David Mauas

David Mauas
Filmmaker | Project Manager | Storytelling & Branding advisor
Films

Historias de un librero (Tales of a Bookseller)
Spain, 2000 (12 min.)
"Tales of a Bookseller" exposes with humour and irony an ideology based on ignorance and cynicism which is still ever-present...

tales of a bookseller

Quién mató a Walter Benjamin... (Who killed Walter Benjamin...)
Spain/Netherlands/Germany, 2005 (77 min.)
Walter Benjamin died in Portbou in 1940 after crossing illegally the French-Spanish border in a desperate attempt to escape from the Nazis.
"Who killed Walter Benjamin..." investigates the circumstances of Benjamin’s death by adopting a narrative strategy close to the thinker’s own approach to historical discourse and representation. The film features important academics, thinkers, historians and artists as Stéphane Hessel, Dani Karavan, Stephane Moses, Gary Smith, Rolf Tiedemann, Patrick Von Zur Mühlen, Bernd Witte and Erdmut Wizisla, among others. The many interviews with locals show the elusiveness of past events and at the same time summon up the ghost of fascism in Spain’s history.

official website
Goya, el secreto de la sombra (Goya, the secret of the shadows)
Spain, 2011 (77 min.)
The story of some men who claim to be in possession of an unknown painting, serves as a starting point to undertake a personal journey towards Goya.
Premiered at the Museo Nacional del Prado, "Goya, the secret of the shadows" counts with the participation of acknowledged experts in the work and life of Goya, such as Manuela Mena, Juliet Wilson-Bareau, Valeriano Bozal and Jesusa Vega, among others.
The film endeavours to shed light on the spirit of the painter’s work, it’s transcendence, it’s legend, it’s legacy and it’s today reception.

official website
Commissioned works
reportages, commercials & others

Guy Bar Amotz & Sigalit Landau
shot in Israel
client: Kartis le Shnaim
Israel
(1996)
script, editing, direction
Festival
shot in Israel
client: Kartis le Shnaim
Israel
(1996)
script, editing, direction
Masechet Sota
shot in Israel
client: Jerusalem Theater Company
Israel
(1997)
script, production, direction
Portbou, sixty years after
shot in Spain
client: Israel Broadcasting Authority
Israel
(2000)
script, production, direction
Jewish Museum in Berlin
shot in Germany
client: Joodse Omroep
The Netherlands
(2004)
script, production, direction
An European Educational Model
shot in Spain
client: Joodse Omroep
The Netherlands
(2006)
script, production, editing, direction
Ruinas Modernas
based on archival materials
client: Julia Schulz-Dornburg
Spain
(2011)
script, direction
Vinalsa
shot in Spain
client: Diptech
Israel
(2017)
script, camera, direction
Balink Glas Alumium
shot in The Netherlands
client: Diptech
Israel
(2018)
script, camera, direction
Utopia Rambles
shot in Spain
client: Centre d'Art Santa Mònica
Spain
(2023)
script, camera, direction
Working for others
professional collaborations with and for other partners.

Programm Coordinator
Jerusalem
Video Coordinator
Jerusalem
Tour Manager
Europe
Scriptwriter & Director
Catalunya
Scriptwriter & Director
Catalunya
Ass. Director
Barcelona
Film Workshop
Puerto Rico
Production
Barcelona
Production
Barcelona
Scriptwriter & Director
Valencia
Scriptwriter & Director
Barcelona
Tour Manager
Europe
Tour Manager
Catalunya
Scriptwriter
Barcelona
Film Workshop
Costa Rica
Scriptwriter & Director
Spain
Ass. Director
Barcelona
Concept & Director
Madrid
Film Workshop
Kenya
Scriptwriter & Director
Catalunya
Film Workshop
Bogotá
Scriptwriter & Director
The Netherlands
Scriptwriter & Director
Barcelona
Production
Israel
Scriptwriter & Director
Israel
Scriptwriter & Director
La Rioja
Scriptwriter & Director
The Netherlands
Film Workshop
Brazil
Scriptwriter & Director
Barcelona
Film Programmer
Barcelona
Production
Barcelona, Roma, Varanasi
Project Manager
Spain, Andorra, Portugal
Storytelling & Branding advisor
Tokenization/ Blockchain
Prizes & Grants

America-Israel Cultural Foundation
Israel
Research Fellowship
Spain
Artist Fellowship
Germany
European Association for Jewish Culture
United Kingdom/ France
Artist Fellowship
France
Press
a selection of what people wrote about my work

