Roberto F. Canuto is a filmmaker from Gijón, Asturias, Spain. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Image and Sound from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1998. During his studies, he worked as a film critic in various magazines, including "Voz en Off" (also editor),where he analyzed and was influenced by many classic directors after frequent sessions at the Spanish Cinemateque. Additionally, he holds degrees in Music studies from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Oviedo, Spain.
After graduating, Roberto spent many years in London working in a different field until 2008, when he decided to pursue his filmmaking passion and moved to Los Angeles to complete a Master in Fine Arts (MFA) at the New York Film Academy (Universal Studios, Hollywood). There, he directed various shorts in different formats, including Film, HD, and Red Camera. He also co-directed a feature film, "Desire Street".
Roberto began collaborating with Xu Xiaoxi in early 2008. Between many projects, he collaborated with him as a writer, editor, and director of photography on "Mei Mei", a short film directed by Xu Xiaoxi in 2009. Roberto's short, "Toto Forever", completed in 2009, was presented in over 30 international festivals, receiving awards, nominations, and great reviews.
"Desire Street" is his first feature film, co-directed with Xu Xiaoxi. It received a Special Mention for Best Feature Film in its premiere at the Mix Mexico Film Festival in 2011 and a Best Film award at the Asturian Film Festival in Spain in 2014. He moved to China in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, he worked with Xu Xiaoxi on advertisement and fiction films.
"Ni Jing: Thou Shalt Not Steal" is his first fiction short film in Chinese, presented in 2013. The movie received awards for Best Film at the Riverside Saginaw International Film Festival in Michigan and Best Actress at the Asturian Film Festival in Spain in 2014, among other nominations and awards. In August 2014, the Contemporary Art Museum A4 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, dedicated an exhibition to his works together with Xu Xiaoxi, titled ID/EGO. This allowed the filmmaker to exhibit his movies for the first time in China, receiving great reviews.
In 2015, he directed "Floating Melon" together with Xu Xiaoxi, which was screened in over 40 international film festivals, winning some awards. In 2016, his first movie filmed in Spain and in the Asturian language, "Advent (Ad-vientu)", premiered at the 54th Gijón International Film Festival, winning an Audience Choice Award "Dia D'Asturies" for Best Film. His latest project, "Sunken Plum", filmed in Chengdu, China, will be released in 2017.
