Zachary Laoutides

Zachary Laoutides (born December 13, 1986) is an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois. In 2014, he co-founded independent film company Ave Fenix Pictures, the first Latino film studio in Chicago and originator of an art house filmmaking style known as "la raza". Inspired by La raza cósmica, this technique involves working together with the urban youth in recreating their own stories, regardless of film background.His first starring role was in the film Adiós Vaya con Dios (2014), which earned him nominations for Best Actor and Best Screenplay at the Bel Air Film Festival. He also wrote and acted in Ave Fenix Pictures' Arise from Darkness (2018), based on the story of psychic Lázaro Rubén Torres, and Black Ruby (2019), claimed to be the "first feature to be shot on an iPhone 7."