Having earned a First Class BA Honours degree in Fine Arts from Central Saint Martins College of Art in London, Lina Dorado continued studies in film direction at Columbia University in New York, graduating with an MFA degree.
Dorado has taught Art Theory at Middlesex University. She worked as a Teaching Assistant for the world-renowned film critic Andrew Sarris in an International Film History course at Columbia University, as well as a class on Tibetan Film with Professor Robert Barnett. At Saint Martin’s in London, Dorado was taught by Jeff Wall and Graham Ellard. In New York, she was a student of NY Film Festival Director, Richard Pena, and Hollywood producer and screenwriter, James Schamus.
Dorado has collaborated with artist Luis Cantillo since 1994, exhibiting large format photography and video work around the world. In 2004, they published a photographic book entitled Doble Vista (Second Sight), celebrating their tenth anniversary of artistic collaboration. It was purchased by MOMA and the Whitney Museum for their Artists’ Book Collection.
Dorado has won numerous awards: Best Director Award Columbia University (New York, 2004); First Prize Fine Arts Short Film New Screen TV (USA, 2006); II Bienal Inter-Americana de Video (Washington D.C., 2004) and File Festival (Brazil, 2004).
Dorado and Cantillo’s work has been exhibited at the Latin Collector Gallery in New York; Alliance Française, Museo de Arte de la Universidad Nacional; Metropolitan Museum of Art NY; Brooklyn Museum; Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango Museo del Oro and the Casas Reigner Gallery in Bogotá, among others.
Their award-winning animated short film 2AM, Two Around the Mountain premiered in 2005 at the Brooklyn Museum and was shown the same year at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Dorado also directed the feature documentary about Dalai Lama’s historic visit to Colombia in 2007, as well as Carnival Project (a collaboration between nine international female directors) and Poporo. In 2007, she started her own production company, Illusory World Productions.