Juan Mejia Botero
Juan Mejia Botero is an award-winning film director and producer with 25 years of experience in feature documentaries and documentary series whose work has focused primarily on human rights abuses and global struggles for social justice. His latest feature, IGUALADA, about Colombia’s current Vice President, Francia Márquez, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, 2024 and is slated for broadcast on POV in 2025.
A native of Colombia, Juan has ample experience directing films in areas of conflict in Latin America and the Caribbean (Uprooted - PBS, The Battle for Land - Red Foundation Honesty Oscar, and the environmental true-crime thriller Death by a Thousand Cuts - Hot Docs Premier, Audience Award DocNYC, Grand Jury Prize Seattle International film Festival). He has worked extensively in the United States on issues of immigration, racial justice and the criminal justice system. His sports documentary Houston United, about Wisdom High School’s diverse soccer team, premiered at the Tribeca International Film Festival 2023.
In television, Juan produced episodes for the acclaimed series Amend: The Fight for America (Netflix 2018), ABC’s break-through series Soul of a Nation, and the true crime genre-bender Killing County (Hulu, 2023).
His work includes research, development, supervision and directing interview and character-driven, non-fiction work focusing on critical issues such as racial justice, the criminal justice system, immigration, forced displacement, state violence, and the competition for natural resources.
Throughout his career, Juan has collaborated with prestigious organizations including the Equal Justice Initiative, The United Nations, Greenpeace, Firelight Media, The Mellon Foundation, and Malteser International. His work is currently featured in the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.
