Joaquin Baldwin grew up in Paraguay. But, as a 19-year-old, he made his move to the US, heading first to Ohio for college, then LA for graduate school. Enrolling in The UCLA Animation Workshop, Baldwin began working on his animated films. By 2006, he released two shorts, Placenta and Alphamorphosis, which feature a signature “poetic, silent narrative.” Papiroflexia (2007) came next.

Papiroflexia (“origami” in Spanish) plays felicitously with the concept of changing the world through art, and the critics greeted it warmly. The film won 22 awards and honors overall. Even better, it was named a finalist in the Short Film Corner competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, Baldwin took another step forward with Sebastian’s Voodoo, a darker film with a more cinematic quality.

Sebastian’s Voodoo landed an even longer list of awards, despite sometimes facing competition from Pixar and Disney. Then the big coup. Baldwin re-entered the same competition at Cannes where he was a finalist the year before, and this time landed the big prize. You can watch (and even download) Baldwin’s films — including his latest one, The Windmill Farmer — at PixelNitrate.com.

Dan Colman edits Open Culture, which brings you the best free educational media available on the web — free online courses, audio books, movies and more. By day, he directs the Continuing Studies Program at Stanford University, and you can also find him on Twitter.