Cahiers du Cinema
«Mauas finds the balance between exhaustive research and intimate personal reflection»
Deutschland Radio
«This film is an event, because it reveals how the mysterious death of a German thinker converts a little village of the Catalan Pyrenees to a crossroad of European history»
La Vanguardia
«The result is a “film noir” that moves between a classic documentary and the video art. In “Who killed Walter Benjamin…” not only is reconstructed the death of the writer but also is recreated “the scene of the crime”»
Die Tageszeitung
«With persistence Mauas seizes new relevant details from witnesses of that time which until now has been ignored by the international Benjamin research»
Fotogramas
«Mauas traces a journey that goes from the legend to the social phenomenon, proposing a reflection on art as a business, with the schemes between innocent buyers and those who take over the art market, but he also includes a look into the identity of the artist and the authorship of his canvases»
El Mundo
«Is it real or false? Is it a farce? Is it a fiction? Do these characters really exist? What are we talking about? A painting? The art market? Goya? Or about Spain?, asks David. And indeed he talks about all this and much more»
El Funàmbul
«...Mauas's documentaries are also, or perhaps above all, a reflection on the medium itself. About the documentary as a gender and the cinema, in general. About illusion and truth.»
Washington Jewish Film Festival
«Perhaps the first ever film noir intellectual historical film, Mauas´documentary is at once beguiling and enlightening»
El Heraldo de Aragón
«The author draws a suggestive and very personal vision of the great Goya ( …) The images come and go to the beat of a rhythm labyrinthine which reminds ‘The Aspern Papers’ or the investigations of Sherlock Holmes»
Público
«Just as Hitchcock’s MacGuffin, the theory of the signatures works as a plot element that allows to speak about the legends that surround Goya»
A few lines about me
I was born in Buenos Aires, lived in Jerusalem, and now in Barcelona for more than 20 years. My main passion and work is writing and directing non fiction films. In addition to my own films I make my living working with and for others: in scriptwriting, storytelling strategies, direction and production, and also as Project Manager. Not only in films, but also in cultural projects, events and companies. Nowadays, I am deeply interested in Blockchain technology, working in roles as project management and storytelling & branding advisor. I am a curious person. I like to find answers to new problems, turn ideas into reality. I enjoy every new challenge. Any project is for me a window to a new world of knowledge and dialogue. I love to hear about new ideas and collaborations. If you have any inquiry, proposal or just want to say hello, you are welcome to contact me.
Thanks for your interest in my work.
Looking forward!
David.
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David Mauas

Filmmaker | Project Manager | Storytelling & Branding advisor

Films

Historias de un librero (Tales of a Bookseller)

Spain, 2000 (12 min.)

Quién mató a Walter Benjamin... (Who killed Walter Benjamin...)

Spain/Netherlands/Germany, 2005 (77 min.)

Goya, el secreto de la sombra (Goya, the secret of the shadows)

Spain, 2011 (77 min.)

Commissioned works

reportages, commercials & others

Guy Bar Amotz & Sigalit Landau

shot in Israelclient: Kartis le ShnaimIsrael(1996)

Festival

shot in Israelclient: Kartis le ShnaimIsrael(1996)

Masechet Sota

shot in Israelclient: Jerusalem Theater CompanyIsrael(1997)

Portbou, sixty years after

shot in Spainclient: Israel Broadcasting AuthorityIsrael(2000)

Jewish Museum in Berlin

shot in Germanyclient: Joodse OmroepThe Netherlands(2004)

An European Educational Model

shot in Spainclient: Joodse OmroepThe Netherlands(2006)

Ruinas Modernas

based on archival materialsclient: Julia Schulz-DornburgSpain(2011)

Vinalsa

shot in Spainclient: DiptechIsrael(2017)

Balink Glas Alumium

shot in The Netherlandsclient: DiptechIsrael(2018)

Utopia Rambles

shot in Spainclient: Centre d'Art Santa MònicaSpain(2023)

Working for others

professional collaborations with and for other partners.

Programm Coordinator

Jerusalem

Video Coordinator

Jerusalem

Tour Manager

Europe

Scriptwriter & Director

Catalunya

Scriptwriter & Director

Catalunya

Ass. Director

Barcelona

Film Workshop

Puerto Rico

Production

Barcelona

Production

Barcelona

Scriptwriter & Director

Valencia

Scriptwriter & Director

Barcelona

Tour Manager

Europe

Tour Manager

Catalunya

Scriptwriter

Barcelona

Film Workshop

Costa Rica

Scriptwriter & Director

Spain

Ass. Director

Barcelona

Concept & Director

Madrid

Film Workshop

Kenya

Scriptwriter & Director

Catalunya

Film Workshop

Bogotá

Scriptwriter & Director

The Netherlands

Scriptwriter & Director

Barcelona

Production

shot in Israel
client: Kartis le Shnaim
Israel
(1996)

shot in Israel
client: Kartis le Shnaim
Israel
(1996)

shot in Israel
client: Jerusalem Theater Company
Israel
(1997)

shot in Spain
client: Israel Broadcasting Authority
Israel
(2000)

shot in Germany
client: Joodse Omroep
The Netherlands
(2004)

shot in Spain
client: Joodse Omroep
The Netherlands
(2006)

based on archival materials
client: Julia Schulz-Dornburg
Spain
(2011)

shot in Spain
client: Diptech
Israel
(2017)

shot in The Netherlands
client: Diptech
Israel
(2018)

shot in Spain
client: Centre d'Art Santa Mònica
Spain
(2023)