Luis Gabriel Beristáin is a Mexican cinematographer, producer, and television director.
He is an active member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
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Early life
Beristain was born in Mexico City, the son of actor Luis Beristáin. His interest in filmmaking began with his involvement in Mexico's independent film scene in the seventies. He studied Engineering at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, and later joined a new film studies program at the school, while also producing audiovisual training materials for the health department.
Beristain had a son born in 1980 who lived in Austria and died in 2000.
After filming a number of documentaries, he founded a small commercial production company, before moving to Italy in 1977. At the recommendation of director Sergio Leone, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where he enrolled in the prestigious National Film and Television School, which accepted only 25 students a year. He was one of only five foreigners to be accepted into the school, and studied cinematography under Oswald Morris and Billy Williams.
