A native of Guatemala, Luis Argueta came to the United States to study industrial engineering, then went on to study Film and Literature at the University of Michigan. There, his film adaptations of the plays of Fernando Arrabal prompted the celebrated writer-director to hire Argueta as Assistant Director on his own film Guernica. Moving to New York in 1977, Argueta worked with such renowned companies as Ampersand Productions and Sandbank Films, In 1978, he returned to Guatemala to shoot his first documentary, The Cost of Cotton, which won awards in Sweden and France and was later broadcast on PBS. Back in New York, Argueta became Executive Producer for Guede Films, one of the oldest Hispanic Production companies in the U.S. In 1988, he founded Morningside Movies, Inc. The company's numerous credits include a Clio Award-winning spot for Burger King and the "Unity" campaign for the National Crime Prevention Council. Recently, Argueta has begun to realize his dream of expanding into dramatic features. His screenplay Into Thin Air was a finalist at The Sundance Institute's Summer Program in 1989; and since 1990, he has been at work bringing The Silence of Neto to the screen.
'The Silence of Neto is the silence of all Guatemalans. It is a silence deeply ingrained in all aspects of our culture by the events of the last four decades."
"It is only by telling a very specific story - of a particular moment in a particular place - that a filmmaker can hope to evoke universal themes."
"The kind of cinema I aim to produce draws on history, draws its strength from native roots. Great cinema is firmly anchored in the culture it comes from."
"With this film we intend to show the international community that Guatemala is a country that laughs, suffers, sings, and cries - a vital and intense country"
- Director Luis Argueta