Fernando del Sol

As a first time filmmaker, Fernando del Sol passionately decided to finance his initial project by selling a successful San Francisco business named in honor of his Grandmother. Momi Toby's Revolution Café. To fulfill his Vision of shooting a documentary on the Burning Man festival in 1997, he first founded Peyote Pictures and rose out of the desert ashes with fin de millennium Alchementary, Burning Man, Where's the Fire? After a four year journey traveling around the world showing this message driven piece to alternative communities around S.E. Asia, Japan, India, Europe, and Mexico, Fernando began the long process (2001 & 2007) of documenting the World's largest human gathering, the Kumbha Mela. With an estimated figure of 50-80 million Hindu pilgrims arriving at the confluence of India's three sacred rivers in Allahabad, he and his crew documented ancient fire rituals & bathing ceremonies performed by wandering tribes of Holy Men called "Sadhus". Unable to stay in one place, Fernando made his way back to his original inspiration for Peyote Pictures, Real de Catorce, Mexico, where indigenous Aztec cultures believe the Sun was born in a mythical desert called "Wirikuta", where the magical cactus Peyote grows. There, he was given the rare opportunity by a Mexican-Lakota Roadman to document a Peyote Teepee ritual and the Temascal-sweat lodge ceremony facilitated by Chichimeca Indians. Soonthereafter, Fernando was sought out by a Persian Visionary Sufi Mystic named Sahar Farmanfarmaian to help guide her through the filmmaking process developing and completing a personal project she envisioned called Caravan of Light. A Zoroastrian message driven film shot in the deserts of Iran giving the element of Fire a compassionate female voice speaking to humanity's abusive use of Fire on the Planet. He successfully worked as assistant director and co-wrote narration with his good friend Sahar. Always being called back to the desert, in 2006, Fernando traveled to the Sahara desert outside of Timbuktu, Mali, Africa to work as creative director with Swiss director, Kathi von Kurber, documenting the indigenous blues music of the nomadic Tuareg tribes. Footsteps in Africa is currently on tour in theaters and museums around the world. Fernando has recently returned to Los Angeles, where he begins Pre-Production on his first feature-narrative film entitled Destiny of the Spirit.