
--
A renowned Director of commercials, film and documentary, Director Pascui Rivas attends the Santa Barbara Film Festival for the World Premiere of his labor of love, Ordinary Gods. Filmed in eight different countries over the course of three years, the first-time feature director offers a compassionate observation of the lives of six young professional soccer players, as they struggle with injury, homesickness, and the pressure of being a young talent on the international stage.
Click here to view the trailer: https://vimeo.com/314107826/aef7386826
For over a decade, Rivas has occupied a space between film and commercials, winning a Silver Lion at Cannes Lions and Best of Show Award at the AdAge/AHAA Awards for a Toyota Corolla campaign he directed, the very first Lion in the history of advertising agency Conill Saatchi & Saatchi. Since 2006, Rivas has been shaping the US Hispanic market, marking him as a trailblazing Director with long-lasting relationships with the likes of CA Lottery and Toyota, resulting in riveting national and international campaigns.
His contributions also include celebrated branded work with Mexican rock/pop singer Natalia Lafourcade, (for which he won a Webby Award), along with a film he directed for UNICEF receiving numerous international awards and a Gold Medal at the New York Festival. Rivas continued to pursue his passion for film with the short Jean Lewis, which premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.
A testament to human perseverance, Ordinary Gods examines what it takes to thrive -- not just in the worlds most beloved sport, soccer -- but also in life itself. The globetrotting documentary dives deep into the captivating lives of aspiring soccer players with a unified dream - to pursue their passion on the world's most prestigious soccer stages. Imbued with heartfelt revelations of their day-to-day realities, along with the political and economical nuances that surround them, the documentary sheds light on their ordinary struggles while navigating the extraordinary circumstances that define the world's most popular sport.
I have always been sensitive to ordinary people in ordinary circumstances - painting their daily human experiences with the hope of shining some light along the way, shares Rivas. When crafting this film, I would repeatedly remind my team that the story should be approached as if our subjects were carpenters, butchers, bank tellers or what-have-you; in that their professional skills would not be dictating their story. It was their common humanity we were unearthing, and their universal truths would surface through them first as people, and second as football players.
If the merit of the sports film were to be measured only by its capacity to forsake the many hackneyed stations of the genre, then Pascui Rivas' magisterial Ordinary Gods' would surely deserve its place in the pantheon, says Greg D. Cohen, Ph.D., Associate Programmer for Los Angeles Filmforum & UCLA Professor. It never shrinks from the supremely mundane, altogether human dimensions of the kids' struggles, which is perhaps the truest testament to its greatness.
Throughout Pascui's work, a thread of meticulous artistic precision is observed, driven further by the top cinematographers that he seeks including the legendary Fred Elmes (Blue Velvet) and Stefan Czpsky (Ed Wood). He credits various mentors for nurturing his innate ability to reveal the beauty in the ordinary, including distinguished TV Director David Semel in support of Pascui's venture into the world of episodic television. With an invariant curiosity for the undiscovered and unknown, Pascui continues to reach far and wide for impactful storytelling opportunities, and is looking forward to discovering where his successes in film will take him in the advertising world.
Credits:
Directed by: Pascui Rivas Produced by: David Brooks, Mario Melchiot, Tony Sella, Eric Shanks Written by: Pascui Rivas, Arbi Pedrossian Executive Producers: Arbi Pedrossian, Thomas Verrette, Steven Johnson Edited by: Pascui Rivas, Florencia P. Marano, Juan Pablo Cadaveira Starring: Oliver Burke, Gast n Guruceaga, Emanuel Mammana, Alhassane Sylla, Corentin Tolisso, Roman Zobnin
http://www.pascui.com
Director Pascui Rivas' World Premiere of Ordinary Gods at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, with MARTIN GORE (Depeche Mode Guitarist) and RICKY RESTREPO (Estados Alterados Drummer) in attendance
###
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
30/10/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has called for an end to the government shutdown while providing some updates on the agency'...
30/10/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has announced that he has circulated a proposal for the FCC to auction additional mid-band spect...
29/10/2025
MLS, EDGE Sound Research To Debut Immersive Embodied Sound' at LAFC vs. Aus...
29/10/2025
SVG Remote Production Forum 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLA...
29/10/2025
World Series 2025: How Audio Is Transported Around the Sites and BeyondThe signals also move not just between two countries but around the globeBy Dan Daley, Au...
29/10/2025
A still from 306 Hollywood, a film by sibling filmmakers Jonathan Bogar n and El...
29/10/2025
New research shows sense of belonging is growing stronger among multilingual Aus...
29/10/2025
SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce2025 Digital Originals Shortlist
29 October, 2025
Media releases
SBS, NITV and Screen Australia are excited to unvei...
29/10/2025
It's not the wonders of the world that make a place; it's the people. As...
29/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
29/10/2025
NAB New York 2025 Preview | October 22-23 | Booth 544 | Javits Center, New York We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at NAB New Y...
