photo credit: Florence Montmare
I began my career in the only logical way: classical piano. From there, it was a short leap to directing films, editing national ad campaigns, and launching a covert ops division disguised as an immersive experience studio. Some call it a pivot. I call it Phase Two.
I don’t wear headphones in public. Not because I’m better than you (I am), but because I’m always listening—for the rhythm in people’s footsteps, the tension in their silence, the exact BPM of existential dread. This is how I approach creative work. I call it creative vérité, because making up fake French terms makes things sound more important.
My professional cover includes editing for global agencies like R/GA, directing narrative shorts that have played at international festivals, and racking up 4 Vimeo Staff Picks (which I will bring up at any dinner party, unprompted). I’m also an AICP Award nominee—though to most people, that sounds like something I made up. My debut feature, Alberto and the Concrete Jungle, won Best Feature and Best Actor awards and was Oscar-eligible. Yes, I’m flexing. No, I won’t stop.
But my current directive is far more dangerous:
BY SHIMO—a label for classified brand activations, high-stakes immersive events, and experimental spectacles designed to confuse, delight, and maybe accidentally change the world. All operations are executed with precision, secrecy, and the occasional fog machine.
Additional facts for surveillance purposes:
I swim like I’m being chased.
I despise umbrellas. They are weak shields and I will not rely on them.
Chocolate-covered almonds were once my primary fuel source pre-keto.
If you’ve read this far, it’s already too late. You’re involved now.
Thank you for your curiosity. Proceed carefully.