Bilingual Documentary Filmmaker, Cinematographer, & Editor
Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual (English & Spanish) filmmaker, cinematographer, and editor based in Philadelphia. Currently, she is the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for Scribe Video Center and a Programmer with the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival. In addition, she is working on a documentary about the undocumented immigrant community in Philadelphia.
SYNOPSIS
A non-existent piece of paper is the difference between a family and a broken home. A daughter discovers that her mom is an undocumented immigrant. As this harsh reality sets in, she searches desperately for any means to prevent her mother’s separation. Only a document threatens her mother’s belonging. MORE→
SYNOPSIS
To My Motherland is a personal essay film that blends personal photographs and home videos to explore the complexities of immigration, language, and returning to the motherland. MORE→
SYNOPSIS
Correinte, which means “current” of air or water in Spanish, is a bilingual personal essay film that documents the memories, imagination, and ideas of a young Latina women learning to navigate her identity. MORE→
Supported by the Hanna Holborn Gray Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Bryn Mawr College.
The Hanna Holborn Gray Undergraduate Research Fellowship is a highly selective program giving 15 fellows a $4,500 stipend to spend the summer, under the guidance of a faculty advisor, conducting independent research. My research, “Translation of Chifa in Chinatown in Lima, Peru”, examines the history and importance of chifa, or Peruvian Chinese food. I spent two months researching, networking, and scouting locations to film four interviews with prominent Chinatown chefs and restaurant owners in Peru to create a documentary film on chifa. My research was presented at Bryn Mawr College as well as at the University of Pennsylvania Honors Diversity (PhD) Symposium (9/29/2016 to 10/1/2016).
Supported by the Film Scholar Fellowship Program through Scribe Video Center. Special support for this program is provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The fellowship awards a full tuition scholarship to the inaugural class of Scribes Film Scholar’s program, a new comprehensive series of documentary production workshops. The program develops the skills to plan, raise funds, produce and complete new documentary media works. My documentary will be on undocumented immigration in the Greater Philadelphia Area.
Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual (Spanish + English) documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and video editor based in Philadelphia. Read Kristal’s Submittable article titled Filmmaking After Film School.
Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual (Spanish + English) documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and video editor based in Philadelphia. Read about the screening of To My Motherland at the May Philly Film Showcase as part of the Philadelphia Film Society.
Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual (Spanish + English) documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and video editor based in Philadelphia. Read about the screening of To My Motherland at the Newark International Film Festival.
