#1 BAD DAD
About the Film
After spending time behind bars, jaded superhuman Sal Cortez tries to live life quietly by leaving his criminal life in the past. But when Holly, his estranged superhuman 12-year-old daughter, comes to him for help, he is forced to take her under his wing and reopen old wounds.
Director: Natalie Camou
Producers: Bofan Zhang, Shakera Robinson
United States // 2024 // Comedy // LOLA Award Nominee - Los Shorts
12 minutes
About the Filmmaker
Natalie Camou de Zavaleta is a first-generation Mexican American director based in Los Angeles. Her latest, #1 BAD DAD, is on the festival circuit, having premiered at Slamdance 2025, with a sold out screening of over 600 attendees. Upcoming screenings are at San Diego Latino Film Festival and Beverly Hills Film Festival. Winner of Best Comedy, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Cast, Best Lead in a Comedy, Best Animation and VFX at NYWIFT/SoHo Int’l Film Festival. Winner for Best VFX at Micheaux (Oscar Qualifying). Winner of Best Comedy Director at Latina Independent Film Extravaganza. Nominated
To date, she has worked on over 100 projects --primarily as a producer, and sometimes as a director -- across fiction, documentary, and branded content. In 2024, she was selected as a Project Involve Directing Fellow at Film Independent. Her film “Louise” premiered at NALIP’s Latino Media Fest 2019 and won Best Latinx Short at the Seattle Latino Film Festival. A PSA she wrote, directed, and produced for Audi called “Changing the Chairs” opened QUEEN & SLIM’s world premiere at 2019 AFI FEST. She was thrilled when supporters like Laura Dern, Mati Diop and Snoop Dog shared the piece online.Her short docs “Undocumented in America: Viviana’s Story” and “Domestic Violence in Rural America” went on to reach millions of students in higher education via Pearson Platform. “Domestic Violence in Rural America” won the 2018 Communicator Award, Award of Distinction and 2018 W3 Silver Award for Webseries for Video Online. She’s a reader and interviewer for The American Film Institute Conservatory. She volunteers with nonprofits to teach literacy and storytelling to children and adults from latin backgrounds.She is currently attached to a project about the history of immigration in the United States, in partnership with Public Counsel.
