Luis Oswaldo Castro Montero (born April 5, 1973) is a Venezuelan-British media entrepreneur based in London, and best known for his role as a director of the documentary Chávez, which was broadcast in several TV networks and awarded an Honorific Mention at the Havana Film Festival 2013.[1]
He is a journalist with experience as a TV producer, presenter, director and head of Venispa Productions. His catalogue includes more than 200 productions,[2] from TV documentaries, TV formats, news items and interviews broadcast by major international networks.
During his 20-year career he has travelled all over the world covering news, current affairs, business, eSports, art, and sports, from the UK to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, México, Hawaii, USA, Spain, France, Iran and Russia among others.[3]
Luis Castro was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on the 5th of April 1973. He studied at Colegio La Salle La Colina and graduated in journalism and media from Universidad Central de Venezuela.
In 2003 Luis Castro moved to London and continued his education in business, media and English.
Luis created and produced a roundtable current affair TV series called Guayoyo, filmed in 12 countries in Latin America.[4] and broadcast on the Iranian network HISPANTV.[5]
He developed a docu-reality for the British network GinxTV focusing this time on eSports personalities. The series is called IRL had two seasons running on GinxTV.In 2014 he developed a docu-reality TV format called "Fuera del Area" that focuses on the real lives inside football, while expanding the same concept to the adult movie industry with a series called “Not so Private” hosted by the famous adult stars couple Jasmine Jae and Ryan Ryder.[6]
Since 2017 he is the host and producer of the Latin-American affairs round table programmes “Cartas sobre la Mesa” broadcasting on RT en Español in which Luis debates with prominent politicians, academics and experts.[7]
Luis is also an Interviewer for RT en español in which he had the chance to talk to important personalities like former president of Panama Ricardo Martinelli, salsa legend Oscar D’ Leon, Dominican legend singer Johnny Ventura, as well as other celebrities.[8]
| Title | Credit | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupy Wall Street | Producer | 2012 | |
| Alabama HB56: La ilegal ley contra la inmigración ilegal | Producer | 2012 | |
| Chile: Construyendo Sueños | Post-Production | 2013 | |
| El arte islámico en Francia | Producer | 2013 | |
| Islamofobia en Francia | Producer | 2013 | |
| Mezquitas improvisadas en España | Producer | 2013 | |
| Jornaleros en EE.UU. | Producer | 2013 | |
| Los 5 de Cuba contra el Terrorismo | Producer | 2013 | |
| Tráfico Humano y Esclavitud Moderna en EEUU | Producer | 2013 | |
| La Salud Dental latina en California | Producer | 2013 | |
| Muslims, Victims of Espionage in the USA | Director | 2013 | |
| Asotrecol | Producer | 2013 | |
| Chávez | Director | 2013 | |
| Conchita contra la Guerra | Producer | 2014 | |
| La Fotografía no es un Crimen | Producer | 2014 | |
| La Ley que Justifica el Homicidio | Producer | 2014 | |
| Hawaii The Stolen Paradise[9] | Director | 2014 | |
| Cartas sobre la Mesa | Director | 2015 | |
| 47Soul | Director | 2015 | |
| Ngabe Struggle | Producer | 2015 | |
| Ecuador the Poisoned rainforest | Producer | 2015 | |
| Frack off, Power to the people | Producer | 2015 | |
| Plan Andinia | Director | 2015 | |
| The Great Game Expedition | Producer | 2016 | |
| IRL (tv show) | Director and Producer | 2016 | |
| Not So Private | Director and Producer | 2016 | |
| Fuera del Area | Director and Producer | 2016 |
As a Documentary Director Luis Castro was awarded an "Honorable Mention of the Jury" at the 2013 Havana Film Festival for his film Chávez, a biography film on the life and death of the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez.[1]