Punk, Advertising, and an Unfinished Story with Michaela De Prince

A.F. Cortés began his career as a Creative Director and has since evolved into a photographer and filmmaker, moving between advertising, underground music, and film. Alongside brand work, he has documented punk scenes, directed music videos, and developed documentaries and TV series — always chasing stories that cut deeper than the campaign. In conversation with Black Week co-founder Adan Romero, EVP/ECD at Razorfish and Cannes Lion–winning creative leader, Cortés reflects on how those worlds collide in an unfinished collaboration with ballerina Michaela De Prince. Created in quiet moments between takes, the photographs reveal not just Michaela’s artistry and humanity, but the power of going “beyond the brief” into work that lives in tension — between commerce and art, chaos and grace, the seen and unseen.