance to resume his studies. In 2004 he moved to New York and completed a Film Directing Program in The New York Film Academy.

In 2006 he directed his short titled 5000, which tells the story of a Colombian journalist kidnapped by the guerilla. He currently works as a freelance filmmaker in New York and Maryland.