Aaron MacCarley

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Aaron MacCarley found a creative outlet in editing videos and photos with the ancient Adobe suite. He decided to pursue a career in the arts, but one with a philosophical mission, and so went to study at Reed College, where he got a B.A. in Philosophy and took as many creative writing courses as he could. Aaron started a life abroad after graduating college in 2014, moving first to Shenzhen, China to teach English, and then moving to Berlin, Germany in 2016, where he pursued a Film Production Diploma at Catalyst Art Institute. He returned to Los Angeles in 2017 to experience working on major commercial productions, and honed his lighting skills learning under master gaffer David Goodman. In 2018, Aaron moved back to Europe to found his own videography business. He lived across Germany, Spain, and Portugal, working as a freelance director, cinematographer, and editor, creating short films that have been shown at numerous film festivals across Europe. When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in 2022, Aaron decided to do what he could to support the Ukrainian cause, and in February 2023, he moved to Ukraine to produce his first feature film, the documentary "Sunflowers in the Rain." The film was completed in 2024 and premiered in Los Angeles at the North Hollywood Cinefest on September 13, 2024, where he was awarded the Best Director for a Feature Film award.