Armando Ibañez is a filmmaker and activist from Acapulco, Mexico, based in Los Angeles, CA. At the age of seven, he developed a passion for film while watching Mexican cinema from the 1950s. After earning his GED and an Associate’s degree in Film and TV Production from Cerritos College, Ibañez began building a body of work rooted in authentic, community-centered storytelling.

He created the award-winning web series Undocumented Tales (2016–2023), a groundbreaking narrative exploring the life of an undocumented and queer server in Los Angeles. The series received critical acclaim, earning multiple nominations at the Los Angeles Web Festival, including Outstanding Writing, Directing, and Drama Series, with Ibañez winning Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2019, he received the Immigrants Rising Entrepreneurship Fund to complete the third season. Over four seasons, Undocumented Tales was screened nationwide at universities, community spaces, and film festivals, including Outfest, and has been used to spark conversations around migration, identity, and LGBTQ+ experiences.

In 2020, Ibañez founded Ibanez Productions to amplify stories from underrepresented communities. That same year, he was selected as a Sundance Institute Uprise Fellow and a Screenwriting Disruptors Fellow with the Center for Cultural Power. His commitment to visibility and care-driven storytelling continued with TransLatin@ Migrations, a short documentary series highlighting the experiences of immigrant transgender women.

Ibañez has collaborated with organizations including Immigrants Rising, The Center for Cultural Power, The TransLatin@ Coalition, Familia: TQLM, and Lush Cosmetics. His recent work includes Hola, Santiago, a queer immigrant coming-of-age love story that screened at film festivals worldwide and is now available online. In 2025, he directed the music video La Cumbia del Movimiento, featuring Bamby Salcedo, celebrating movement-building, joy, and resilience within trans and immigrant communities.

Also in 2025, Ibañez was awarded the EastSide Arts Initiative Spring/Summer Grant to produce his latest short film, Her Last Day in the U.S., which follows an elderly undocumented mother who decides to return to her home country after nearly 40 years in the United States. The film is scheduled to premiere in 2026.

As a multifaceted storyteller deeply connected to immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, Ibañez remains committed to creating work that centers dignity, care, and lived experience through film and digital media.