Josef Kubota Wladyka was born the youngest of three sons. His Japanese mother and Polish father share a deep passion for dance, photography, and cinema. They influenced him to begin experimenting with filmmaking in high school. Since then, his short films and commercials have been screened at festivals around the world and on Jet Blue Airlines; granting him a nomination for a Young Director's award and the Porsche student advertising award. Wladyka is a Faculty Fellow, and recipient of the Spike Lee Fellowship Award at NYU's Tisch Gradate Film School. "Manos Sucias" [2014] is his feature film debut. When not working, Josef can be found on the Brooklyn basketball courts, typically losing to teenagers.