Michael Vargas is an award-winning director, editor, and cinematographer with a rich background in photography and visual arts. He developed his diverse skill set in the film program at SUNY Purchase and shortly after graduating, set forth on a creative path that has led him, his camera, and his sketchbooks around the world. His body of work includes feature films, commercials, original series, scripted shorts and branded content for global brands like Apple, Nike, GQ, Diesel, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and for media companies like PBS, Sony Pictures, Paramount, VH1, Vice and Westbrook Entertainment. Michael has earned two Emmy nominations, two National Journalism Awards and two SoCal Journalism Awards for the documentary films he directed for PBS/KCET.
Michael co-founded Friends We Love with his wife and creative partner, Moni Vargas. Together, they quickly made a name for themselves in the NYC music, film, and street art scene by creating a series of short docs featuring international musicians and artists. The Friends We Love project birthed an insightful and inspiring blog with viewership around the world and held screenings at the prestigious Bronx Museum and Brooklyn Museum of Art.
In 2010, Michael was selected to join Will Smith on a trip around the world shooting and editing content for The Karate Kid film and Overbrook Entertainment. He was soon directing and editing a series of visually stunning music videos, branded content, behind-the-scenes docs, travel, and concert films for Will, Jada, and their talented kids, Jaden, Willow, and Tre.
In 2021, Michael directed and edited “Con Safos,” about the life of Chicano Culture Sculptor, Rubén Guevara and in 2022, he directed the “Ruben Ortiz Torres Story” for the PBS series, Artbound. In addition to documentaries, he’s writing narrative screenplays and developing unscripted educational content. He continues to expand his reel with commercial and independent projects that showcase his dynamic cinematic style.
“A Rubén Ortiz-Torres Story”
KCET / Artbound - Documentary
Since the early-80s, artist Rubén Ortiz-Torres has been working as a photographer, painter, sculptor, writer, filmmaker and video producer. Often associated with the development of a Mexican form of postmodernism, Ortiz-Torres's life is a collage that explores the social and aesthetic transformations related to cross-cultural exchange and globalization.
Directors: Michael & Moni Vargas
DP: Michael Vargas
“Con Safos”
KCET / Artbound - Documentary
A pioneer of Chicano rock 'n' roll, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara recounts his life in music, performance art and activism — from his time as lead singer of the doo-wop band The Apollo Brothers, his collaborations with Frank Zappa and Cheech Marin, and his crossover into the Chicano performance art world of the 1960s and 1970s — all of which shaped Mexican American culture.
Producer / Directors: Michael & Moni Vargas
Editor: Michael Vargas
“CLOSER” - Short Film
Friends We Love Films
A woman’s cozy night home alone turns deadly when an endless string of terrifying neighborhood crime alerts bombard her phone with warnings of a killer on the loose who’s actually closer than she thinks.
Writer / Director / Editor: Michael Vargas
SHORT FILM :: "PLUS"
Nuyorktricity Films
On the eve of the biggest day of their lives, a loving couple discovers a new edition is coming to the family.
Writer /Director / Editor: Mike Vargas
WILLOW SMITH :: "WHY DON'T YOU CRY"
i-D MAGAZINE
Willow Smith inhabits a world fuelled by an imagination and inquisitiveness that extend far beyond her 14 years on Planet Earth. The concept and visuals for the brand new track Why Don't You Cry were dreamed up by the indigo child herself. Directed by her serial collaborator Nuyorktricity's Mike Vargas and styled by i-D's Julia Sarr-Jamois, this is Willow's world; let's all take a trip to it!
Director & Editor: Mike Vargas
WILLOW SMITH :: "F Q-C #7"
ROC NATION
"The different Me’s represent my Chakras. Yellow is Self-confidence, Blue is my voice (song), Red is my survival instinct, and the Black is a combination of everything (the true me)" - Willow Smith
Director / Camera / Editor: Mike Vargas
JADEN SMITH :: "THE COOLEST"
OVERBROOK ENTERTAINMENT
What better way to show just how well Jaden Smith floats on beats than to have him literally float down streets.
Director & Editor: Mike Vargas
PHARRELL WILLIAMS :: "THE GQ STYLE SURVEY"
GQ MAGAZINE
Self-expression, fit, and a not being scared about a little dirt. Go behind the scenes with Pharrell on his GQ cover shoot.
Director & Camera: Mike Vargas
UBTECH :: "LYNX - a Video-Enabled Humanoid Robot with Amazon Alexa"
Lynx: A humanoid robot with Alexa, Amazon’s cloud-based voice service. Lynx combines UBTECH’s award-winning proprietary robotics with the automatic speech recognition, natural language understanding and search capability of Amazon Alexa, resulting in a lifelike human-to-robot interface.
Director & Editor: Mike Vargas
JEFF SOTO :: OFF THE HOOK
FRIENDS WE LOVE
On the eve of “Life Cycle,” his third solo show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Jeff Soto adds the finishing touches to this incredible mural and reflects on past influences, present themes and future plans.
Director / Camera: Michael & Moni Vargas
Editor: Mike Vargas