Today we’d like to introduce you to Igor Miranda.
Hi Igor, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a filmmaker, a storyteller. I come from Montes Claros, a city in Minas Gerais, Brazil. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer, inspired by my grandmother who wrote books. I imagined myself as a novelist one day. Another big influence came from my mother, who owned a DVD rental store. I would spend hours there, watching movies in the back while she worked. The Return of the King was my favorite at the time, and probably the reason I fell in love with cinema.
It soon became clear what I wanted to do: combine my love of stories and movies by becoming a screenwriter. That was my goal when I went to Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais for the film production program. I wrote almost every film I made during that time, but I also explored other areas of filmmaking like sound design, editing, producing, and cinematography. In my final year, I realized that I didn’t want to limit myself to writing. I wanted to be part of every stage of making a film. Producing became the natural path for me because it allowed me to do exactly that while still using my storytelling background.
The pandemic disrupted many of my plans. I graduated in 2020, and my final year was entirely online, but I still managed to write and produce an animated short film called The Legend of the Sun and the Storm, one of the projects I am most proud of.
After graduation, I decided to focus more on the business side and pursued an MBA. Around that time, my father, who is an economist, invited me and my brother to co-found a company called 14 Bis Capital, focused on financial education and stock market analysis. It was an incredible experience learning how to build and run a business, but I eventually realized that the financial world wasn’t for me. I missed filmmaking too much. That’s when I decided to apply to universities in the United States, and I got accepted into Chapman University.
I am now a second-year graduate student in the Film and TV Producing program. Every project has taught me valuable skills in scheduling, budgeting, story development, location management, and casting. My latest film, Vienna (2025), reminded me why I fell in love with filmmaking in the first place, and I couldn’t be happier to be back doing what I love most.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but I know how privileged I am to have the support of my family through every step.
The pandemic hit during my final year of college and changed everything. Classes went online, productions stopped, and for a while, it felt like my dream was slipping away. But my family’s encouragement kept me moving forward. Later, when I co-founded 14 Bis Capital, a financial education company, I learned a lot about leadership and business, but I also realized how much I missed telling stories. Choosing to leave that behind and start over in another country was terrifying, but my parents and brother supported me completely.
Moving to the United States brought new challenges. Adjusting to a new culture, a new language, and a different system wasn’t easy, but having a strong support system made all the difference. Every obstacle has shaped me into a stronger person and a better storyteller, and I carry with me deep gratitude for the people who believed in me when the road felt uncertain.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The movies that shaped me are very different from each other, but they all tell bold and powerful stories. As a kid, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King made me love imagination and intense emotions. Later, Se7en showed me how dark stories can reveal who we really are. Then 12 Angry Men taught me that a strong story can come from simple things like people talking in one room. These films inspire me to make stories that feel real, emotional, and say something honest about people.
I specialize in development and production, making sure every creative choice supports the story. I’m most proud of projects like The Legend of the Sun and the Storm and Vienna (2025), which challenged me to grow both creatively and professionally. What sets me apart is my mix of creative storytelling and business experience, which allows me to balance vision with execution in every project I take on.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I like most about the city is the number of opportunities it offers. There’s always something happening and so many people to learn from and connect with. What I like least is how spread out everything is. The long commutes and time spent in traffic can be really frustrating.
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