About Christian Vergara
Christian Vergara is a Chicago-based film director and content marketing strategist who also works in concept development. He founded Round3 Films and leads film and content strategy at Department of Growth.
His work spans brands, music and entertainment, and venture-backed startups, including Theragun (spec), Adobe Stock, Chance the Rapper × Lyrical Lemonade, Modelo × LA Galaxy, Snapchat, BlockFills and REVOLT TV. He is also a producer and head of marketing on the feature film Admissions, starring Ben Wang and Minnie Mills.
My parents moved here from the Philippines in the early ’90s to build the life they’d dreamed of. Part of that dream was giving my sisters and me the chance to see the world. It started with day trips around Illinois, then road trips across the US, and eventually trips abroad. On every one of them, my dad was the one with the camera, documenting the moments between my mom, my sisters and me.
Watching him do that, and watching the two of them build the life they wanted here, made me want to do the same. So I picked up a camera and started filming my own friends and family. I fell so hard for it that I walked away from pre-dental and went all in on film, much to their disapproval (understandably).
That decision has taken me all over the world, filming across industries and cultures. I’m drawn to world-building and pacing: slow, deliberate, human-centered stories that build into fast, kinetic cuts, and work that takes on something abstract and complex while staying grounded in something deeply human.
Then, I started learning marketing and sales almost out of necessity. An early dry spell taught me the hard way that sometimes the work doesn’t speak for itself. You have to know how to pitch it, package it and sell it. That’s why I’ve pitched and overseen large campaigns and built in-house content systems for brands and startups.
Directing, producing, strategy, building the systems behind the work: each one makes me better at the others. Right now I’m sharpening that voice in deep tech, vehicles and adventure work, alongside short and narrative films.
When I’m not working, I’m probably adventuring in another state or country, sleeping in hostels, striking up conversations with locals or catching a sunset. Or I’m back home getting friends and family together for a movie night or some kind of side quest.
In high school I heard a Les Brown speech that has shaped how I live ever since. He asks you to picture yourself on your deathbed, surrounded by the ghosts of every dream, idea and talent you never acted on. They say: “We came to you, and only you could have given us life. Now we must die with you forever.”
A bit intense, a bit romantic. But I can’t see life any other way. Lean in. Try new things. Why not.
- role
- Film Director · Content Marketing Strategist · Concept Development
- work
- Round3 Films · Department of Growth
- years
- 2016 — present
- based in
- Chicago
press
- The Wall Street Journal — RichieBot (Director & Producer) read
- Deadline Exclusive — Admissions (Producer & Head of Marketing) read
- Little Black Book — The Directors (Director) read
- Frameset — Theragun (Director & Creative Director) read
- Little Black Book — Theragun (Director & Creative Director) read
awards & festivals
- New York Latino Film Festival — Becoming Leon (Director) read
- NY Doc Film Festival — Becoming Leon (Director)
- Independent Shorts Awards — Word of Mouth (Co-Director & Cinematographer)
- Global Film Festival Awards — Word of Mouth (Co-Director & Cinematographer)
- Dreamachine IFF — Word of Mouth (Co-Director & Cinematographer)
selected work
- Theragun — Slow Down to Speed Up
- BlockFills — Find Liquidity
- Adobe Stock — Childlike Imagination
- Anak
- RichieBot: Modern Day Legacy
- Modelo × LA Galaxy — Legacy Lives Here
- Sonny — Backwoods & House Shoes
- betterknownas — Check
- DryBoy — Blood on the Floor
- Chance the Rapper — Juice
- Chavi — Becoming Leon
- DryBoy — Alone and Alive
- Admissions
- The Crew League × Snapchat
- Aberdeen Story Company
- Department of Growth
- Round3 Films — Founded, Directed, and Produced