Mario R. Coello

Raised in the suburban city of Huntington Beach, California, Mario R. Coello demonstrated talent at the arts early in his life, notably in drawing and writing. He is an alumnus of the School of Architecture at the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and studied architecture in Alexandria, Virginia and Prague, Czech Republic. His creative work during this period focused on urban designs intended to intrigue, disturb, entertain and educate all at once, a formula he would repeat later in his film career. After having produced experimental narrative videos and documentary tapings of local bands, he enrolled in the film school at University of Miami in 1996. Here he filtered experiences with the Orange County surf culture of his youth and the philosophical topics of his writing into the creation of the experimental dark comedy "Existential Surfers." His film "Dog From Another Dimension" was one of few to be screened at the University's first film festival. Upon movin