About Raafi Rivero
Director, Writer, Photographer, etc.
1st person: I can’t stop looking at the sky. Or anyplace else.
If it involves making strong decisions about the way something looks or communicates, then that is what I do. Thank you for visiting.
R
- elsewhere:
- Unarmed
- The Color Machine
- Twitterfollow!
- Instagramfollow!
- visual links


3rd person: Raafi Rivero has directed numerous short films, advertisements, and music videos in addition to work in design. His directing credits include a suite of promos for HBO, content for Microsoft, Sony, The Rockefeller Foundation, and an hourlong documentary for Prudential. Their Eyes Were Watching Gummy Bears, his 2010 short film, played more than 20 film festivals, winning honors in multiple cities. Raafi’s music videos have millions of views, including works for Styles P and Ghostface Killah. 72 Hours: a Brooklyn Love Story?, Raafi’s first feature film, premiered at the LA Film Festival in 2016 and is currently streaming on Amazon.
Unarmed, a yearslong meditation on racist violence, is Raafi's first foray into the art world. The project, comprised of sports jerseys dedicated to victims of police shootings, has been featured on several TV outlets across the country and in the YouTube Originals special Black Renaissance. Print articles about Unarmed have appeared in Design Observer, Yahoo! Sports, and the New York Times.
Raafi holds an MFA in Film from Howard University and a BA in Art/Semiotics from Brown University. He was recently an adjunct professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Silence.
for Trayvon & Sandra & Tamir & Eric & Amadou & Emmett & & & ∞
action: unarmed.co

Selected Appearances, Lectures, Panels, Podcasts, etc.:
Academy Museum – 2021, Leon Gallery – 2021, Voices of Esalen – 2020, Stretch and Bobbito – 2020, Chasing the Frame – 2020, Columbia University – 2019, Milwaukee Film Festival – 2019, Howard University – 2018, NBA Desktop – 2018, Parsons – 2017, OnAir Fest – 2017, Milwaukee Film Festival – 2016, WxW Stories – 2016, Handfull of Wheel – 2016

Ideas a-go-go.
Hire me.