The Bay Area’s Sandro Elia

Alex El Dahdah

In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the LGBTQ media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood. 

Sandro Elia is a filmmaker and performer currently based in the Bay Area. His most known work is ÃH (2020), an award-winning short film he directed and performed in. He has also participated in several works as a performer and production designer, and worked in marketing as a digital producer and content writer. After a year of working in an office, he decided to focus more on his art practice and explore other mediums by enrolling in the graduate studio arts program at the San Francisco Art Institute. His work is often introspective and focuses on themes of ancestry, queerness, identity, and guilt.

What are you best known for?

I am known for my interest in cathartic introspective projects and the representation of body movement on camera. A recurrent theme in my practice is the idea of what defines us as humans and how we are constantly looking for a form of identity: our family’s heritage, our sexuality, our religion, our kinesthetic image of ourselves, or our body. 

The work that got the most recognition is ÃH, the drama short film I directed for my senior undergraduate project. The film portrays a queer story in Lebanon in the 50s with inspiration from the surrealist art movement. It was a very personal project which I believe came out as genuine as I hoped it would be. It helped me understand my process in my studio and art practice and that I tend to root my work in personal experiences, whilst portraying it via social images. 

What is the first thing you directed?

I could count ÃH as my first work as a Director, especially that I have written, edited, directed, produced and acted in it. Previous projects I had done were experiments and collaborations that were not shared or screened. However, I have collaborated on several art projects as a performer. Although I got more recognition as a Director, performing is one form of expression I do not see myself living without.

What are you working on that no one knows about yet?

I am currently a graduate student at the San Francisco Art Institute doing my MFA in Studio Arts. I am working on several projects and hoping to expand my practice to other mediums. There is no particular project I can mention as I am experimenting and going over different ideas and concepts.