Renato Umali

Teaching Faculty I, Film, Video, Animation and New Genres

Education

MFA, Film, UW-Milwaukee
BA, Music, Northwestern University

Biography

Renato Umali is a performer, filmmaker, and musician. He wrote and directed the annual Umali Awards, an absurdist re-imagining of an Oscars-style awards ceremony. His most recent films is Ditat Deus Donuts (2021), a study of the presentation and understanding of the American Southwest in the popular video game, American Truck Simulator. His ongoing interactive work, “I Learn Something New Every Single Day,” was profiled in Drawing From Life, the Art of the Visual Journal by Jennifer New (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005). As a musician, he performs live piano accompaniment for silent film, and has collaborated with other filmmakers by composing soundtracks. He also teaches classical piano. At UWM, he teaches Film Score Studio, Multicultural America, Animation for the Web, and Intro to Digital Arts.

Recent Work

Ditat Deus Donuts, 2021