About

ABOUT

Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual Latinx documentary filmmaker, programmer and curator, and journalist and film critic based in Philadelphia, PA.

Artist Bio


Kristal Sotomayor (they/she) is a nonbinary bilingual Latinx documentary filmmaker, festival programmer, awards manager, and journalist based in Philadelphia. Drawing inspiration from their Peruvian heritage, Kristal’s community-based work practice focuses on Latinidad, immigration, and belonging. They practice transformative filmmaking that humanizes and validates the lived experiences of underrepresented communities.

Currently, Kristal is in production on EXPANDING SANCTUARY, an independent short documentary about the historic end to police surveillance organized by nonprofit Juntos and the Latinx immigrant community in South Philadelphia. They are also in development on a animated short docu-fiction film called ALX THROUGH THE LABYRINTH that take a dive into the nonbinary Latinx Alice In Wonderland-like reality of contracting COVID-19; from the symptoms of vertigo to sensory loss and the labyrinth of seeking treatment. Kristal’s work has been supported by the If/Then North Shorts Residency, MDOCS Storytellers’ Institute Visiting Fellowship, DCTV Docu Work-In-Progress Lab, Justice For My Sister Sci-Fi TV Screenwriting Lab, BAVC Serial Storytellers Lab, Scribe Video Center Film Scholars Fellowship, Good Pitch Local: Philadelphia Lab, and NeXtDoc Fellowship. They are an organizer for The Video Consortium: Philadelphia and a member of the filmmaking collectives SIFT Media 215 and Brown Girls Doc Mafia.

Kristal is also a Programmer for the True/False Film Fest, San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM), and Frameline: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Formerly, they served as the Awards Competition Manager for the IDA Documentary Awards, the world’s most distinguished event dedicated exclusively to the documentary genre. They were a union organizer for Documentary Workers United (DWU), the union that represents IDA bargaining unit employees, and are working to secure the first collective bargaining agreement. In the past they were the Programming Director of the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (PHLAFF) and Communications and Outreach Coordinator at Scribe Video Center. In the past, they have assisted with curation for the “Spotlight on Documentaries” at IFP Week, Philadelphia Film Festival and the award-winning PBS documentary series POV | American Documentary. They have received leadership training from the Film Festival Alliance & Full Spectrum Features Film Festival Leadership Lab Fellowship, National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Advocacy Leadership Institute, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange, and the Arts + Business Council [Virtual] Creative Exchange Program.

They are also the Editor in Chief of the cinéSPEAK Journal and Co-Founder/Journalist of ¡Presente! Media, a collective led by Latinx filmmakers that produce bilingual content focused on social justice. Kristal’s journalistic background includes having written for ITVS, AL DÍA, WHYY, Autostraddle, Modern Brown Girl and Documentary Magazine. They write the Latinx cinema column “Cine alzando voz” and serve on the Editorial Collective for the cinéSPEAK Journal. Kristal’s writing has been supported by the Sundance Institute Press Inclusion Initiative, TIFF Media Inclusion Initiative, IDA Magazine Editorial Fellowship, NBC University Visual Storytelling During Breaking News Program, and Lenfest Constellation News Leadership Initiative. They are a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, CherryPicks Approved Critic, and the TIME’S UP Critical Database.

Presenting Expanding Sanctuary as part of the 2018 Doc Society’s Good Pitch Local: Philadelphia

Filmmaking Accolades


Leeway x IPMF Artist + Activist Residency

2022

Scribe Video Center Philadelphia Independent
Media Fund

2021 & 2020

Justice For My Sister BIPOC Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab

2020

Leeway Foundation Arts & Culture Grant

2019

Bryn Mawr College Film Studies Department Scholarship

2017

Philadelphia Contemporary Added Velocity Grant

2022

Bay Area Video Coalition Serial Storytelling Lab

2021

If/Then & Camden International Film Festival North Shorts Grant & Residency

2020

Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority’s Fund for Art and Civic Engagement Art is Essential Grant

2020

Youth FX Next Doc Fellowship

2017

Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Grant

2022

Independence Public Media Foundation Filmmaker Grant

2021 & 2020

Good Pitch Local: Philadelphia, Doc Society Media Maker Fellowship & Grant

2021, 2020 & 2018

Philadelphia Contemporary Velocity Fund Grant

2020

Scribe Video Center Film Scholars Fellowship

2018

MDOCS Storytellers’ Institute Visiting Fellowship

2021

DCTV Docu Work-In-Progress Shorts Lab

2020

NALIP Latino Media Fest & Diverse Women in Media Forum Emerging Content
Creators Scholarship

2020

Double Exposure Festival Scholarship

2020 & 2018

Haverford College HCAH Flaherty Seminar Scholars

2017

Covering Sundance Film Festival as part of the 2020 Sundance Film Institute Press Inclusion Initiative

Journalism Accolades


Lenfest Institute for Journalism Constellation News Leadership Initiative

2021

Sundance Film Institute Press Inclusion Initiative

2021 & 2020

International Documentary Association (IDA) Documentary Magazine Editorial Fellowship

2020

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Press Inclusion Initiative

2020

NBC University Visual Storytelling During Breaking News

2020

NLGJA | The Association of LGBTQ Journalists AARP Freelance Fellowship

2020

Lenfest Institute For Journalism Next Generation Fund

2020

Public Radio Exchange (PRX) Podcasting for Journalists Intensive

2020

Brown Girls Doc Mafia at True/False Film Festival

Leadership Training


The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange

2022

Arts + Business Council [Virtual] Creative Exchange Program

2020

National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Advocacy Leadership Institute

2021

Bryn Mawr College Leadership, Empowerment & Achievement Program (LEAP) Certificate

2017

Film Festival Alliance & Full Spectrum Features Film Festival Leadership Lab Fellowship

2021

Organizational Affiliations


National Association of Hispanic Journalists

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics

Sisters in Film and Television (SIFT) Media 215
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists

Melacast

YouthFX

Solutions Journalism Network

Brown Girls Doc Mafia
Scribe Video Center
Pano
Free The Work
The Video Consortium
Global Impact Producers Group
Ghetto Film School Roster
CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia
CherryPicks

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