Ivan Velez

Born in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York Nov. 9th, 1970. At age 5, the family moved to Puerto Rico where he'd discover movies at age 7. His weekends were spent going to a second run theater in Levittown P.R. to watch 3 films for the price of one dollar. One of the first movies Ivan saw and still one of his favorite films of all time, Rocky. The underdog and rags to riches theme made an indelible impact that would fuel his imagination for years to come. Over the years he was also influenced by films such as Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Taxi Driver, Network, Halloween, Jaws, The Car, A Man Called Horse, The Omen, Exorcist and countless others. Also, influential were the comedies of Abbott and Costello, The Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy. At the age of 11 the family moved back to Brooklyn, New York. In Junior High school while taking a rare film class, he saw Hitchcock's classic Dial M For Murder where the teacher explained the nuts and bolts of how a film was made. At age 17, he graduated early from James Madison High School and joined the Marine Corps. He served from 1988 to 1992. In 1992 he received an honorable discharge and attended John Jay College, where he studied Social Control and Deviant Behavior. There a friend suggested he take a part in Bertolt Brecht's Happy End play. He began studying acting at John Jay College and continued under veteran Film, TV and stage actress, Catherine Wolf (Little Children, Law and Order). In 1996 he attended the School of Visual Arts to study film production, where he honed his skills as a writer and behind the camera. In 2001 he founded Outta Left Field Productions, LLC to pursue his dreams of writing and directing films. In 2005, Ivan self-financed his feature film directorial debut, "Indiscretion", which he also wrote and produced. The film was a selection at the 2006 HIFF - Hartford International Film Festival and a winner at the 2007 Long Island Latino International Film Festival. Today Ivan is the proud parent of 3 children; Daniel, Olivia and Michael. (Indiscretion) Best Suspense Drama Feature - 2007 Long Island Latino International Film Festival. (Willets Point) Audience Award at the 2009 Long Island International Film Expo.