In 1995, Elena began studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising Communication at Universidad ORT Uruguay. In 1998, she worked at the advertising agency AVISA. In 1999, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising Communication, and in 2002, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Audiovisual Communication.
After graduating from high school, Elena saw a brochure from the School of Communication and Design announcing the launch of the Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising Communication. “I didn’t know that what I liked could be studied,” she recalled.
He said he had some excellent teachers and added, “Some teachers really opened my mind.” He recalled, for example, that in a writing workshop, the teacher told him not to “write so correctly.”
In both the Bachelor’s program in Advertising Communication and the Audiovisual program, Elena formed “wonderful study groups and circles of friends” that she still maintains today.
In 1998, through her college, she began working in the Creative Writing and Production department at the AVISA Agency. “While working at the agency as a creative and writing scripts, I realized that it’s actually the production company—not the agency—that brings the idea to life.”
She later worked as a freelance producer at several production companies before devoting herself entirely to her own business.
From 2002 to 2004, he worked as an art assistant on the television series produced by Detaquito Films for Montecarlo Televisión: *Uruguayos Campeones*, *Constructores*, and *Mañana será otro día*.
In 2003, together with two colleagues from ORT, Hernán Rodríguez and Alejandro Norman, they founded Aceituna Films. “At the company, we try to combine these two areas: creative writing for screenplays and audiovisual production.”
“Aceituna Films was founded with the goal of producing a children’s television show about science and technology called *How Things Work*. Thanks to that pilot episode, doors began to open for us and opportunities arose, and we started producing educational videos explaining industrial processes,” recalled Elena, who currently serves as Production Director at Aceituna Films.
Recently, his company was selected, following a call for proposals from the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII), to produce the television series *Neurona* (13 programmes) and a website—neuronatv.com—where users can upload science-related videos.
In 2008, Aceituna Films was selected by the Inter-American Development Bank/Multilateral Investment Fund (IDB/MIF) to produce a series of testimonial documentaries across seven Central American countries. It was the production company’s first international project, which meant that Elena spent more than two months traveling through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, gathering testimonies from 60 beneficiaries of IDB/MIF projects in that region of the continent.
Elena has very fond memories of her college years: “The film shoots, the teamwork, and the communication conferences. I even fondly remember climbing stairs while carrying equipment.”