Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area by screenwriter, director, and producer Adrian Nava, the Aztek Studio was conceived as a music production studio in 2006 and evolved into a film production studio in 2009.
Adrian Nava
Founder • Writer • Director • Producer • Theatre & Film Actor
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @aztekstudiofilms
Filmmaker Bio
Adrian is a San Francisco based filmmaker born in Martinez, California. He took a leap of faith to pursue his passion of making movies when he quit his factory job and returned to school in 2011, enrolling at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA. There he wrote and directed his award winning short film debut, La Vida Loca, based on his own life, and followed it up with the short films Ruthless, Threat to Society, and Take Five along with work on other films.
His work includes acting, writing, directing, cinematography, producing, editing, scoring and more, with extensive short film experience and countless credits to his name, Adrian landed his first industry job as 1st Assistant Director on Hollywood actor David Fernandez Jr.’s directorial debut, A Father’s Journey, starring Fernandez, comedian Joey Medina (Original Latin Kings of Comedy, Zombie Strippers!), Mayra Leal (Machete, Line of Duty), Lou Pizarro (creator and star of the hit truTV show Operation Repo), and a talented cast of emerging actors.
He founded Aztek Studio Films in 2009 with the purpose to produce his own films and the films of others. He dreams of establishing ASF as an independent force to be reckoned with in the industry someday, a pursuit influenced by George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Robert Rodriguez.
Actor Bio
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Adrian Nava has spent over fifteen years working both in front of and behind the camera, building a multidisciplinary career as an actor, writer, producer, and director.
In 2011, while returning to school to study filmmaking, his school counselor encouraged him to take an acting class to better understand performance from the inside out. That advice proved pivotal. After helping fellow film students record auditions, he was asked to read for a lead role—and booked it—launching his ongoing work as a screen actor.
Adrian’s film credits include roles in short films such as Downfall (2011), Anti‑Hero (2012), and Take Five (2013). He later appeared in A Father’s Journey (2015) and continued expanding his range through independent features, commercials, product launch videos, and voice work for radio.
Recent credits include portraying an immigrant in the Best Picture Oscar winner One Battle After Another (2025) and roles as a bouncer and basketball scout in the upcoming SF‑based Lionsgate crime drama Splash City (2026). He made his stage acting debut in 2026 in Mark-Eugene Garcia's Goat Blood at Theatre Rhinoceros in San Francisco.
His filmmaking background continues to inform his approach to character, story, and collaboration. Adrian lives in San Francisco and remains committed to developing work that reflects the communities and stories of the Bay Area.
Founder • Writer • Director • Producer • Theatre & Film Actor
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @aztekstudiofilms
Filmmaker Bio
Adrian is a San Francisco based filmmaker born in Martinez, California. He took a leap of faith to pursue his passion of making movies when he quit his factory job and returned to school in 2011, enrolling at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA. There he wrote and directed his award winning short film debut, La Vida Loca, based on his own life, and followed it up with the short films Ruthless, Threat to Society, and Take Five along with work on other films.
His work includes acting, writing, directing, cinematography, producing, editing, scoring and more, with extensive short film experience and countless credits to his name, Adrian landed his first industry job as 1st Assistant Director on Hollywood actor David Fernandez Jr.’s directorial debut, A Father’s Journey, starring Fernandez, comedian Joey Medina (Original Latin Kings of Comedy, Zombie Strippers!), Mayra Leal (Machete, Line of Duty), Lou Pizarro (creator and star of the hit truTV show Operation Repo), and a talented cast of emerging actors.
He founded Aztek Studio Films in 2009 with the purpose to produce his own films and the films of others. He dreams of establishing ASF as an independent force to be reckoned with in the industry someday, a pursuit influenced by George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Robert Rodriguez.
Actor Bio
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Adrian Nava has spent over fifteen years working both in front of and behind the camera, building a multidisciplinary career as an actor, writer, producer, and director.
In 2011, while returning to school to study filmmaking, his school counselor encouraged him to take an acting class to better understand performance from the inside out. That advice proved pivotal. After helping fellow film students record auditions, he was asked to read for a lead role—and booked it—launching his ongoing work as a screen actor.
Adrian’s film credits include roles in short films such as Downfall (2011), Anti‑Hero (2012), and Take Five (2013). He later appeared in A Father’s Journey (2015) and continued expanding his range through independent features, commercials, product launch videos, and voice work for radio.
Recent credits include portraying an immigrant in the Best Picture Oscar winner One Battle After Another (2025) and roles as a bouncer and basketball scout in the upcoming SF‑based Lionsgate crime drama Splash City (2026). He made his stage acting debut in 2026 in Mark-Eugene Garcia's Goat Blood at Theatre Rhinoceros in San Francisco.
His filmmaking background continues to inform his approach to character, story, and collaboration. Adrian lives in San Francisco and remains committed to developing work that reflects the communities and stories of the Bay Area.
Sandra Lopez
Producer • Editor
[email protected]
Sandra is a Bay Area native born in San Francisco, CA. She earned an architecture degree from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, however, finding her skills more useful in other areas, she changed her focus to filmmaking after producing "La Vida Loca." Afterwards, she enrolled at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA and continued working on more film projects including "Threat to Society" and other successful short films. She served as president of the DVC Film Club for one semester and produced the award winning film, “Take Five”. Working a year as a film editor and videographer for an audio/video studio in Emeryville, CA, she now works as a full time producer for Aztek Studio Films.
Producer • Editor
[email protected]
Sandra is a Bay Area native born in San Francisco, CA. She earned an architecture degree from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, however, finding her skills more useful in other areas, she changed her focus to filmmaking after producing "La Vida Loca." Afterwards, she enrolled at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA and continued working on more film projects including "Threat to Society" and other successful short films. She served as president of the DVC Film Club for one semester and produced the award winning film, “Take Five”. Working a year as a film editor and videographer for an audio/video studio in Emeryville, CA, she now works as a full time producer for Aztek Studio Films.
