(Short bio)First time writer/director Kristian Omar Areché. Born in New York City, 1973. Parents both Dominicans from Barahona and Higuey. Lived with his grandmother for 6 years in Domincan Republic (3-9). Attended public schools PS 189 and IS 143. While attending high school he intern at the ABC studios in New York as assistant to an Motion Graphic Director, that's when he knew he wanted to major in visual arts. Graduated from George Washington High School 1992. He took a year off from school and traveled Europe (England, France, Spain, Holland and Germany) doing odd jobs; bartending, delivery person and salesperson at a computer warehouse. He return home in 1994 and continued his studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he major in Graphic and Adversiting Design; minor in Photography. He later attended Fashion Institute of Technology where he major in Adversiting Design. Since graduating from FIT Kris has worked for American Express, Barnes & Noble and The Wall Street Journal. He had never formally taken any film or video courses. This will be his first feature film and his first time directing. (Long Bio) Born in New York City in 1973, and the middle child of the Areché family, Kristian was raised in the Dominican Republic with his grandmother. The son of an electrical engineer, Rámon Areché, Kristian only ever wanted to play around, even from his earliest memory. He would take apart electronic equipment to “fix” things. It wasn’t until many years later that he realized his true calling was in the graphic arts. At the age of 3, Areché moved with his family to the Dominican Republic, where he lived for almost 7 years. It was there that he had his first taste of graphic design. He was fascinated with the “Chichigua” (kites) and their many different colorful interesting designs. He would spend long afternoons trying to design and build the nicest and most artistic kites. After returning to New York City to pursue a formal education, Areché attended George Washington High School, where he met the mentor who would guide him in the path he continues to this day. Harvey Feller, an Art Director, taught a graphics design class in an after-school program. Areché instantly became fascinated with the class and took a special interest in the subject. What could be a more perfect combination than graphic design and computers? Harvey took Areché under his wing and taught him everything he knows. He helped Areché get into the prestigious School of Visuals in New York, where he majored in Advertising and Graphic Design and minored in Photography. Over the years in New York City, Areché worked for many companies — including American Express, Barnes & Noble and ABC-TV — before finally landing at The Wall Street Journal. He started as a paginator and eventually became an Art Director. Areché’s first encounter with television and film came while working at the ABC-TV studios in New York as a freelancer. He knew he wanted to do something in that field, but wasn’t sure where to start. So he did what he knew he could: he visited the local bookstore and started to read up on filmmaking, going so far as to buy a 8mm camera to practice. His first opportunity to produce a show came when Time Warner had an open call to produce and direct a public access show on their cable network. He quickly enlisted his three close friends: Heifal Cuevas, Edgar Batista and George Goris. Together they came up with a pilot. His community variety show “The Heights Network” was quickly picked up, and before he knew it, he had produced, written and directed 24 episodes. After a two-year stint at TWC, Areché decided to move on to bigger challenges. With no background in film but a knowledgeable history in video, he focused on digital video as his medium of choice. His first test came in the form of a 24-hour film festival: The Brooklyn Midnight Run 2005 Film Festival. Contestants had 24 hours to write, produce, film and edit a 5-minute (minimum) film. Areché again enlisted his friends for the task. Edgar wrote the film, Heifal played the main character and George composed the soundtrack. To Areché’s surprise, his film “Good Advice, Bad Advice” was picked as a finalist — eventually winning 3rd place in the competition. Fresh from his recent success, Areché decided to start writing his next project, a full-length feature film entitled “The Green Country” (aka “Lo’Paises Verde”). It took him nearly two years to finish the script, but when it was finally done, it was exactly what he wanted. Production began in early 2006 with filming in the Dominican Republic in March. Areché returned to New York and continued filming from December 2006 to February 2007. Postproduction finally concluded in July 2007 when the final cut was finished. Areché knows the power of the digital medium and is thankful he decided to do it digitally. "I wanted to attend film school, however money and time was a huge factor. Maybe If I had gone to school for film, I would never have explored this powerful medium of digital," he says. "Digital is a great way for those of us that can’t afford the fancy $50K-$70K camera to rent. And with the technology these days, you can actually make a digital film look pretty amazing." Areché still works at The Wall Street Journal as an Art Director and continues to pursuit his hobby. He is currently collaborating with award-winning writer Edgar Batista on a short film entitled “Pocho.” Areché is taking each step with great detail. "I’m trying to pace myself this time and take more time to plan for this project since I learned about all the pitfalls in my previous project ‘The Green Country’.” “Pocho,” a much deeper and hopefully more meaningful story than what Areché has done before, will begin to shoot in the Bronx in the fall of 2007. “The story deals with a father who needs to make a decision in order to save his family from a couple thugs that want him to do something for them,” explains Areché. “It's a story that will hopefully make you think about your priorities in life and what would you do if you where in a similar situation.” “Pocho,” like Areche's previous films, will be captured in a digital format. When asked why digital again for the film, Areché replies: "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..."