Antonio Riestra

Antonio Riestra ASC, AEC, ACK Director of Photography February 1969 From B & W stills developed and printed in his home garage to multi camera large feature film projects and all those in between, Antonio has developed a fluid intuition and adaptability to collaborate in different genres, budgets, countries and languages. Antonio is a self taught cinematographer that came through the ranks from being a loader to a focus puller to an operator in Amores Perros to a 2nd Unit DP in Frida. His main unit feature DP career began in Prague with the film Normal directed by Julius Sevcik for which he was nominated for a Czech Lion, this took him to the deep Catalunya with Agusti Villaronga in "Pa Negre" which awarded him a Goya and a Gaudi award. Then to The Face of Love in LA directed by Arie Posin and performed by Annette Benning and Ed Harris. Mama directed by Andy Muschietti and produced by Guillermo del Toro opened a whole other world for Antonio which brought the Last Knights with Kaz Kiriya and Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen an action film taking place in an inclusive Medieval realm. In the past few years he has collaborated with Akiva Goldsman (A beautiful mind) on Stephanie, Juan José Campanella (The secret in her eyes Oscar winner) in a TV show The Envoys and also with Adrian Grunberg (Rambo: Last Blood) on Black Demon and now Bandits for Netflix which is set to stream at the beginning of 2024 as well as Avenue of the Giants written and directed by Finn Taylor and produced by Jeanine Samuel. Antonio has evolved to empathize with very different stories and always being able to instrument a different cinematic language and visual grammar for each. He has learned from all his Director friends very different forms of storytelling.

What are Antonio Riestra's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.

Genres

Drama4 titles49^th

Action3 titles50^th

Horror3 titles8^th

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight

Survival

36%

Bonds

23%

Self

20%

Morality

16%

Society

2%

Ideas

2%

Survival4 Grief4 Family bonds4 Trauma3 Justice2 Identity2 Romantic love2 Coming of age2

What they feel like to watch

their average across 13 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 13

Dark

Tone · Weight

lightdark

Light 1 · Serious 3 · Dark 9

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 8 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 1

Charged

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 7 · Intense 6

Shifting

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Even-paced

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 0

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 1

Affecting

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 6

Open-ended

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

10

Dread

6

Melancholic

6

Contemplative

3

Hopeful

2

Other

5

How their films linger

Unsettling6 Bittersweet5 Haunting4 Hopeful3 Thought-provoking4 Cathartic2

How their films end · 4 with a twist

Bittersweet6
Tragic2
Ambiguous5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Antonio Riestra's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

FlixLatino2 titles, show their 2 titles on FlixLatino
Howdy1 title, show their title on Howdy
MovieSphere+1 title, show their title on MovieSphere+
Sundance Now1 title, show their title on Sundance Now
ViX1 title, show their title on ViX

Subscription and free streaming for Antonio Riestra's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

20 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page.

The Containment(2024)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Cinematographer
The Mistress(2022)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
The Black Demon(2023)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
The Optimist: The Bravest Act Is Truth(2023)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Carta Blanca(2021)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Cabarete(2019)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Bachelors(2017)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Stephanie(2017)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Eloise(2016)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Last Knights(2015)
Camera Operator · Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Captureland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Cinematographer
The Face of Love(2013)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Mama(2013)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Kathmandu Lullaby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Cinematographer
The Butcher of Prague (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Camera Operator · Cinematographer
Black Bread(2010)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Normal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Cinematographer
Deep Blue Sea(1999)
First Assistant Camera
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
The Edge of the Earth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Assistant Director of Photography

Career shape

A full career of 17 titles from 1995 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Mama (2013)

$146M worldwide

Highest rated

Black Bread (2010)

Midcredits 79^th

By role

only this rolewith another role

Cinematography16 of 17 · 41^stOther crew3 of 17

By decade

1990s2 · crew2000s1 · crew2010s10 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Antonio Riestra's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 48^th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 47^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

47^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 13

Approval · how many liked their films

48^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 13

Reach · how many have seen their films

80^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 13

Midcredits score across 14 titles, by percentile

75^th and up3
50^th to 74^th3
25^th to 49^th4
Below 25^th4

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 14 titles are Mixed.

Universally Panned2
Loved with Detractors1
Cult Classic1
Crowd Pleaser3
Broadly Agreed3
Mixed4

Most divisive · cinematographer

Carta Blanca (2021)

93^rd percentile spread · 20% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Black Bread (2010)

Midcredits 79^th · 71% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 63/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 73, detractors 40. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Antonio Riestra's work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles

Violence & Gore5 titles41–69 · median 62 · intenseheavier than most films

Sex & Nudity6 titles18–35 · median 22 · mildnear the median of all films

Profanity5 titles27–75 · median 49 · moderateheavier than most films

Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 34 · mild

Frightening / Intense5 titles58–79 · median 64 · intenseheavier than most films

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Antonio Riestra work with?

People who share at least 2 of Antonio Riestra's MovieCove titles; Harold Perrineau shares the most, 2.

Harold Perrineau2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Harold Perrineau