About Aaron "MacGnarly" MacCarley

Hello, I'm Aaron. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, I found a creative outlet in editing videos and photos with the ancient Adobe suite. I decided to pursue a career in the arts, but one with a philosophical mission, and so I went to study at Reed College where I got my B.A. in Philosophy and took as many creative writing courses as I could. 

I started a life abroad after graduating college in 2014, moving first to Shenzhen, China to teach English, and then moving to Berlin, Germany in 2016, where I pursued a Film Production Diploma at Catalyst Art Institute.

I returned to Los Angeles in 2017 to experience working on major commercial productions, and I honed my lighting skills learning under master gaffer David Goodman. In 2018 I moved back to Europe to found my own videography business, and lived across Germany, Spain, and Portugal working as a freelance director, cinematographer, and editor, creating short films that have been shown at numerous film festivals across Europe.

When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in 2022, I decided to do what I could to support the Ukrainian cause, and in February 2023, I moved to Ukraine to produce my first feature film, the documentary "Sunflowers in the Rain." The film was completed in 2024 and premiered in Los Angeles at the North Hollywood Cinefest on September 13, 2024, where I was awarded the Best Director for a Feature Film award.

Coming soon to Brooklyn/NYC and looking forward to joining the film and video community there.