Tonatiuh Malanos-Rodriguez

Tonatiuh Malanos-Rodriguez, known for his signature deep voice, and for writing, directing, composing, and starring in his films, is a director, actor, and writer, known for Beyond (2019), and Monday (2018). Tonatiuh was born on October 5, 1997, in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, and grew up in Sedona, Arizona. Raised by his parents, Rahelio, a tour guide, astrologer, and shaman, and Joanna Malanos, a singer and writer, Tonatiuh's childhood was one in which he was exposed to various cultures through engaging socially with his father's multinational clients; his environment had Native American and spiritual influences as well. Tonatiuh's first on-screen appearance was in the documentary, The Artist and the Shaman (2002), when he was only two and a half years old. His family was renting the Sedona home of director, Paul Davids, and Davids featured Tonatiuh in the documentary because he began to wonder if Tonatiuh might be the reincarnation of his father, Jules Davids, the well-respected professor of diplomatic history, who was best known for his editorial assistance on President John F. Kennedy's biography, Profiles in Courage. Tonatiuh first became interested in voice acting when he was 13. He discovered his love of performing as different characters when he would play with his friends on Xbox Live. He took great joy in his friends' and family's laughter and amusement with his funny characters and voices, which made him consider becoming a professional voice actor. This love of voice acting took a different direction, as Tonatiuh's regular voice began to develop into a signature deep tone. His interest in voice-overs then became a passion, and he was encouraged by his family and friends to pursue that goal, as well. Tonatiuh's interest in filmmaking began in 2013, when he created surreal comedy animations for his YouTube channel, using the software called "Endorphin" by NaturalMotion, an animation company. In early 2017, Tonatiuh decided to take a break from comedic videos to create a drama, using the same animation software, as an experiment to practice filmmaking. This led to his desire to take filmmaking classes, as he wanted to refine his skills and give serious filmmaking a try. In the fall of 2017, Tonatiuh enrolled in the Film and Media Arts Program at Yavapai College in Arizona. The skills which he learned during the semester greatly improved his filmmaking, especially due to the guidance and instruction of his video editing teacher, Thatcher Bohrman. In April of 2018, Tonatiuh's first student film, Beyond (2019), and his music video, Mad World, were featured in Yavapai College's Emerging Artist Exhibition. Mad World was awarded "Best of Show 2D," and Monday won the grand prize, the Cowen Award, juried by esteemed photographer, Salvatore Mancini. Tonatiuh's third student film, Beyond (2019), received semi-finalist status at TiSFF (Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival, Greece) in September 2018, but final selections were determined by slot availability, so it was not screened. In February 2019, Beyond screened at SFFF's (Santa Fe Film Festival) Oddballs and Outcast Shorts Program at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is due to screen again at the Jerome Indie Film and Music Festival in September 2019.