Visual History with Miguel Arteta

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Miguel Arteta's love of storytelling was developed during his childhood. Moving from Puerto Rico to Spain to Costa Rica and settling in the United States left him feeling like an outsider, informing his artistic sensibilities. Although he knew he wanted to be a filmmaker ever since his sisters took him to see 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968), it was not until he settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts that he began to study the master directors at local repertory theaters. Arteta landed his first job in film as a second assistant cameraman on the documentary Cousin Bobby (1992), when Jonathan Demme viewed his Wesleyan University Student Academy Award winning film Every Day is a Beautiful Day. This connection was fruitful as Demme then recommended him to the AFI Conservatory, where he began working on his first feature Star Maps (1997).

In addition to Star Maps, Arteta's credits include the features Chuck & Buck (2000), The Good Girl (2002), Youth In Revolt (2009), Cedar Rapids (2011), Beatriz At Dinner (2017), Duck Butter (2018), and Yes Day (2021), among others. He has also helmed episodes of Homicide: Life on the Streets, Freaks and Geeks, Six Feet Under, Nurse Jackie, Succession, The Morning Show, and Loot, to name a handful; and the pilots for Famous in Love and The Carrie Diaries. He has also directed and produced series such as Enlightened and Getting On.

Arteta has served on the Guild's Western Directors Council. He has been a member since 1998.