about

Ricardo Tadeo Betancourt is a Caracas-born, New Orleans-raised director, producer, and artist whose work spans narrative film, documentary, and commercial media — told through a lens shaped by migration, identity, and the in-between spaces of belonging.

His debut hybrid documentary short Sudakas earned the FilmFest DC Emerging Director Award and the Metro Short Award, signaling a bold new voice in independent film.

On the commercial side, he has directed and produced Telly, Addy, and Shots Award-winning work for clients including STARZ, Universal, Capitol Records, 88Rising, and Honda — in both English and Spanish.

His creativity extends beyond the screen: Ricardo creates large-scale mixed-media paintings under the series Caminos, using oil, acrylic, and paint markers on handmade paper and reclaimed materials like pizza boxes. His visual work has been exhibited at Art All Night D.C. and commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Arlington, VA.

A Sundance Latinx Fellow, Gotham Branded Storyteller to Watch, and alumnus of the Emerging Voices Directors Lab in New Orleans, Ricardo is also a board member of Minorities in Film and a member of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective.

He is currently in development on Repartidores, his debut narrative feature — a story drawn from his own experience navigating labor, displacement, and survival as a citizen of two worlds.