Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual Latinx documentary filmmaker, festival programmer, and freelance journalist based in Philadelphia.
In Post-Production
Expanding Sanctuary
EXPERTISE
Filmmaker
Kristal is in post-production on Expanding Sanctuary, which began through the Film Scholars Fellowship with Scribe Video Center, co-sponsored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. Kristal’s work has been supported by the MDOCS Storytellers’ Institute Visiting Fellowship, If/Then North Shorts Residency, DCTV Docu Work-In-Progress Lab, Justice For My Sister Sci-Fi TV Screenwriting Lab, Good Pitch Local: Philadelphia Lab, and NeXtDoc Fellowship. They are a member of the filmmaking collectives SIFT Media 215 and Brown Girls Doc Mafia.
Festival Programmer
They serve as the Programming Director of the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival and have assisted with curation for the “Spotlight on Documentaries” at IFP Week, Camden International Film Festival, Philadelphia Film Festival, and the award-winning PBS documentary series POV | American Documentary. Through their work, they have served as Curator/Juror for the 2021 Tri-Co Film Festival and were on the Jury Committee for Narrative and Documentary Shorts for the 2020 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival.
INVESTIGATIVE Journalist
They are a Co-Founder/Journalist for ¡Presente! Media, a creative collective and production cooperative led by Latinx filmmakers that produce bilingual content focused on social justice. Kristal’s journalistic background includes having written for ITVS, AL DÍA, Autostraddle, WHYY, The Points Guy, Submittable and Documentary Magazine. Kristal is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, and TIME’S UP Critical Database.
Film Critic
Kristal writes the Latinx cinema column “Cine alzando voz” and serves on the Editorial Board for the film journal cinéSPEAK. They are an awardee of the Sundance Institute’s Press Inclusion Initiative, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Press Inclusion Initiative, AARP Freelance Fellowship at NLGJA | The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, the inaugural International Documentary Association (IDA) Magazine Editorial Fellowship, and a Lenfest Next Generation Fund awardee.
Community Media
Drawing inspiration from their Peruvian heritage, Kristal’s community-based work practice focuses on Latinidad, immigration, and belonging. Formerly, Kristal was the Communications and Outreach Coordinator at the community media arts organization Scribe Video Center. They have received leadership training from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Advocacy Leadership Institute and the Arts + Business Council [Virtual] Creative Exchange Program.
RELEASED 2017
To My Motherland
Video Production
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
WRITING
‘And She Could Be Next’: A New Look At Women of Color in Politics – Documentary Magazine
And She Could Be Next, is a two-part docuseries directed by Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia, follows the campaigns of six women of color running for US public office. Read More
Meet The Creators of the Film Produced with ‘Mucho Mucho Amor’ – AL DÍA
Everyday, Walter Mercado would grace the screens of Latinx homes across the globe. Mucho Mucho Amor traces Mercado’s legacy and documents his final moments. Read More
Pa’ Encima: Documentary Filmmaking En La Isla de Puerto Rico – Documentary Magazine
For filmmakers from Puerto Rico, access to funding is limited due to sovereignty—oftentimes unable to apply for funds in Latin American or the US. Read More
Growing Up With “Mucho Mucho Amor”: How Walter Mercado Defined My Life – Autostraddle
Growing up, there was always a magical wizard on primetime Latin American television. Read More
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