Alejandro Valdes-Rochin

Originally from Mexico, Alejandro is an award-winning editor whose work has been programmed on Nat Geo, HBO Max, AlJazeera, PBS and Red Bull TV. He edited "Science Fair", a crowd-pleasing competition documentary about teenage student scientist that was acquired by Nat Geo. "Science Fair" went on earn the first ever Festival Favorite Award at the Sundance Film Festival and, after its theatrical run, collected an Emmy in the Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary category. Alejandro also cut "Maxima", a documentary that follows an indigenous woman's battle to protect her land against the largest gold mining corporation in the world, which is seeking to take control of her land in the Peruvian Andes via scorched earth tactics. Audiences around the world were touched by Maxima Chaupe's story, leading it to earn numerous audience awards, including at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto. Recently Alejandro was an editor and co-producer on "Five Years North". This project exposed the emotional impact of family separation and child labor on a young undocumented migrant from Guatemala trying to adapt to life in New York city, while staying off the radar of immigration agents. Five Years North was awarded the Metropolis Prize at DOC NYC and named a finalist for the duPont-Columbia Awards. It played on America ReFramed. Other works by Alejandro include the hard hitting pieces "Menudo: Forever Young" for HBO Max, "Undocumented in the Pandemic" for PBS' investigative series Frontline, and the duPont-Columbia Award winner "The Naked Truth: Death by Fentanyl", which offered a prescient look at the perils posed by the creeping use of fentanyl in both the legal & illegal drug markets. Alejandro has also been an editing mentor for Film Independent's Global Media Makers' Documentary Track.