Humanity is First — Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Revisited

About this episode

The episode revisits a conversation with Alejandro González Iñárritu about his work in storytelling and virtual reality, focusing on empathy and migration.

Today, we’re re-releasing a favorite conversation and a 2024 Webby Award-nominated episode with acclaimed Mexican filmmaker, Alejandro González Iñárritu. Iñárritu is best known for directing Oscar-winning films like Birdman and The Revenant , but today, we discuss his work beyond Hollywood. Unpacking Carne y Arena , a groundbreaking virtual-reality installation centered on the lived experiences of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, Alejandro embodies a storyteller who creates to evoke empathy and humanity. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org . To get your copy of Charlie’s book, The Future of Storytelling , visit thefutureofstorytelling.com/home . -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Tsuki Carlson in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Alejandro González Iñárritu, Madison Brown, David Gray, Bonnie Eldon, and Megan Worman.

People in this episode

Host: Charles Melcher

Guest: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Topics covered

• virtual reality
• storytelling
• empathy
• migration
• film

Keywords

• Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Carne y Arena
• virtual reality
• migration
• empathy
• storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Books & works: Birdman, The Revenant, Carne y Arena

Places: U.S.-Mexico, New York

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