About our President
Director, Producer, Writer, Actor and CEO/President
Biography: Graduated with a Masters Degree in Mass Communications/Cinema Production from CSUN, UCLA and LACC; our President has shot, written, directed, and produced films both narrative and documentaries. Her cinematography and directorial experience ranges from working in Super 8 to 16mm to High Definition digital photography in all of her short films. Her mentors have included the late renowned cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs (Easy Rider, Shampoo, Two Weeks Notice); producer and past president of IFP and WIF, Barbara Boyle (Phenomenon, My Left Foot, Hamlet, Eight Men Out) now Chair of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and director Graeme Clifford (Frances, The Last Don, Caracara) among the many. As a young girl she acquired her interest for movies from her mother who would religiously take her to the hometown theater every Sunday to watch the Sunday matinee special. Her interest shifted to study Spanish Classical Theater with San Juan’s most renowned acting teacher, Victoria Espinoza. As an actress, she worked in many motion pictures with directors like Walter Hill, Michael Mann, Mike Figgis, Graeme Clifford and many more, as well as stars like Richard Gere, Liam Neeson and Andy McDowell. She was also a featured dancer in the syndicated television show “Soul Train.” The highlight of her theatrical/stage career came when renowned film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli hand-picked her out of 100 actresses/singers to play the part of the symbolic “bride” in the L.A. Opera production of “Pagliacci” with Placido Domingo. Our President has received many prestigious awards such as the “Lucy” Award Scholarship from Women In Film presented to the top emerging filmmakers throughout the U.S. for their promise in the industry; the Latin Business Association Fellowship; the Leadership in Business Award; Frank Chin Award and the UCLA Professor of Military Science’s Superior Achievement Award. Her thesis “Dogma L.A., the New Wave of New Millennium Filmmaking” – a study of new digital technologies and options for filmmakers, was presented at her university’s Annual Research Symposium. Her films have participated in film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, and in a nationwide search for Latino artists, she was selected to attend the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) Leadership Institute held in San Antonio, Texas. The next year her films would be featured at a special exclusive screening night at NALAC’s Annual Conference, in Kansas City, Missouri. Her screenplay, El Baile, was a finalist in the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) Desi Arnaz competition out of 350 submissions nationwide and the festival also selected her film and featured it in their Emerging Talent Showcase. Our President’s hard work was recognized by the largest film festival in the world when the Berlin Film Festival selected her out of 3600 filmmakers from all over the world to represent the U.S. and Puerto Rico at the Berlin Film Festival’s Talent Campus. At the same time, in Los Angeles, her film would preview at the Magic Johnson Theaters. Her speaking engagements in new independent filmmaking technologies range from a panel in independent filmmaking for the annual conference of the International Theatrical Exhibitors Association (ITEA) held at Universal Studios, to the Entertainment Industry Institute of California State University, Northridge, to NALAC’s Annual Conference Filmmaking Panels. Our President was inducted into Phi Beta Delta, the international honor society for scholars to which personalities such as Colin Powell and New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson belong.
Nominations & Awards
Shattered Dance - Drama
My Encounter - Drama
Jamaican Market Women - Drama
The Joke - Drama
Just Another Skateboarder - Experimental
The Corporacion - Comedy
Calling God - Drama
L A Poverty Department - Documentary
Global Children Organization - Documentary
A Mother's Cry - Docudrama
The Road to the Oscars - Documentary
Seeing Sarah - Drama
Director, Producer, Writer, Actor and CEO/President
Biography: Graduated with a Masters Degree in Mass Communications/Cinema Production from CSUN, UCLA and LACC; our President has shot, written, directed, and produced films both narrative and documentaries. Her cinematography and directorial experience ranges from working in Super 8 to 16mm to High Definition digital photography in all of her short films. Her mentors have included the late renowned cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs (Easy Rider, Shampoo, Two Weeks Notice); producer and past president of IFP and WIF, Barbara Boyle (Phenomenon, My Left Foot, Hamlet, Eight Men Out) now Chair of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and director Graeme Clifford (Frances, The Last Don, Caracara) among the many. As a young girl she acquired her interest for movies from her mother who would religiously take her to the hometown theater every Sunday to watch the Sunday matinee special. Her interest shifted to study Spanish Classical Theater with San Juan’s most renowned acting teacher, Victoria Espinoza. As an actress, she worked in many motion pictures with directors like Walter Hill, Michael Mann, Mike Figgis, Graeme Clifford and many more, as well as stars like Richard Gere, Liam Neeson and Andy McDowell. She was also a featured dancer in the syndicated television show “Soul Train.” The highlight of her theatrical/stage career came when renowned film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli hand-picked her out of 100 actresses/singers to play the part of the symbolic “bride” in the L.A. Opera production of “Pagliacci” with Placido Domingo. Our President has received many prestigious awards such as the “Lucy” Award Scholarship from Women In Film presented to the top emerging filmmakers throughout the U.S. for their promise in the industry; the Latin Business Association Fellowship; the Leadership in Business Award; Frank Chin Award and the UCLA Professor of Military Science’s Superior Achievement Award. Her thesis “Dogma L.A., the New Wave of New Millennium Filmmaking” – a study of new digital technologies and options for filmmakers, was presented at her university’s Annual Research Symposium. Her films have participated in film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, and in a nationwide search for Latino artists, she was selected to attend the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) Leadership Institute held in San Antonio, Texas. The next year her films would be featured at a special exclusive screening night at NALAC’s Annual Conference, in Kansas City, Missouri. Her screenplay, El Baile, was a finalist in the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) Desi Arnaz competition out of 350 submissions nationwide and the festival also selected her film and featured it in their Emerging Talent Showcase. Our President’s hard work was recognized by the largest film festival in the world when the Berlin Film Festival selected her out of 3600 filmmakers from all over the world to represent the U.S. and Puerto Rico at the Berlin Film Festival’s Talent Campus. At the same time, in Los Angeles, her film would preview at the Magic Johnson Theaters. Her speaking engagements in new independent filmmaking technologies range from a panel in independent filmmaking for the annual conference of the International Theatrical Exhibitors Association (ITEA) held at Universal Studios, to the Entertainment Industry Institute of California State University, Northridge, to NALAC’s Annual Conference Filmmaking Panels. Our President was inducted into Phi Beta Delta, the international honor society for scholars to which personalities such as Colin Powell and New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson belong.
Nominations & Awards
- Women in Film Crystal/Lucy Awards Spotlight
- Women In Film Lucy Award Scholarship Winner
- Berlin Film Festival Talent Campus Talent
- National Association of Latino Arts&Culture Leadership Institute
- L.A. Latino Int Film Festival Writing Competition Finalist
- L.A. Latino Int Film Festival Emerging Talent Showcase
- Leadership in Business Award
- Latin Business Foundation Fellow
- UCLA Professor of Military Science Superior Achievement Award
- California State University Fellow
Shattered Dance - Drama
My Encounter - Drama
Jamaican Market Women - Drama
The Joke - Drama
Just Another Skateboarder - Experimental
The Corporacion - Comedy
Calling God - Drama
L A Poverty Department - Documentary
Global Children Organization - Documentary
A Mother's Cry - Docudrama
The Road to the Oscars - Documentary
Seeing Sarah - Drama