29/10/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications has hired Ulrich Voigt as director, live production solutions, taking over the leadership of its SimplyLive business fr...
29/10/2025
OKLAHOMA CITY and TULSA, Okla. Sinclair has named Mark Martin as vice president and general manager of KOKH-KOCB Oklahoma City and KTUL Tulsa....
29/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. Julie Van Ullen has joined cross-platform TV ad measurement company iSpot as president and chief revenue officer....
29/10/2025
Brutal g et, a Swiss broadcast services provider, has rolled out a state-of-the-art outside broadcast (OB) vehicle built on a Lawo AoIP (audio-over-internet pro...
29/10/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty has announced a temporary staff change in her office....
29/10/2025
Berklee Valencia Talent Helps Score Alejandro Amen bar's El cautivo Faculty and alumni from Berklee Valencia's scoring for film, television, and video...
29/10/2025
The Walt Disney Company today announced they have closed their transaction to combine Fubo's business with Disney's Hulu + Live TV business....
29/10/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications has hired Ulrich Voigt as director, live production solutions, taking over the leadership of its SimplyLive business fr...
29/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Major League Soccer will introduce a broadcast audio enhancement tonight during the LAFC vs. Austin FC playoff match....
29/10/2025
ESPN said it will produce animated telecasts for NFL, NHL, NBA and WNBA games across The Walt Disney Co. and ESPN platforms during the 2025-26 season under an a...
29/10/2025
WASHINGTON Despite the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission has passed, with some revisions, a previously announced Notice of Proposed Rul...
29/10/2025
29 10 2025 - Media release SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce 2025 Digital Originals Shortlist
The 2025 Digital Originals shortlisted teams. Photo credit...
29/10/2025
October 29 2025, 17:00 (PDT) Hyundai Motor Group Brings Dolby Atmos to Elexio, ...
29/10/2025
Wuppertal October 29, 2025
Riedel Communications Appoints Ulrich Voigt as Dire...
29/10/2025
Back to All News
Start of Filming for Daniel S nchez Ar valos New Netflix Movie
Entertainment
29 October 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
The fil...
29/10/2025
Comscore's 2025 State of Streaming Report Reveals Surging Growth of Both Ad-...
29/10/2025
RT PUBLISHES 2024 ANNUAL REPORT
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 5.5 MILLION IN 2024
A YEAR WITH MANY SPECIAL EVENTS UEFA EUROS 2024, THE OLYMPICS AND PARALYMP...
29/10/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
28/10/2025
ESPN Announces Monsters Funday Football', Its Latest Real-Time Animated Bro...
28/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Catherine Chalfant, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe Ole Miss alum is an operational force behind ESPN's extensive college-football catalo...
28/10/2025
Elevating the experience: AI and data take Ryder Cup to the next level By Joe OHalloran
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 10:25
Print This Story
NBC produced th...
28/10/2025
Conquering the Air (waves): Taking a close up look at the IBC Accelerator Priva...
28/10/2025
World Series 2025: Spectrum SportsNet LA Brings Dodgers Fans Closer to the Actio...
28/10/2025
Dylan Southern and Benedict Cumberbatch at the premiere of The Thing with Feathers (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
28/10/2025
For three weeks in Lagos, Spotify's Greasy Tunes Caf pop-up brought the cit...
28/10/2025
Once a niche subculture, German rap has evolved into an influential cultural movement. Now, Spotify is giving the genre a new home with OFFCULT, a playlist dedi...
28/10/2025
Shane Delia's Malta serves up the Mediterranean this summer
28 October, 2025
Media releases
Feast on 9,000 years of culinary history Mondays from 24 No...
28/10/2025
SBS's global sporting festival continues with the FIVB Beach Volleyball Worl...
28/10/2025
Bilbao, October 28, 2025 - AgileTV, a leading technology solutions company for t...
28/10/2025
Disney, NBCUniversal, FOX, Paramount Each Achieve Double-Digit Monthly Growth
...
28/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has announced an agreement to sell WRTV, its local ABC-affiliated station in Indianapolis, to Circle City Broadcasting for $...
28/10/2025
Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2025 Top Music...
28/10/2025
NEW YORK As AI usage continues to spike, a new study from IAB delves into an important aspect of how AI is transforming the advertising business with new data s...
28/10/2025
Charlie Jablonski, a broadcast tech pioneer who helped shape the modern era of Olympics television coverage, died Oct. 25 at his home in Lake George N.Y., the N...
28/10/2025
VIENNA, Austria Bitmovin has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insights into video playback. The so...
28/10/2025
LOS ANGELES LucidLink, the file streaming platform, has announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities at Adobe Max....
28/10/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced that it has joined the Ama...
28/10/2025
Lightware, an industry leader in connectivity and signal management solutions, has announced a major update to its Taurus
platform, which now delivers flawless...