Empowering the World's Documentarians

Asael Talavera

(Asael)

Documentary Director, Banahna Productions

El Progreso, Departamento de Yoro HN

Available for Freelance

Open To Mentoring

Open To Virtual Coffee

About

Born in the city of Danlí, Honduras, in 1984, Asael Talavera earned his degree in systems engineering from the Catholic University of Honduras. Currently residing in El Progreso (HND), he works as a consultant in digital products for non-profit organizations. His interest in cinema sparked during his university years, and this passion led him to self-educate in audiovisual production through YouTube videos. What started as a hobby turned into a more serious endeavor in 2016 when he founded Banahana Productions — a production company dedicated to giving voice to untold

Featured Work

APINÁN (WE THE LENCA)

APINÁN (Nosotros Los Lencas) is an introspective artistic study on one of the original peoples of Honduras, the Lenca. Of pre-Columbian South American origins, the Lenca and their culture are kept alive by a community of 600,000. Every Honduran with indigenous blood has Lenca ancestry. APINÁN lives beyond mountains and cultivated meadows, wildflowers, tile and adobe, and remnants of a colonial past. A palpable dignity and savoir faire inherited from generation to generation distinguish the Lenca people. The documentary short is an encounter with Lenca life, as introduced by Elisa Euceda, a potter for generations. She casts a light on their day to day, origins, beliefs, customs, and rites (La Vara Alta, las composturas). Elisa is a single mother who sculpts the sustenance and dignity of her home. The voice of our Lenca brothers and sisters, through APINÁN, reminds us of our forgotten roots behind contemporary tragedies: corruption, drug trafficking, violence, globalization; and after the centuries-old grandeur of the colonial heritage. APINÁN is our common living memory of a dignified people, with traditions, hierarchies, order, and rites.

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BANANA DAYS

BANANA DAYS - HONDURAS 1900 🇭🇳 The "Banana Days" 🍌 in Honduras at the beginning of the 20th century marked a chapter as exciting as it was crucial in the national economic history. It was an era of profound changes that radically transformed the lives of Hondurans. In a massive exodus, they left the impoverished colonial enclaves to head north, specifically to the Sula Valley. In this inhospitable and undeveloped corner of Honduras, it became the promised land where the hope of finding employment and prosperity turned into a tangible reality.

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Solid Waste - Honduras

The solid waste video addresses the waste management project undertaken by municipalities and residents of the Goascoran River basin region in Honduras. Several sites were visited to highlight the damage caused by the lack of absolute control over solid waste management, impacting nearby rivers and watersheds.

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